Need help fixing futon

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personman

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I am not "handy" at all, so excuse me if this is dumb. The boards on my Ikea futon popped out of their slots and I can't figure out how to get them back in. These pictures aren't very good but I was in a hurry: www.therudestaircase.com/images/bed

The plastic slots that are attached to the frame are held on by a metal piece with a small hole in it. But these are not screws of any kind. The hole in the metal piece is smooth on the inside, so there's nothing for any tool that I'm aware of to "unscrew" it. I could not pry them out either.

The plastic slots do bend a little but not enough to fit the boards in. The boards themselves are themselves to sturdy to bend and of course I don't want to risk breaking them.

Anyone have some suggestions? Let me know if you need more pictures.
 
Those are rivets and will have to be drilled out to remove them.
 
Square Eye said:
Those are rivets and will have to be drilled out to remove them.

Thanks a lot for this. So, I went to the hardware store with this information, showed them the pictures. First he said to hammer them out but I explained that there was no hole on the other side to push them out through. Then he wanted a closer picture of the rivets -- to see if they were hexagonal or what -- but I told them they were smooth. He said they didn't have anything for such rivets. He wasn't exactly enthusiastic about helping me.

So, is there any chance you could point me to what tool I need "drill them out". You don't mean I have to drill through the metal on the other side to push them out the hole, do you?

Thanks again.
 
No.

If you drill the head off, with maybe a 1/8 or 3/16 drill, you will be able to just push the scrap on down into the hole. Then you can replace it with a panhead screw. Maybe a #10 or 12 x 1/2"

Your local hardware store doesn't sound like much help.

Welcome to the forum,
Tom
 
Ok...will give it a try. I was hoping it would be simpler than having to break off the head of the rivet off, but oh well. Thanks again!
 

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