Introduction: IKEA Billy Bookshelf Assembly How-To & Help

By MonkeyLectric
About: Dan Goldwater is a co-founder of Instructables. Currently he operates MonkeyLectric where he develops revolutionary bike lighting products.

The "Billy" model is a basic bookshelf kit from IKEA, it comes in a wide variety of sizes and colors. This kit is straightforward to assemble, a good kit for novices in the smaller sizes. I've followed along exactly as shown in IKEA's instructions included in the kit, but here we have the advantage of close-up photos and photo-notes. The other sizes and colors of this model assembly nearly identical to the one shown.

Step 1: Step 1 - Identify the Parts, Start Assembly

Parts
1 back panel
2 side panels: 1 right side, 1 left side
4 shelves: 1 bottom, 1 top, 2 middle
bag of hardware
instructions
2 unused small wood pieces
anti-tip-over "earthquake" strap

start the assembly
Insert 6 of the wood plugs into the side panel holes with your thumb. 2 of the plugs are used for the bottom flashing, 2 for the bottom shelf, and 2 for the top shelf. use the outer holes on the side panel as shown.

The 4 shelves are each slightly different, you can tell them apart by looking at the bottom of them as shown in the photo.

carefully push the bottom flashing, bottom shelf, and top shelf onto the plugs in the side panel, as shown in the photo.

Step 2: Step 2 - Second Side Panel

Push the remaining 6 wood plugs into the remaining side panel. Then carefully place the side panel on top of the assembled parts, line up the 6 wood plugs, and push the second side panel onto the assembly.

Step 3: Step 3 - Attach Left Side Panel With Screws

Now we'll make a more sturdy attachment by screwing the left side panel on. We will use 4 screws, 4 round nuts, and the IKEA tool.

first push a round nut into hole in top shelf. make sure the slotted side is showing and facing as shown in the photo.

second, push a screw into the hole matching the round nut, and screw it in using the IKEA tool. tighten the screws but not too much, it can damage the wood. the screws are designed to be flush with the wood surface, if you are embedding them far into the wood you are probably tightening too much.

repeat for the 3 other screws and nuts. now the left side panel is fully attached.

Step 4: Step 4 - Screw Together Right Side Panel

Carefully tip the assembly and put it face down.

Use the remaining 4 screws and nuts to attach the right side panel.

Step 5: Step 5 - Attach Back Panel

The back panel slides into grooves in the sides and top shelf. Orient it with the nice side facing down, and slide it into the grooves bottom to top as shown.

Make sure the back panel is all the way into the groove in the top shelf, then use a hammer (not included in kit) to nail in 4 small nails. The nails attach the back panel to the *bottom* shelf. Make sure the back panel is pushed tight towards the top shelf while you do the nailing, any looseness will make your shelving unit wobbly.

Step 6: Step 6 - Place Middle Shelves

Stand up the shelving unit - it is sturdy now! The middle two shelves are not structural to the shelving unit.

Place the 8 metal studs into your choice of holes in the side panels. 4 studs hold up each of the two middle shelves, and you can easily move them around to put the shelves at different heights. The middle shelves just rest on top of the studs, they are not attached in any way.

guess what! you are done!

the IKEA instructions also show the attachment of the anti-tip-over "earthquake" strap, this is probably overkill except for a full-height shelving unit.