Armchairs office repair do it yourself

In detail: do-it-yourself office chairs repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

The other day my home computer chair broke down.

Although this chair is already a little old (it is already about six years old), nevertheless, until now, it has served me and my family members quite well. Moreover, about once every six months, I carried out prophylaxis, which consisted of tightening all threaded elements, as well as lubricating the rubbing parts (first of all, the bearing at the end of the gas lift rod).

However, some time ago, I felt that the chair began to dangle and sway from side to side, and the further, the stronger.

Having disassembled it, I saw that the plastic sleeve, which stands in the upper part of the outer gas lift pipe and serves to center and fix the gas lift cylinder, is badly cracked, and several pieces have even fallen off from it.

When I began to pull it out, the part of the bushing, which was directly inserted into the outer pipe of the gas lift, fell apart into pieces, so that only the rim remained intact, that is, the uppermost part of this bushing.

Naturally, I immediately began to look on the Internet to see if such bushings are on sale among spare parts for computer chairs. However, it turned out that such small parts as bushings are not sold separately (at least, I have not found such anywhere).

Nevertheless, I did not want to buy the whole gas lift, because, on my chair, the gas lift still works quite well and without any complaints.

Therefore, I decided to make such a sleeve myself.

To begin with, of course, I wanted to find some similar plastic sleeve, but not finding one, I decided to make the sleeve out of wood. For this, birch wood is best suited, it is strong enough and well processed.

Video (click to play).

However, the problem here was that such a sleeve is a pronounced body of rotation, so it is best to make it on a lathe.

I don't have a lathe, but using a drill for this would also be problematic, since the part is quite complex - you need to process not only the outer surface of the workpiece, but also the inner one (the hole in the sleeve).

As a result, I decided to go the other way and make almost the entire bushing using hole saws (or crowns) for wood.

And here I must say that I was very lucky, because having measured the inner diameter of the tube into which the bushing is inserted (it is 48 mm.), As well as the outer diameter of the gas lift cylinder, which will be inserted into this bushing (it is 28 mm.), I was able to find hole saws that are almost perfect for cutting the diameters listed!

So, in order to make the mentioned bushing, I needed the following accessories:

Materials and fasteners:

- A piece of a thick, well-dried birch branch, 6-7 cm in diameter, and about 50 cm long.
- Four small screws 3.5x10 mm.

- Drawing and measuring tools (pencil, square and vernier caliper).
- Shiloh.
- Hand saw for wood.
- Electric drill-screwdriver (preferably two electric drills).
- Drill bit for metal with a diameter of 4 mm.
- Hole saw for wood with a diameter of 29 mm.
- Hole saw for wood with a diameter of 51 mm.
- Perforated drill bit for wood with a diameter of 25 mm.
- Clamp.
- Sandpaper.

I must say that above I mentioned only the most basic tools, but in the process of work, I periodically had to use many other tools (for example, chisels, knife, file, etc.), but I did not mention them, otherwise it will turn out to be huge list of tools.

So, first, if necessary, we update the end of the birch blank by sawing off a small part of it with a saw. By the way, this can be done with a jigsaw, but I specially took a hand saw to warm up once again, because it's freezing outside! : e113:

Then we set aside from the end of the workpiece, about 35 mm, (this is just the depth of the hole saw and the length of the lower part of our future sleeve) and cut in this place in a circle, about 5-6 mm deep, with a hand saw with a fine tooth.

After that, we mark the center at the end of the workpiece, clamp it with a clamp and make it along the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, cut it all the way, using a hole saw with a diameter of 51 mm installed in a drill.

Next, we chop off excess wood with a semicircular chisel.

Now we also make a cut to the stop, but with a hole saw with a diameter of 29 mm.

After that, insert a 25 mm diameter perforated drill into the drill, and use it to drill out excess wood from the internal cut.

When the wood has been selected to a depth of two to three centimeters, you can again cut the hole with the hole saw to the stop to deepen the inner hole.

Then again remove the excess wood with a feather drill. And we do this several times alternately, until the depth of the inner hole reaches 4.5-5 cm. By the way, for these operations it is better to use two drills (if possible) so as not to rearrange the drills every time.

After the bushing is formed with us, you can remove the clamp and finish the surface of the bushing, first with a knife and then with sandpaper.

Now you can saw off the bushing blank.

To give it a neater look, you can chop off excess wood from the top ledge of the bushing with a chisel.

Then we carry out the final finishing with a knife and sandpaper.

And now our sleeve is finally ready!

Now it is necessary to make a slight revision of the tube of the computer chair, into which our sleeve will be inserted, namely, drill holes in it for the screws.

Therefore, with a drill with a diameter of 4 mm, we drill four holes in the tube for the screws.

Then we remove the chamfers, and at the same time the burrs from these holes with a drill of a larger diameter (8-9 mm.).

Inside the tube, remove the burrs using a round metal file with a fine notch.

Now you need to thoroughly clean the tube from small metal chips and you can install our sleeve into it.

We carefully hammer the sleeve with light hammer blows.

And then we wrap the screws in the prepared holes for additional fastening of the sleeve.

Now you can assemble the computer chair.

But first, it is necessary to lubricate the thrust bearing well with grease.

And, of course, the inner surface of our sleeve.

Well, now, we finally assemble the chair, that is, we put the bearing on the gas lift rod, then we put the crosspiece with the tube and the sleeve on the gas lift cylinder, we install the outer washer and the fixing washer-latch.

And this is what our chair looks like with a new wooden sleeve.

After testing the chair, it turned out that everything is functioning normally, the chair rotates, the height of the chair lift is adjustable without problems, there are no special backlashes.

In general, I don’t know what will happen next, but so far everything is working fine!

Although I must say that theoretically, a wooden sleeve should not be inferior in strength to a plastic one. Therefore, I hope that it will work long enough.

In my opinion, the only thing that can happen to this sleeve is that it can crack. But I think that in this case, too, it will not lose its performance, and to strengthen it, it will be possible to simply fasten its upper part with a clamp or even just wrap it tightly with electrical tape.

Well, however, it will be seen further!

Well, that's all for me!
Everyone, so far, and reliable and durable homemade products!

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Office, it is also a computer chair, is now not only in the office, but in every home. This furniture is very comfortable and you have to pay for the comfort with problems. The chair has a rather complex mechanism, which is subjected to considerable loads and often fails, it often requires adjustment or repair. This article will discuss how to repair an office chair with your own hands, without going to a workshop.

  • Defective rollers
  • Repairing the chair cross
  • Eliminating gas lift malfunction
  • Repair video

Most often they break: rollers, a crosspiece and a gas lift. In the case of rollers, there are no big problems. The easiest way out is to replace the broken roller with a new one or, if possible, glue it with super glue. Often the cause of a malfunction is debris: threads, hair, etc. Then it is enough to remove the rollers and clean the places of their attachment from clogging. If the wheel axle mount is broken, you may have to replace the crosspiece.

Do-it-yourself repair of an office chair cross is quite possible with some mechanics skills. To do this, you need simple tools and care.

The material of the cross is important - if it is made of plastic, then it is better to put a new one. After repair, plastic serves even worse than new and restoring such a fragile part makes little sense. Pay attention to the type of plastic, it is better to change the polyethylene cross for glass filled with polyamide, since this material is stronger and lasts longer than conventional plastics.

To fix the crosspiece, you need to remove it and this process is not as simple as it seems. This often damages the part itself and the gas lift, especially if you use a hammer or sledgehammer. It is imperative to do this with rollers, since they are often damaged during disassembly and repair. You will need a tool:

It is better to cover the floor with rags or newspapers to protect it from grease. For disassembling tight connections, especially a gas cartridge with a crosspiece, it is convenient to use WD-40 liquid, gasoline or just soapy water. Attention! You can knock down the cross with a hammer only if it is metal; for a plastic one you need to use a mallet. We recommend watching a video of an office chair repair.

  • We remove the wheels. Usually they are not rigidly fixed and can be easily removed from the mountings.
  • We turn the chair over; for stability, it must be placed as a seat on a chair so that the back rests on the floor.
  • It is necessary to disconnect the rocking and adjustment mechanism - piastre. Unscrew the 4 screws securing it to the seat. Then you need to knock it off the gas lift with a light tap, since usually this is a connection without a thread, a tapered one. It is advisable to use a wooden or rubber mallet and not hit the edges of the parts, they are easily deformed. If the connection is "stuck", you can use a special liquid or gently tap it with a hammer.
  • Remove the gas cartridge stopper. The retaining clip is located in the center of the recess for the cartridge, it must be carefully pry off with a screwdriver and removed. Then you need to remove the washer and put it aside along with the clip. Now we disconnect the rod of the gas lift. Careful! Inside the glass, gas lift parts can stick to the lubricant: 2 washers and an oil seal with a bearing. Set them aside and do not confuse with the stopper washer when reassembling.
  • We knock down the crosspiece. You need to be especially careful with plastic. It is better to hit with a mallet or an ordinary hammer through a piece of wood, with light blows from all sides.

This work must be done very carefully and carefully, with the careless work of a non-professional, the piastre and gas cartridge often break.

To assemble, you need to do everything in the reverse order.

  • Repairing the crosspiece of an office chair does not always make sense if it is plastic. Glue and soldering with a special soldering iron for plastics do not provide strength, they can only be used to seal small cracks.
  • You can attach the broken-off foot of the cross using a lining made of metal or plastic.Sometimes they use a plastic tube of a suitable diameter for this and fix it with glue or screws.
  • For broken or cracked metal crosses, welding is the best option.

Do-it-yourself gas lift repair of an office chair will help to save a considerable amount on the services of a master or buying a new thing. In this case, it is necessary to clearly determine the cause and severity of the malfunction; in many cases, the easiest way is to replace the entire cartridge. The part is not cheap, but new furniture is much more expensive.

When the chair starts to fall arbitrarily and the lift lever does not work, these are clear signs of a breakdown of the gas cartridge. We check it like this:

  • You need to unscrew the seat and see if the lever presses the cartridge gas valve. In a working mechanism, under pressure, the valve goes down, the gas cartridge extends.
  • The problem is sometimes a bent lift arm. Then you can gently straighten it to its original state.

To repair or replace the gas lift, you need to disassemble the chair completely. The process is described in the first part of the article (repair of the office chair cross). Installing a new part is much easier than removing a broken one, most importantly, without having to hammer.

  • It is necessary to determine the optimal seat height for you. Measure and record the result.
  • It is necessary to remove the crosspiece and disconnect the cartridge from the piastre, after unscrewing the seat.
  • Then the glass is removed and the parts are sequentially removed: washers, bearings, etc. It is important not to lose them and remember the installation order.
  • Then you need to pick up a tube or a rigid hose made of plastic with an inner diameter suitable for the axis of the lift. You will have to cut the tube at a comfortable seat height (this was done in the first step). For this purpose, you can use a plated plastic water pipe.
  • The resulting part is put on the stem and all parts of the chuck are installed in the reverse order.

Once assembled, the chair should behave normally. This method will help to restore the minimum efficiency of the chair and prevent "failures", but the gas lift will no longer work like new. In general, its complete replacement is the best option, for cheap and medium-priced seats, the cost of this spare part will not be high.

Gaslift replacement video:

Rocking mechanism replacement video: