Eames DAR felt glide problem

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Lowrent

(@lowrent)

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Joined: 15 years ago

Posts: 4

20/12/2011 9:59 pm

Last summer, I got 4 DSR chairs from Herman Miller, with felt glides to protect my hardwood floor.
We use them everyday and have no problem.
I added 2 DAR chairs some weeks ago and the felt pads are already slipping off the glides.
Does anyone else have this problem ?

I have spent some time this morning analyzing what could be the source of this.
I used a digital protractor to measure the angles of the chair legs and made a surprising discovery.
DSR
Leg angle : 24°
Leg curve before feet : 13°
Leg angle at floor : 11° (24° - 13°)
Glide tilt : +/- 6°
Glide angle at floor : ≈ 5° (11° - 6°)
DAR
Leg angle : 30°
Leg curve before feet : 13°
Leg angle at floor : 17°
Glide tilt : +/- 6°
Glide angle at floor : ≈ 11°
Picture :
In both cases, the glides are not parallel to the floor.
And in the DAR case, the angle difference with the floor is way too much for the felt adhesive to resist.
I can't seriously be the first to realize this fault !?

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Pegboard Modern

(@davidpegboardchicago-com)

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Posts: 1303

21/12/2011 12:35 am

Ball socket at foot?
I'm not familiar with contemporary production eiffel tower bases, but the vintage chairs (except the 1st generation) had a ball and socket connection at the foot which allowed the foot to adjust to an uneven floor. I assumed the current production was made in the same manner and would be shocked if the feel are not self leveling.

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Lowrent

(@lowrent)

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Posts: 4

21/12/2011 12:41 am

The glides are snapped to a...
The glides are snapped to a ball joint and are indeed self-leveling, but not much (+/- 6 degrees as I wrote).
The angle at which the legs hit the ground is too steep for the self-leveling glides to compensate.

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Orleans USA

(@orleans-usa)

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Posts: 220

21/12/2011 1:17 am

Same thread as a couple months ago
Eiffel tower bases have two types of glides...
Dome of Silence and a snap on boot.
I don't recall seeing glides that do not swivel with the legs of the base.

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NULL NULL

(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)

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21/12/2011 1:32 am

I guess
The angle on the arm chair base is too great so that the glide can not level itself to the ground, even with the swivel. Way to go, Vitra.

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tktoo

(@tktoo)

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Posts: 2287

21/12/2011 2:15 am

Seems like a flaw to me.
And a legitimate complaint to make to HM. It's not like they're not charging enough for the things.
You could try pulling the glides off and filing the ends of the legs to the correct angle, but why should you have to?

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Pegboard Modern

(@davidpegboardchicago-com)

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21/12/2011 2:55 am

Lowrent
In your photo it appears that the glide is perfectly in line with the leg, not angled on the ball socket at all. Seems that if there is weight on it, it would shift to level with the floor.
Oh, and a lesson I think could be gleaned from this... buy vintage.

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NULL NULL

(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)

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21/12/2011 4:21 am

I think
That putting weight on the chair is what is making the glides pop off... because the angle is too great.

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Poach

(@chrome1000hotmail-com)

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22/12/2011 2:02 am

Replace with non-felted glides
The standard nylon glides (no felt) are very forgiving, and shouldn't scratch your wood floor.

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Lowrent

(@lowrent)

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Joined: 15 years ago

Posts: 4

31/01/2012 11:39 pm

Interesting article related...
Interesting article related to my problem
http://blog.modernica.net/?p=25671
HM has modified the legs of the original design, which had narrower legs. Well done !

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NULL NULL

(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)

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31/01/2012 11:59 pm

Yes but
We already knew that.

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Lowrent

(@lowrent)

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16/07/2013 9:37 pm

I have received a message...
I have received a message from HM this morning. They have changed the bases!
They will swap my bases with the new design.
I'll report the changes in august, after the swap.

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tktoo

(@tktoo)

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16/07/2013 10:27 pm

Best possible resolution.
Illustrates a commitment on HM's part to ongoing customer service. Good on them.
I just wish that when the shock mounts started popping off my set of DCMs, they could have come up with a solution that didn't involve shipping all of the chairs back to MI at my expense.

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