IKEA ALEX drawer unit, white, 36×70 cm: interactive 3D assembly guide

All 23 steps

1. 1Screw the cam bolts into the sides common mistake

   Lay both sides flat, runners up. With a cross-head screwdriver, screw 3 cam bolts (118331) into each side, along its back edge, until the collar meets the board. Common mistake: A cam bolt goes in until its collar meets the board and no further, as the box in the manual shows. Driven deeper, its round head sits too low in the hole of the board it goes into: the cam lock turns past it, and the joint stays loose.

2. 2Push in the dowels

   Push 12 dowels (101345) by hand into the holes: 2 into each end of each side, and 2 into each long edge of the back.

3. 3Stand the sides on the back

   Lay the back flat, outside down. Stand the sides up along its long edges, runners in, so the cam bolts and the dowels go into its holes.

4. 4Lock the sides to the back

   Put a slotted cam lock (119251) into each of the 6 round holes in the back, arrow to the bolt, and turn it clockwise with a flat screwdriver until it is tight. Use the slotted kind here, not the cross kind.

5. 5Screw the cam bolts into the top and bottom

   Lay the top and the bottom flat, inside up, and screw 6 cam bolts into each, 3 near each end.

6. 6Push on the top and the bottom

   Push the top onto one end of the frame and the bottom onto the other, so their cam bolts and the sides’ dowels go into the holes. The top’s four holes in the middle face in, unless a desk top goes on.

7. 7Lock the top and the bottom

   Put a slotted cam lock into each of the 12 round holes inside the sides, by the top and the bottom, arrow to the bolt, and turn each clockwise until it is tight.

8. 8Stick on the glides and stand it up

   Peel the backing off each of the 4 glides (10061614) and press one onto each corner of the bottom, over the small hole. Stand the unit up on its glides.

9. 9Deep drawers: screw the cam bolts into the fronts

   Now the three deep drawers, all three at each step. Lay each front face down and screw 4 cam bolts into its back.

10. 10Deep drawers: stand the sides on the fronts common mistake

    Stand two sides on each front, over its cam bolts, with the grooves facing in. Common mistake: Each drawer side has a groove along the inside near its foot, which the drawer bottom slides into. Turned the other way round, the side still fits the front, but the groove faces out: the bottom has nothing to slide in on, and the drawer cannot be finished. Stand each side with its groove facing in.

11. 11Deep drawers: lock the sides

    Put a cross cam lock (103114) into each of the 4 round holes outside the sides of each drawer and turn it clockwise with a cross-head screwdriver until it is tight.

12. 12Deep drawers: slide in the bottoms

    Slide a bottom down into the grooves of each of the three deep drawers, painted side in, until it reaches the front.

13. 13Deep drawers: slide in the backs

    Slide a back down between the ends of the sides of each drawer, onto the bottom.

14. 14Deep drawers: fasten the backs

    Hammer 4 plastic fasteners (110519) through the sides of each drawer into its back, two at each corner.

15. 15Small drawers: push the dowels into the sides

    Now the two small drawers. Push a dowel by hand into the front end of each of their sides.

16. 16Small drawers: screw the cam bolts into the fronts

    Lay each small front face down and screw 2 cam bolts into its back.

17. 17Small drawers: stand the sides on the fronts

    Stand two sides on each small front, over its cam bolts and dowel holes, grooves facing in.

18. 18Small drawers: lock the sides

    Put a cross cam lock into the round hole outside each side of the small drawers and turn it clockwise until it is tight.

19. 19Small drawers: slide in the bottoms

    Slide a bottom down into the grooves of each small drawer, painted side in.

20. 20Small drawers: slide in the backs

    Slide a back down between the ends of the sides of each small drawer, onto the bottom.

21. 21Small drawers: fasten the backs

    Hammer 4 plastic fasteners through the sides of each small drawer into its back.

22. 22Put the drawers in

    Turn each drawer the right way up, set it on its runners and push it in: the three deep drawers at the bottom, the two small ones at the top.

23. 23Screw each drawer to its runners

    Pull each drawer out again and drive a screw (105021) from inside it through each side into its runner, so the drawer stays on its runners. Done.

Parts and hardware checklist

Tools you need

• Hammer · Taps in the drawers’ 20 plastic fasteners.
• Cross-head screwdriver · Screws in the 34 cam bolts, turns the drawers’ 16 cam locks, and drives the drawers’ 10 screws.
• Flat screwdriver · Turns the frame’s 18 cam locks.

Questions

Safety

Do not stand one ALEX on another, as the manual warns, and keep within the loads IKEA gives: 4 kg a deep drawer, 2 kg a small one, 12 kg in all.

About this guide

The steps, the part numbers, the counts and the order come from IKEA's assembly manual AA-2242840-5 (2022-10-27). The outer size, 36 × 58 × 70 cm, is IKEA's published size. Board thicknesses, the drawers’ boxes, the runners and the hole positions are read off the drawings and IKEA’s photos, so they are close, not measured. The 3D runs faster than real hands do.

IKEA gives its maximum load as 4 kg for each deep drawer, 2 kg for each small one and 12 kg in all; the drawers are 52 cm deep inside.

The manufacturer's instructions are on IKEA's product page (PDF). If something here differs from the manual in your box, follow the manual.

The 3D models, drawings and text are our own. IKEA and ALEX are named only to say which product this guide is for.