On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:21:46 +0000, MM wrote:

I bought a flatpack chest of drawers from Ikea, but stupidly left it
in the packaging for two weeks while doing other jobs.

When I got round to assembling it, having assembled the carcass and
drawers, it was time to put the top panel in place. Unfortunately,
this has bowed quite significantly along the length. Whether this is
because I had stood the package on its side and not flat, I don't
know. But it's bowed and I'm not going to the palaver of putting
everything back in the box to return to Ikea.

So the question is, how can I flatten this bowed top panel, which is
solid pine with an 'antique' finish? I have actually already achieved
a fair bit of flattening in just 24 hours by laying the board, 'hump'
side upward, on the carpet and putting some weights on it. But isn't
steam used for bending plywood? Perhaps I could apply steam, then
replace the weights? Will the bowing disappear completely?

I'd suggest placing it hump side up on a couple of battens. Then place
a suitable weight in the middle and leave it for a few days/weeks.

s