In detail: do-it-yourself office chair repair armrests from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.
An armchair is a common part of a living room interior. Its frequent use leads to a deterioration in appearance. Do-it-yourself chair repair will help to cope with this problem, during which the upholstery and seat filler are updated.
You shouldn't throw away old furniture right away. You can easily make a bright interior detail from it without going to a specialized workshop. Before you start remodeling an old chair with your own hands, you need to decide on the type of breakdown, the type of product and prepare the necessary tools and materials. There are several types of operations that you can carry out yourself:
Depending on the experience and the complexity of the design, these procedures will take from 1 to 4 hours.
Knowing how to correctly repair a chair, most of the procedures for its restoration can be performed in a home workshop. To do this, you need to prepare all the accessories, materials and tools.
If the set of tools for the restoration of furniture is always approximately the same, then the choice of accessories for the repair of chairs depends on the type of breakdown and the type of product. To repair an office chair, you will need casters, a crosspiece and a gas lift. All of them are selected according to the type of construction. The minimum set of tools you need to upgrade your home chair:
- hand tools: hammer, screwdriver, pliers;
- scissors, hand stapler;
- sling, high-strength tape, textiles and accessories;
- seat filler: foam rubber, synthetic winterizer, batting;
- PVA glue;
- gauze;
- fabric for upholstery.
This is a basic set of tools that will be supplemented depending on the type of repair. For example, in order to remodel an old chair with wooden armrests, wooden structures are needed; You can remodel furniture by sanding, further painting or varnishing. This will require additional equipment and materials.
Video (click to play). |
Do-it-yourself repair of any chair begins with its disassembly and study of the design. Main internal parts of the structure:
- wooden frame;
- filler on the back and seat;
- textile or rubber slings;
- armrests;
- plywood on the back wall;
Consideration of these details will help determine which components need to be replaced, repaired when remaking old Soviet armchairs.
Parts of the chipboard seat that begin to crumble must be replaced. Breakages and cracks in the wood are coated with glue and fixed with staples. All parts in the spike joints are carefully knocked out with a rubber mallet so that there is no damage to the polish and edges. The grooves are cleaned from the glue with a scalpel or knife. The details of the spike joints are coated with PVA glue, the bandage is wound on the spike and all the details are hammered into place. It takes about a day to dry completely.
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.
However, the problem here was that such a bushing 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 in order 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 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 shavings 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 bushing.
After testing the chair, it turned out that everything is functioning normally, the chair rotates, the height of the chair's rise 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, you can 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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The armchair is an integral attribute of the interior, which is found in almost every home. A person uses this furniture almost every day, which leads to a deterioration in its condition. An operation such as repairing seats will help restore the technical parameters of the structure.
Furniture repair is a complex operation that depends on the type of product and the breakdown itself. Today, such operations are rarely carried out on their own. It is desirable to entrust the solution of such tasks to experienced specialists who will perform them much faster and better.
Furniture restoration is the restoration of not only its functionality, but also its appearance. A feature of upholstered furniture is that it uses fabric upholstery. To repair the internal structure, the fabric will need to be dismantled or replaced. This operation also requires some skill and effort.
Chair breakage is not always a problem, as you can try to restore it yourself. There are several types of operations that can be easily performed at home:
- Padding. This process involves replacing the old fabric with a new one. This also includes changing the filler (foam rubber, etc.) and restoring the internal structure of the chair. If necessary, the wooden surface itself can be restored.
- Upholstery. This approach involves upholstering the surface of the chair with fabric in order to update its appearance. Often, such operations are performed with old rigid structures, the surface of which is not so easy to restore with paint.
- Repair. This is a general concept that includes the previously discussed operations. But often this word is understood as all repair work related to the restoration of the state of the chair frame. This can include strengthening the structure with metal corners, replacing legs or a seat, and restoring the surface of the material with paint and sanding.
To carry out all the previously described operations, one should not only have experience, but also stock up on a variety of special tools.
Modern armchairs are made from a variety of materials. The design of such modifications consists of many elements that can be replaced if necessary. Often these chairs include office models that are equipped with a gas-lift mechanism. For the restoration of such products, you may need several types of components:
- Rollers. This mechanism is made from various types of plastic. When choosing this product, it is important to consider its purpose, connector type and fixing method.
- Gaslift. Almost all office chairs are equipped with this element, which allows the chair to be held at a certain height. There are several types of these designs on the market today. It is important to pay attention to the type of mechanism that was previously used in the damaged chair.
- Crosspiece. Plays the role of a pivot element. It is carried out in the form of a 5-ray star, to which the rollers are attached. When buying, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the material and the way of joining the parts.
There are many other components that will be needed when repairing such furniture. This includes everything from small knobs and bolts to specialized fabrics.
One of the ways to restore an old leather chair is to stretch it. This process is quite lengthy and laborious. New fabric is bought first. The upholstery can be done like leather and other popular materials. Some experts also recommend purchasing stuffing materials (foam rubber, batting). To simplify the hauling operation, you also need to have a stapler, nails, a hammer, etc.
The algorithm for solving this problem can be described in several sequential steps:
The process of upholstering a chair is slightly different from a constriction, although in many ways it is very similar to it. This operation involves covering the chair with a cloth. For such purposes, only furniture is used that was not originally equipped with fabric upholstery.
Upholstery technology involves the performance of several sequential operations:
All other elements are sheathed according to the same principle. The material can be trimmed if necessary.
Old chairs are often very sturdy and durable. But after a long service life, they lose their attractive appearance. Do not rush to throw away such furniture, as it can be easily restored.
A modern office chair is a functional and comfortable piece of furniture equipped with a rather complex mechanism that sooner or later fails. In such a situation, there are three options for the development of events: buy a new one, give it to a specialized workshop, or make an office chair repair with your own hands.
As practice has shown, it is quite possible to perform such work on your own. The only thing that is required of the wizard is to strictly follow the sequence of actions and follow the instructions that will be given in this publication.
Today, there are three types of chairs on the office furniture market:
- For the leader
Such a piece of furniture usually has the maximum possibilities: a five-beam steel crosspiece; synchromechanism (a device that makes the seat and backrest repeat the movements of the owner); mechanisms for adjusting the backrest resistance, seat depth, negative tilt, etc. - For staff
Furniture of this type has more modest characteristics and functionality. Most of the varieties are lightweight (providing high mobility), equipped with mechanisms for adjusting the height of the seat, armrests, backrest angle. - For visitors
Office chairs of this modification are simply beautiful, stable and comfortable furniture, devoid of any functionality. Often they do not even have a rotation mechanism and are produced on four legs, instead of one supporting leg with a crosspiece on wheels.
Despite the variability of designs and functional content, almost all chairs consist of one set of elements:
- Five-beam cross (base). This part is made of metal or plastic. The first option is of higher quality and more expensive
- Rollers... Just like the cross, the castors can be made of metal or plastic. However, the mount and internal hinge of any roller is metal.
- Pneumatic cartridge (gas lift). The part serves as a chair leg and is responsible for its "elasticity"
- Swing mechanism contributes to the axial deflection of the chair and its fixation in one position. On expensive models, a mechanism with an offset axis is installed, which provides the most smooth swing
- Piastra... This element is a metal platform with a lever. Serves to change the height of the seat relative to the cross
- Permanent contact - an element that connects the back with the seat and is responsible for changing its position
Most office chair models have armrests. In cheap models, these elements are made of plastic; in more expensive ones - from anodized or stainless steel.
As noted above, an office chair is a rather complex device and any of its structural elements may fail.
The problem of this element may be destruction at the junction of the rays. Here the material from which the cross is made is important.
As a rule, the base is a hollow structure, inside which you can insert a polypropylene pipe of a suitable size and cross-section. It, in turn, must be rigidly fixed to the base and the damaged beam.
Plastic parts cannot be spliced with glue or a soldering iron. due to heavy loads on the legs. There is no point in restoring the integrity of this element. The best option would be to completely replace the damaged structure with a glass-filled polyamide base.
In order to dismantle the cross-piece of an office chair, you need:
- Remove rollers... As a rule, they do not have a rigid fixation and can be easily removed from the mountings. For clarity of the process, it is recommended to watch a video: