In article ,
wrote:
On Saturday, 11 March 2017 09:50:59 UTC, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
A bookcase followed by a large sideboard.

The bookcase didn't take too long, assembly was fairly obvious, but had
an extra panel, just a narrow strip of ply, not mentioned in the
instructions. I guess who ever packed it couldn't bothered to dispose
of it and thought it easier to include it in the package.

The sideboard was rated at a 1 hour job. In fact it took 6 hours and
all the bits were not fully resolved until near midnight. The
instruction were just the pictogram style, no words to help and it was
enormously complex internal frame work, for 5 drawers and 2 cupboards.
Lots of bits of wood all different sizes and no way to tell one piece
from another, except by guess work. All the parts were given numbers on
the drawing, but no numbers on the bits of wood at all. What would it
have cost, to just have sticky labels with numbers on, on each of the
sections?

If the pictograms had dimensions on of these pieces, Bob would be your
uncle.

I eventually got to the end, after several attempts and much pulling
apart and reassembling the correct way - then there was a length of
nylon strap left over, with no obvious place where it was needed. It
was shown on the pictogram, but gave no clear indication of where it
was intended to go or its actual purpose. I looked at several flat pack
assembly videos on Youtube, before eventually spotting one which
showed the assembly of a wardrobe. That had such a strap between the
top of the wardrobe and fixed to the wall, to prevent it falling over.

I really couldn't see this low and deep sideboard managing to fall over
no matter what, so I have not bothered to fit it.

SWMBO had ordered both without even mentioning it to me, or discussing
it, she just said there would be two big parcels arriving. I was always
totally against such flat pack furniture, seeing it as cheap looking,
made from fibre board and lacking any style, but these look really -
not too bad at all if you like the rugged look.

If needing generic furniture in a hurry one can often find better &
cheaper at a local charity furniture place, though certainly not always.

and then you have to get it home ;-(

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England