Dilemma

Friday, January 16, 2009


So I bought new plastic glides for my Eames shell chairs with H bases and I'm having trouble replacing them with the new ones. The photo above sort of illustrates my dilemma.

You see, the glide is made of several parts (from "top" to bottom): metal nail/pin + square washer + plastic cap + plastic [circular] foot

My chairs had the washers and cap, but not the foot. I was able to remove the cap and washer (although it was tough), but I don't know how to wedge the new glide in. The square washer and cap fit very snugly. I'm afraid to hammer the glide too hard.

[Edit: I replaced all the glides, it's nothing brute force and bit of patience wouldn't fix. I did, however, break a drill bit trying to remove a broken cap. I ended up needing: a hammer, Ikea wrench (something big to hammer, like a peg), and Pliers]

Some resources for Eames Shell Chairs:

2 comments:

mila said...

how did you remove the glides? you say "force", but could you clarify? i have a bunch of stacking frames that are trashed, but the glides have value, so i'm hoping to remove and sell. any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks.

h said...

I think I basically took the pliers and got really good grip, and then just wiggled it back-and-forth until the glide came loose.

I could imagine heating the metal leg with a hair blow dryer (so it expands) might also help the situation a bit.