Work smarter

Love it or hate it, I found myself (and a compassionate friend) roaming the annals of Ikea last week.  I was dreading the trip, but it turned out to be a low stress affair, and in the end in fact, it was a successful mission; I am writing this sitting in my newly furnished office.  All the promised parts were actually in the box, all the puzzle pieces had the necessary pre-drilled holes, and none of it was damaged.   The thing that drives me nuts about prefabricated furniture though, is that they really do expect you to use those tiny little hex keys to put everything together.  More infuriating still, some of the parts actually make use of Phillips or flat head drives.  If everything was Phillips, not only could you use your favorite tools for the job, but when you eventually needed to dismantle the thing, you wouldn’t have to go crazy searching for the hex keys!  Of course, there is a handy way to solve this problem, two actually.  Option one is to purchase, for a couple of dollars, driver tips for your multi-driver or electric screwdriver (I don’t advise using a drill as it may strip the heads) to use with the provided hardware instead of the wimpy hex key.  Option two (my favorite) is to replace all the hardware that has a hex drive with more standard hardware.  You should have no problem acquiring either at your local hardware store.  So, don’t get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the next time you are assembling furniture, just use the right tools for the job.

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