Ikea Kallax for storage

[Chris152]

Boxes of bits have been building up in the workshop so I started looking around for alternatives and found this



used for just £40. It's about 1.8m x 1.8m and great for organising stuff. They seem to come up a lot on the used sites for relatively little money.
And now we have much more space in the workshop - bit of a revelation for me , maybe of interest to others?

 

[Spectric]

And now we have much more space in the workshop

Not a bad size being 6ft by 6ft and for £40 you could not buy the materials to make it but how is it assembled, will it take any weight. The other option that will take weight is these self assembly racking units from the likes of Homebase or https://www.tufferman.co.uk/collections/garage-shelving

 

[Chris152]

Definitely for lighter stuff, tho we do have some heavier bits on the bottom shelf. The shelves are held by dowels, but of course the verticals transfer weight to the bottom. For heavier, the ones you linked to look really good for the money, we'll bear that in mind for the future.

 

[Spectric]

The strength of the dowels is good but as I have found out once you put to much weight on a shelf made from MDF or chipboard and held in place with dowels then the shelf can split around the dowel and is why a lot of shelves sit on pins as those materials are good in compression. This I would suggest is still an issue if using oblong dowels and a Domino but what about the Lamello P2 apart from needing a mortgage to buy and the expensive connectors ?

I seem to like joining wood with wood, be it dowels or any loose tennon, M&T's or just biscuits for alignment and glue but what do people think of using plastic connectors like the Lamello, is this a step away from woodworking or just another tool for modern flatpack.

 

[ChaiLatte]

Have a look at it. It is square so if you use it with the long sections horizontal, only the leftmost and rightmost dowels (into the thicker side sections) will ever see load. All the short sections will be vertical so in compression. Download the assembly instructions if this description is not clear.

At the sides, you could line the inside with a piece of 6mm plywood left and right so the weight transfers through the ply and relieves the dowels of stress. Every piece (8 total) would be the same size, so quick to cut.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Using Ikea units - particularly if cheap s/h, is a sound idea - there is lots of workshop stuff which needs space without being heavy.

For my workshop (recent move) I used Ikea kitchen units, doors, and kitchen worktops for storage and mounting machines - small wood lathe, pillar drill, grinder, belt and disc sander etc.

With the exception of regularly used tools (eg: clamps, tenon saw, couple of planes etc) I have tried to put all my tools behind closed doors - dust gets everywhere. Just need to use my label maker so I know what's behind each door

 

[Inspector]

Silly me. I have three of them packed with books and magazines. I can't possibly see how one could overload it unless filling with steel.

Pete

 

[nickds1]

I use Ikea IVAR shelving extensively in the workshops/garage and elsewhere. It comes in two main shelving forms - 30cm or 50cm deep and 80cm wide (40cm wide shelves are also available). Brilliant stuff with loads of combinations and can sometimes be found s/h on Gumtree etc. for not-a-lot. Takes a lot of abuse and lasts a long time. Shelves are all adjustable in 1.5" increments, so fits most things. There are also wood & steel cabinets that fit in, plus roll-top units etc.

The 50cm stuff also is just the right depth for 9ltr & 18ltr etc. Really Useful Boxes (from Rymans and elsewhere)...

Also perfect for racking up bee equipment that typically has a 45cm cross-section...

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat/ivar-system-11703/

 

[Spectric]

I have three of them packed with books and magazines. I can't possibly see how one could overload it unless filling with steel

But are the books on the lower shelves actually holding up the shelf above, you often see book shelves that are really bowing and sitting on stuff below.

 

[Inspector]

Bottom shelf sits on the floor. Dividers sit on it. Each shelf sits on the dividers below. Weight transfers through the dividers all the way down to the floor and to the shelf ends that sit on dowels and screws in the sides. The books don't hold anything up since there is space above them and none of the shelves show any obvious deflection although I haven't pulled out the straight edges and feeler gauges to check more closely.

Maybe gravity is lower on this side of the planet?

Pete

 

[Cabinetman]

Have a look at it. It is square so if you use it with the long sections horizontal, only the leftmost and rightmost dowels (into the thicker side sections) will ever see load. All the short sections will be vertical so in compression. Download the assembly instructions if this description is not clear.

At the sides, you could line the inside with a piece of 6mm plywood left and right so the weight transfers through the ply and relieves the dowels of stress. Every piece (8 total) would be the same size, so quick to cut.

I do love a bit of lateral thinking, brill !

 

[Doug71]

For anyone interested a quick test shows Systainers fit quite nicely albeit end on

 

[JimJay]

I've got 2 workbenches which are made of Kallax topped with 20mm construction ply (the waterproof type with smooth plastic on both sides). They can take anything I've thrown at them, including my not-inconsiderable bulk climbing on top. They're on metal legs and the "cubbyholes" have doors or shelves; the shelves are a bit annoying as they don't come out as far as I'd like. They've lasted years so far.

 

[Owd Jockey]

We have a number of Ikea Kallax throughout our home. They are sturdy and strong. You can also purchase the boxes, some are fold-away, to fit in the 'pigeon-holes'.