IKEA Metod/Billy: Drill Stencils for Furniture Joint Screws | Bohrschablone für Möbelschrauben/Verbinder

After installation you usually want to screw your IKEA Metod/Billy cabinets together. I use M4 x 35 mm furniture screws (also “furniture connectors”) with a hex drive for that, because both IKEA Metod and IKEA Billy have a wall thickness of 18 mm.

I think it is more elegant to only drill holes through the cabinets instead of turning the screws directly through respectively into the cabinets. Therefore, I created these stencils.

The drill diameter is 3 or 5 mm. Here are important tips:

1. Due to the lamination, drilling will be much easier, if you first pre-drill with 3 mm and then with 5 mm.
2. Don't drill through both cabinets at once, because this will lead to chips be broken out of the cabinet lamination. Instead, drill first with 3 mm and then with 5 mm or drill first about 80% from one side and the rest from the other side. If you've done it wrong, you can fix it with IKEA Trixig (005.810.89).
3. You need metal spring clamps to press the cabinets together. The ones from Stanley (9-83-080) are strong and have an opening of 50 mm. Mounting cushions are sometimes also helpful.

Vertical hole spacing of IKEA Metod is 50 mm, of IKEA Billy it is 32 mm.