chair repair 101

On Sunday I had my favorite chair give way. Perhaps it's my increasing girth or more to the point, weight, that did the deed but I'd like to point the way to a different culprit.

Here's the scene of my hasty and somewhat clumsy interim repair. It took a little time to diagnose since my first impression of what went wrong was a false one. I thought a binding strap had given way--it looked like it'd ripped--but apparently it was supposed to be that way.

What had actually happened was that screw there on the table amongst the repair items had sheared right through. Even with my 220 lbs on the chair it shouldn't have done that. Perhaps the screw was faulty?







As we get a little closer to the screw we see that it's not a factory fault but rather a design issue. To save a little money the company used filled screws instead of solid ones.

No doubt every metal fitting on the chair is of hollow fill fittings. I'm amazed that the chair has lasted as long as it has. I've had it 2 years and I guess this could have happened at any time.

To fix the chair I'll have to remove the part of the screw that's been sheared off. No mean task unless you have the proper tools. What I need is a small tap and die--which I should have somewhere but I can't find them yet. I've had them for years for use on bicycle parts when screws in the drive train get sheared off. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the set so I had to make a temporary repair instead.

This is what it looks like. It works but it's ugly as Hell.

Some 20 gauge wire to keep the metal tubes in the right alignment and a coat hanger for strength. It's not pretty, nor ideal, but it works for now. So, I have to find that tap soon before the wire gives out.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Glad to hear that you didn't get hurt! That is really cheap of them to use inferior screws. It almost makes the item unfit for purpose in my book!

That is some repair job you did! :-)
Star said…
MacGyver's got nothin' on you! Michele sent me today.
kenju said…
I'd buy a new chair pretty soon, if I were you...LOL.
carmilevy said…
I'm smelling a lawsuit on this one. Seriously, it saddens me how many companies cut corners these days. It's almost as if there's no longer any pride in workmanship.

One wonders what we've lost in the process.
Michelle said…
LMAO @ the fixing job! Its a good thing we're not married Dave, you'd be wishing for new eardrums!
srp said…
WHAT!!!!! NO DUCT TAPE????!!!!
utenzi said…
Are you fishing for a proposal, Michelle? Aren't you a little too far away for that? :-p

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