ᐅ After assembling my Kallax shelf multiple times, it feels unstable—would using glue help?

Hello everyone,

Some time ago, I bought a Kallax shelf from IKEA and have assembled it several times, mainly because I keep rearranging it to suit my needs. Now I’ve noticed that, despite careful assembly, the shelf wobbles slightly in some places, especially under load. I’m wondering if it would make sense to reinforce it with wood glue after assembly to improve stability?

I have properly installed all screws and dowels, and the parts fit well, but somehow the construction is not as sturdy as I expected. My question is: Would gluing help without damaging the furniture? Or are there other tips to improve the stability of my Kallax?

I would appreciate any experiences, advice, or suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Hey, that sounds exciting! 🙂

I can only recommend just using glue – it often makes a huge difference! Especially with repeated assembly and disassembly, joints tend to loosen. Using glue definitely keeps everything more stable. And don’t worry, with a bit of care, you can still undo the glue if you want to reassemble the furniture.

It’s great that such a simple solution works! Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

retau schrieb:
Using glue is definitely the safer option to make the whole thing more stable.

That is generally true, but let’s look at it systematically.

1. Why is the Kallax wobbly?
Often, looseness occurs from repeated assembly and disassembly, which can loosen the joints in the dowel holes and screws.

2. Glue as a solution
Wood glue can permanently strengthen the joints if applied to the dowel holes or connecting surfaces. But be careful: this makes future disassembly more difficult.

3. Alternative measures
Before gluing, especially check the screws. Sometimes tightening them or replacing them with longer screws helps.

Conclusion: Glue can be a good choice if you want a solid piece of furniture and don’t plan to disassemble it frequently. Otherwise, it’s better to just tighten the screws.

Glue provides stability but often prevents later disassembly.

My recommendation: Tighten the screws more firmly, and if you are sure the shelf will not be frequently taken apart, optionally apply a bit of wood glue into the dowel holes.

PAR63 schrieb:
Glue can be useful if you are happy with a fixed piece of furniture and do not plan to disassemble it frequently.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Exactly, that’s my dilemma: I occasionally reconfigure the Kallax, so I have avoided using glue so far because it makes disassembly difficult.

I tighten the screws from time to time, but it seems the looseness is more at the joints in the dowel holes. This eventually causes some play.

Is there a way to stabilize that area without using glue throughout, so that disassembly is still possible? Maybe locally or with another method?

The issue with the dowel holes is well known when it comes to IKEA furniture.

A common cause of wobbling is that over time the dowel holes become slightly worn, so the dowels no longer fit tightly.

A practical method that also allows for later disassembly is to fill the dowel holes with small wood shavings or toothpicks, which are pressed in and glued before assembly. This creates a tighter fit that isn’t fully bonded but provides much more stability.

If this is too detailed or time-consuming, you can also consider using specialized reversible furniture adhesives, although this is rarely necessary.