Exciting times.....

Three weeks ago, on New Year's Eve I had an exciting delivery.....

Whoooaaaa....  That's a BIG box!

I'd already been busy all that morning, clearing a space by the window.

So at midday, I opened the box....

.... and perused the instruction booklet.

According to the diagram I only needed three tools.... flat head screwdriver, Philips screwdriver and a hammer.

Further perusal of the instructions proved additional information related to the assembly procedure.  Apparently it was impossible to do single-handed.  

Pshaw, pish and tush......  How difficult could it be?

Also it would unaccountably break if not assembled on a rug, and if the instructions proved to tricky a call to IKEA would resolve any issues.

As a veteran of many, many flat pack builds, of varying degrees of complexity, I felt fairly certain that I'd be able to cope with a simple table.  *insert unjustified confidence here*

Let battle commence.

So..... only 113 fixings and components, plus a bolt screwer and 2 different sizes of Allen keys.

*sigh*

That's a LOT of assorted screws, bolts, fixings and widgets in a mind-boggling variety of different sizes and configurations.

Still....it's only a table.  How hard could it be?

Thankfully, the drop leaves were already hinged onto the table top which was a blessing as that was the bit I'd been looking forward to least.  Having fitted hinged doors onto many dozens of doll's houses over the past 35 years I am only too aware of how tricky the little buggers are to get right.

The underside of the table, with the sliding drop-leaf supports went together well, if not exactly speedily.  Our electric screwdriver would have make it a lot easier, if it hadn't been dead as a doornail,  requiring a minimum 6-hour charge.

Two hours in and I was seriously flagging, which may have accounted for the slight contretemps with the legs, which took me three attempts to get right, and led to an inevitable deterioration in my already colourful language.  Who knew there were so may different ways to get four table legs wrong?

Finally, after four hours (FOUR HOURS!) most of the assembly was done, and on the edge of exhaustion I enlisted the help of PP to get the table upright.

Next for the drawer, which although it looked simple, was anything but.  Every time I got the base slotted into the sides, ready to screw in place, one side would pop out and I'd be back to square one.

I was absolutely knackered by that point, but was desperate to get the construction completed, so I persevered until finally by a combination of brute strength and ignorance, I managed to get all four sides, and the base in the correct positions for long enough to whack in a couple of screws.

Although I was done (in) for the day, I still had some stuff to do.  I wanted to decorate the drawer front, and replace the boring, black metal knob with something more 'zingy'.

Which accounts for the hiatus of the past three weeks as I found the right knob and waited for it to be delivered.

So finally, here it is in all it's glory.... my completed table.  

I used a piece of the paper leftover from my desk bureau to decorate the front of the drawer.

I eventually managed to find a smaller drawer knob, similar to the ones on my bureau, which neatly continued the theme.

With both leaves 'up' the workspace is doubled! 

Soooo......all ready for my new venture *taps side of nose in a hopefully not at all creepily suggestive way*