ᐅ Finding the Right Screws for Your BILLY Shelf – How Should I Proceed?

Jonbla50 schrieb:
Would self-tapping screws be an alternative?

Self-tapping screws are flexible, but especially with fragile wood fiberboards, they can cause surface chipping or splintering.

It is generally better to use pre-drilled holes, even though this takes more time. This provides clean holes and prevents the shelf from becoming unstable over time.

Jonbla50 schrieb:
Materials – stainless steel or galvanized?

For interior use, galvanized steel is usually sufficient since it offers good corrosion protection and is affordable. Stainless steel is more expensive but has the advantage of complete rust resistance, especially if the furniture is placed in more humid rooms or in the kitchen.

Regarding drilling: drilling perpendicular is always optimal to ensure maximum tensile strength. An angled hole can cause the screw to tilt while tightening and weaken the material.

Hello everyone! 🙂 I’d like to share some practical advice about screws and the BILLY shelf from my own experience:

Last year, I bought a BILLY shelf for myself but lost the original screws.

After some experimentation, I found that the key to stable shelves is the combination of decent M4 wood screws with a Phillips head, about 35-40 mm (1.4-1.6 inches) long, and definitely pre-drilled holes. This not only prevents splitting but also makes tightening the screws much easier.

I also screwed my shelves firmly to the side panels and left the metal pins in place as additional load supports. Together, this is more secure than relying on just one method.

Oh, and for the back panel: use the original thin nails or replace them with fine countersunk screws—don’t forget! When in doubt, choose something shorter.

In summary: although BILLY has specific dimensions, many parts also work with standardized furniture screws from a hardware store if you measure your shelf carefully and work precisely. ;-)

I believe it’s important to remember that the BILLY shelf was originally designed as an affordable piece of furniture, and the materials are not intended for permanent heavy loads.

Therefore, searching for specific screws is only one part of the issue. The critical question is whether the original materials and construction can actually provide the desired stability.

Anyone who wants to use the shelf for long-term heavy loads should consider additional reinforcements, such as battens, improved back panels, or metal brackets.

One should not expect that suitable screws alone will solve a structural problem as long as the base material (chipboard, fiberboard) has its limitations.

difepeo schrieb:
One should not expect that simply using the right screws will solve a structural problem

This is a very important point. My expectation is definitely not to dramatically increase stability with just the right screws, but I want to secure the existing fixing points and keep the shelf stable for everyday use over the long term.

Thank you very much for the many tips and detailed explanations so far! I will now carefully measure the drill hole, get M4 screws around 35–40 mm (1.4–1.6 inches) in length, pre-drill, and then carefully insert the screws. If anyone has any further helpful advice, I’m always happy to hear it 🙂

All right, one last tip from me: When buying screws, make sure the heads are not too large. Countersunk heads are ideal so they sit flush with the wood and don’t get in the way during assembly.

And when you tighten the screws, do it carefully and gently—not too tight—to avoid splitting the wood.

Good luck with the screwing! 🙂