At some point in your teen’s life, he’ll probably have to put together a piece of furniture. This task will probably come up after he becomes an adult and moves into his own place. He’ll find that he needs a table, desk or some other furnishing so he’ll go and purchase a piece and it will more than likely require assembly.
As you probably already know, there are some important things to know when it comes to assembling furniture. Being aware of these valuable tips can help prevent potential disasters such as bruised fingers or stripped screws.
(I consider the latter to be worse than the former. Fingers heal. Screws don’t. But that’s just my opinion.)
What follows is piece written for teens about assembling furniture. Feel free to share it with your teen if you like. With any luck, it will prevent a lot of bruised thumbs and stripped screws.
Assembling Furniture
Someday, you will more than likely have to put together a piece of furniture.
Some of you are probably jumping for joy at the thought of that.
For others of you, that’s a fate worse than death. You’d rather call a specialist in than try to assemble that desk yourself.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to make any phone calls (except maybe to your parents).
YOU can put together that desk or chair or bookshelf or whatever you buy.
Simply use the tips below and I think that you’ll find that that piece of furniture will go together quite easily.
Alright, let’s get started.
Tips for Preparation
Carefully pull out all of the pieces from the box. Don’t just dump them out on the floor. You might damage one of the parts.
Read all of the instructions before starting. Give your brain a picture of how the entire assembly will go before you start. This helps reduce your chances of making a fatal error while building.
Consider whether you need a friend or relative to help. Some larger or more complex pieces of furniture may require two people to assemble. Think about whether you’ll need another hand to help you.
Take inventory of all the parts. Make sure you have ALL the parts before you begin. Yes, that means you have to count all of those little nails and screws. It’s best to know if you are missing anything before you get involved in building. If you are missing parts, you’ll need to either contact the company so that they can send you the missing piece or exchange the piece of furniture at the store from which you bought it.
Put the small pieces of hardware into bowls. It’s a lot easier to find the right nail or screw if you have the pieces sorted into different bowls. You can usually get away with putting 1-2 different types of fasteners in each bowl. Be sure to use clean bowls. Milk and nails don’t mix.
Gather your tools. The instructions should tell you if you need a hammer or screw drivers or any other tools. You don’t want to have to go around the corner, down the stairs, into the basement, and over to the toolbox while you’re holding two parts together.
Make sure you have enough room to build. Unless you’re a contortionist, you’ll want to make sure you clear out enough space to assemble your piece of furniture.
Lay out the parts where you can get to them easily. If the part you need is on the other side of the room and you’re occupied with holding two other parts together, well, that’s just a little bit inconvenient.
Tips for Assembly
Make sure parts are lined up properly before nailing or screwing. If two parts are supposed to be at a right angle to each other, make sure they are before you start nailing or screwing. I’m not saying that you need to go get a protractor, but do your best to have the pieces in the right position.
Be sure the screws are going in straight. You could damage the wood if they don’t go in properly.
Don’t tighten the screws all the way until a section is finished. If you do, you might have crooked furniture. Put the screws in nearly all the way for a section, then tighten them completely. If it’s workable, you may want to wait on tightening until the entire piece of furniture is together. That’s not always possible or practical, however, so use your best judgement.
Be careful not to strip the screws. There’s nothing worse than stripped screws. Ask any carpenter. Using the right size screwdriver can help prevent this. Also, make sure that the screwdriver is properly lined up with the screw. It will reduce your chances of ruining it the screw head.
Hammer safely. Aim carefully. The head of the nail is your target, not your thumbs or fingers. Hold the nail as close to the bottom as possible or, if you really want to be safe, use a cheap hair comb to hold the nail in place.
Make sure the nails are going in straight when you hammer. You don’t want the pointy end of the nail poking you when you’re using the piece of furniture.
Above all, remember to build safely. Don’t be afraid to call in the help of a trusted friend or relative if you get stuck.