ᐅ Technical Construction of Ikea BESTA Cabinet Frame (502.459.53)
Created on: 17 Sep 2016 07:34
A
alsk1
Hello dear Ikea community,
I urgently need help with the technical construction of the Ikea Besta carcass (502.459.53) in 1.20 x 40 x 64 cm (47 x 16 x 25 inches). This is not the TV carcass, but the regular one.
I have assembled this as a chest of drawers and also placed it on feet. On top there is a glass panel, and on top of that sits a rather heavy stereo system made up of individual Hi-Fi components from the Sony ES series from 1992/1993, with a total weight of about 50 kg (110 lbs). So far, this is not a problem at all.
Now I want to place speaker stands on the left and right next to the chest of drawers. Due to space constraints, the stands need to be quite close to the chest. The distance between the feet from front to back is less than 40 cm (16 inches), as the carcass is only 40 cm (16 inches) deep overall. The speaker stands that actually belong to the speakers (and in my opinion look very nice) have a base plate depth of 40 cm (16 inches). Since the stands need to be close to the chest of drawers, the base plate has to protrude slightly underneath the chest, which poses a problem.
I then thought of simply moving the feet of the Besta carcass a little further inward so that it looks reasonably good visually. I was thinking maybe 8-10 cm (3-4 inches). By "moving inward," I mean that the feet would be positioned slightly further toward the center when looking at the chest from the front. This way, the base plate of the speaker stands could extend somewhat under the chest, leaving enough space. I hope you can picture what I mean?
My question now is about the technical construction of the bottom panel. There are, as per factory assembly, 5 threaded inserts for the feet in the bottom panel: one foot at each corner and one threaded insert additionally in the front center. These threaded inserts are built into the bottom panel to mount the feet.
I assume that there are chipboard strips, wooden battens, or similar inside the carcass where these threads are embedded. I am unsure whether these are continuous chipboard strips or just short sections, and how they run—either across the width (meaning along the length of approx. 120 cm (47 inches)) or from front to back (approx. 40 cm (16 inches)).
If these run from left to right (i.e., across the width of 120 cm (47 inches)), it should be possible to simply insert new threaded sleeves more toward the center, and thus my plan would be successful, right?
Or is the factory mounting point of the threaded insert reinforced in some other way? I am somewhat concerned that if I insert a new sleeve, the bottom panel might break when I load the chest or place my heavy Hi-Fi components on top, because perhaps the bottom panel is only specially reinforced at the factory threading points for the feet?
Another alternative would certainly be to make a properly thick MDF panel or similar in the dimensions of the bottom panel and mount the feet on it, basically placing the chest on that. However, for simplicity reasons, I would prefer to go with the first option.
I urgently need help with the technical construction of the Ikea Besta carcass (502.459.53) in 1.20 x 40 x 64 cm (47 x 16 x 25 inches). This is not the TV carcass, but the regular one.
I have assembled this as a chest of drawers and also placed it on feet. On top there is a glass panel, and on top of that sits a rather heavy stereo system made up of individual Hi-Fi components from the Sony ES series from 1992/1993, with a total weight of about 50 kg (110 lbs). So far, this is not a problem at all.
Now I want to place speaker stands on the left and right next to the chest of drawers. Due to space constraints, the stands need to be quite close to the chest. The distance between the feet from front to back is less than 40 cm (16 inches), as the carcass is only 40 cm (16 inches) deep overall. The speaker stands that actually belong to the speakers (and in my opinion look very nice) have a base plate depth of 40 cm (16 inches). Since the stands need to be close to the chest of drawers, the base plate has to protrude slightly underneath the chest, which poses a problem.
I then thought of simply moving the feet of the Besta carcass a little further inward so that it looks reasonably good visually. I was thinking maybe 8-10 cm (3-4 inches). By "moving inward," I mean that the feet would be positioned slightly further toward the center when looking at the chest from the front. This way, the base plate of the speaker stands could extend somewhat under the chest, leaving enough space. I hope you can picture what I mean?
My question now is about the technical construction of the bottom panel. There are, as per factory assembly, 5 threaded inserts for the feet in the bottom panel: one foot at each corner and one threaded insert additionally in the front center. These threaded inserts are built into the bottom panel to mount the feet.
I assume that there are chipboard strips, wooden battens, or similar inside the carcass where these threads are embedded. I am unsure whether these are continuous chipboard strips or just short sections, and how they run—either across the width (meaning along the length of approx. 120 cm (47 inches)) or from front to back (approx. 40 cm (16 inches)).
If these run from left to right (i.e., across the width of 120 cm (47 inches)), it should be possible to simply insert new threaded sleeves more toward the center, and thus my plan would be successful, right?
Or is the factory mounting point of the threaded insert reinforced in some other way? I am somewhat concerned that if I insert a new sleeve, the bottom panel might break when I load the chest or place my heavy Hi-Fi components on top, because perhaps the bottom panel is only specially reinforced at the factory threading points for the feet?
Another alternative would certainly be to make a properly thick MDF panel or similar in the dimensions of the bottom panel and mount the feet on it, basically placing the chest on that. However, for simplicity reasons, I would prefer to go with the first option.
But if that were the case, then the floor and the top panel shouldn’t be able to bear any load either.
They would either collapse or bend downward.
I have one drawer on each side at the top, left and right. Below each drawer is a door.
So, in total, there are 2 drawers and 2 doors.
Above one drawer in the center on one side, there is a stereo amplifier weighing 24kg (53 lbs) with a tuner weighing 7kg (15 lbs) on top of it.
Above the other drawer in the center on the other side, there is a CD player weighing 13kg (29 lbs) and a cassette deck weighing 9kg (20 lbs).
Behind the doors below, there are 2,000 sheets of DIN A4 paper and various other office supplies, and the entire unit stands on legs, so the bottom panel is actually suspended in the air.
Still, it seems very stable. There is no warping or twisting. The entire paper load has not caused any sagging.
They would either collapse or bend downward.
I have one drawer on each side at the top, left and right. Below each drawer is a door.
So, in total, there are 2 drawers and 2 doors.
Above one drawer in the center on one side, there is a stereo amplifier weighing 24kg (53 lbs) with a tuner weighing 7kg (15 lbs) on top of it.
Above the other drawer in the center on the other side, there is a CD player weighing 13kg (29 lbs) and a cassette deck weighing 9kg (20 lbs).
Behind the doors below, there are 2,000 sheets of DIN A4 paper and various other office supplies, and the entire unit stands on legs, so the bottom panel is actually suspended in the air.
Still, it seems very stable. There is no warping or twisting. The entire paper load has not caused any sagging.
I
IKEA-Experte18 Sep 2016 14:03Honeycomb structures are very stable. The face sheets are connected through the honeycomb cores. Because they are spaced far apart, the bottom layer must stretch considerably when bending. In the longitudinal direction, however, you can apply a fairly large force before the material tears.
The paper stack has a large surface area, which means the pressure on the floor is low. Your amplifier will have relatively large feet. If you place small blocks underneath, ideally positioned inside a honeycomb cell, the surface is more likely to give way.
The paper stack has a large surface area, which means the pressure on the floor is low. Your amplifier will have relatively large feet. If you place small blocks underneath, ideally positioned inside a honeycomb cell, the surface is more likely to give way.
So, I want to give a brief update that the renovation worked out.
I used the Besta cabinet connectors that come with the STUBBARP legs. These are metal connector plates with attached threads. I fixed these to the bottom of the cabinet using 5x25mm (1 inch) Spax screws, and then screwed the STUBBARP legs onto the threads. The Spax screws grip and hold well. Since the metal plate is slightly narrower than the STUBBARP leg, the chest of drawers wobbles a little when, for example, the drawers are opened or closed. But that shouldn’t be an issue, as the entire construction seems stable enough to me.
Initially, I had the Nannarp legs under the cabinet, but these are only intended for corner mounting on the designated threads, and repositioning them would also not look good at all.
Now I can order the speaker stands, and the base of the stands has enough space to fit under the Besta cabinet so they can be positioned there.
I used the Besta cabinet connectors that come with the STUBBARP legs. These are metal connector plates with attached threads. I fixed these to the bottom of the cabinet using 5x25mm (1 inch) Spax screws, and then screwed the STUBBARP legs onto the threads. The Spax screws grip and hold well. Since the metal plate is slightly narrower than the STUBBARP leg, the chest of drawers wobbles a little when, for example, the drawers are opened or closed. But that shouldn’t be an issue, as the entire construction seems stable enough to me.
Initially, I had the Nannarp legs under the cabinet, but these are only intended for corner mounting on the designated threads, and repositioning them would also not look good at all.
Now I can order the speaker stands, and the base of the stands has enough space to fit under the Besta cabinet so they can be positioned there.
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