Does anyone have experience with any of the different reproduction bases available for Herman Miller fiberglass chairs.
I know, original is a lot nicer, but it gets expensive and very hard to find if you want to have an identical set of 5-6 bases.
Which one is closest to the original? Which are good quality? Good price?
dont buy Krypton
I spent almost 2 MONTHS waiting for my base!!! - which was shipped to the wrong address (and lost) once, arrived broken the second time. Finally I told him I wanted a refund and he threatened me with bad feedback on ebay if I left negative feedback for him. I decided it wasnt worth the wrangling, and I'd waited long enough - so he sent me a third, unbroken base. But definitely not a customer service oriented kind of guy.
I'd guess Modernica is closest to the original - offering the zinc finishes instead of chrome, and having worked with the original HM tooling. If I ever need a base in the future I'm paying the extra and going with them.
http://www.modernica.net
Thanks for your...
Thanks for your recommendations. I haven't seen the Modernica bases for sale separately, but I will have a look.
Has anyone had any experience with other bases? I have seen the Am Woodworks website and the bases looks good. I wrote them an email, but they never answered...
Re: whos that? -About the krypton bases, was it the seller called 'Krypton1" on ebay who sold you the base?
The Ebay feedback system is a hassle and I never dare to leave bad feedback, because even though the seller might have earned it, I know it will come right back at me... very stupid system.
But we can always leave bad feedback here in the forum and warn each other...
against my own advice
In a moment of money induced stupidity I bought another base from Krypton - despite my miserable experience the first time. Perhaps I thought the first experience was a result of horribly bad luck. Nope - just incompetence.
I ordered a Low Rod base from him because it was 20$ cheaper than Modernica. It arrived quick enough, but the base:
a) is not like the original design. It sits up too much, and seems to be a little higher than the originals
b) was made defectively - the small tags that the screws pass through were welded very haphazardly. The back set was off center about 1/2 inch on one side. In the front, one tag was welded 3 1/8" from the center, while the other was welded 2 3/4"... meaning the chair sits crooked on the base. At least it would have if the tags actually lined up with the shockmounts. I sent it back to him within 24 hours. He offered a full refund, including shipping - but it took him 2 weeks to actually process the refund.
In the meantime I went ahead with the Modernica order. The base arrived with no problems, in a big Modernica box. The welds are neat, the rods are not spindly, they include hardware... It fits the chair perfectly. IT IS WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY.
Lucifersum - if you're looking for a cats cradle go with Modernica.
Eiffel bases of poor quality
I received four 50's style chrome Eiffel bases from an e-bay seller that was supposed to provide Modernica bases (along with some shells). They ended up being from ... hmm lets say an "Engineering" company. They were very poorly made. The rod ends bent for the glides and for mounting to the chair were all bent to different angles. One of every four legs was bent correctly, so that the glide sat flat. The other glides were at different angles, causing the glide edge to dig into the floor. At the mounts, they were at angles that poke into the mount. The bends for the glides were cracked around the edges. This guy sells these on ebay and he has received good reviews. I am an engineer myself and maybe I am just picky, but I think that I could have made better bends with my teeth.
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