Just bear in mind
--as you're trying to separate the base-- that it needs to be pulled directly UP, on the axis of the rod. That rod won't move.
Try to grasp the nylon washer with pliers, and see if it will come out. It should -- at this point, the only thing holding these elements together should be dirt & inertia. (WD40 might help, can't hurt.)
Spent about 30mins slowly...
Spent about 30mins slowly working that plastic washer off with two flat head screw drivers. It's amazing I managed to come away from that experience w/out getting stabbed or losing an eye.
When I finally separated the chair from the base I realized just how DIRTY that post was. I'm talking about original grease that's probably been dried out for the past 20 years. It was caked on the post making it a very rough and dry mess with tons of powder and dust. I ran to the hardware store and managed to sand down most of the roughness on the post and spent about 15 mins working on the base with a really long pipe cleaner to work out all the dust in there. Once I feel that all the dust has been removed I'll be ready to grease it up.
I found a plastic ring that fits on the post between the base. I assume it's purpose is to prevent metal on metal contact while swiveling. My next question revolves around greasing, What parts need to be greased? The whole post? Just the top part? I'm really just not sure how much I'll need. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks again guys.
Call Knoll: 800 343-5665 if you're in the US.
Or send them an email:
http://www.knoll.com/contactus/contactus.jsp
different swivel mechanism
Hello design addicts out there!
First, I want to apologize for any language mistakes because English is not my mother tongue. As I couldn't find any German forum on Tulip Chairs, I'll try my luck here.
I know that this thread is quite old, but maybe there are some tulip chair experts still browsing around.
I inherited a set of six chairs (alongside a wonderful extending table), which were purchased around mid-1970s. Some of the chairs have been to Knoll International for repair (of the swivel mechanism I guess) some years ago, but I don't know which ones.
One of the chairs swivels quite well, the others make these awful noises and don't rotate smoothly anymore.
This thread has been very helpful, because I got to know of this miraculous little "c-clamp" (which is called a Seeger-Ring or Sicherungsring in German, by the way...) and could get the bases and shells apart.
The "good" chair has the swivel mechanism as described here, with a big black plastic ring that keeps metal from going on metal.
The other five chairs have a different mechanism. The interior metal stem is exactly the same, but there is no black plastic swivel ring at all (also no small broken parts of it). Instead, there must have been a different mechanism including some small rings made of something like charcoal/carbon, which is ground to lots of "charcoal" dust and partly broken.
On the outside of the base, where the little "c-clamp" is situated, there is a ring also made of this "charcoal" material, partly broken. To make it clear: There's the "c-clamp", then another loose metal ring and ? fixed to the base ? you can see a third ring. With the "good" chair, this ring seems to be made of some kind of hard plastic (or metal?) material. With the five chairs, this fixed ring is made of this carbon material and now partly broken.
Does anyone know this "carbon" mechanism? Which one is the original mechanism? Did Knoll replace the plastic rings by something different or is it the other way round? As the stem is exactly the same, do you think I can use these big plastic rings on all the chairs? And finally: Where do I get these??? The Knoll dealers around here were not very helpful ( "We have to send the chairs to Italy"). I tried one in another city and he told me that the price for the swivel mechanism replacement set is about 50 Euros per set (plus postage), but couldn't tell me what kind of parts the set contains. Do you think it might work with my chairs that never had such a big swivel plastic ring?
Has, by any chance, anyone found a replacement for the swivel plastic ring in a hardware store?
THANKS FOR ANY HINTS AND HELP!!!
Thanks for posting the...
Thanks for posting the diagram Marva, just what I needed, my chair needs a new clip and I need to know if any other parts are missing. I have taken the liberty of resizing the image to 500 wide for the forum and posting below together with a fixed link to the original larger diagram.
On my chair the large plastic ring at the top of the base (part 10008210006) is damaged, does anyone know if Knoll will supply this part alone, or if there is an off the shelf alternative that can be used?
The early version help guide
Hi
I have a help guide for the early version of the tulip.
Pictures include the patent, a stem repair, and alternate bushing.
See the facebook link. https://www.facebook.com/AtomicRescue
The early version did not use the snap ring. It used a bolt that must be unscrewed from the bottom. Its a flat head, 5/16th, coarse thread.
Has anyone ever seen the very very first edition that is shown on google patents?
see this media fire gallery
http://www.mediafire.com/view/arm48h9sc3gql/saarinen%20tulip%20chairs#9p...
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