Note
I had an issue last year with a piece of Eames furniture that I could not find a part for. It simply did not exist any longer. Within a short time frame, they developed an identical piece (consisting of multiple materials) and checked up with me along the way to make sure that I thought it was as close to the original as it could get. Special K is not trying to make fakes of anything, they simply want us enthusiasts to have access to affordable, well made, proper performing parts for our beloved pieces of design so that they may live on for decades to come.
If anyone finds a issue with their products, challenge them to improve it. They will make every effort to do so. They have an admirable dedication to their customers and we should all applaud them for it. Yes, the original shock mounts were not perfect. What did they do though? Redeveloped the shock to perform better.
Furthermore, yes, some of the images used are from other sites. There is reason for this. Any images of their parts are their images. Most images of details are their images. The only occasion where I found images from other sources are when the images were used only to identify that their product (which they photographed) is meant for use on.... whatever the product may be. If I sell an iPod on ebay, the first image that shows up is a default stock iPod image to represent the product I am selling. That can be taken as incorrect, however, Special K is only using other images to make a connection between what they have manufactured and what they are meant for. When they developed an example from a rare model of mine, they asked for written consent to use an image of my furniture piece with their new product on it.
Not everyone can afford to own every piece of furniture that they sell parts for. Does anyone here really see an issue with using a stock image of an LCW when there is a listing for an LCW part, being clearly advertised as a newly manufactured replacement part? It is to help us.
Lastly, as many may wonder, do I have some kind of deal with Special K to promote them? Absolutely not. I have only had wonderful experiences dealing with them, as they have always been passionate about these wonderful designs and want to help us keep them and use them for generations to come.
Note 1
With regard to the shock mounts from Special K and their service overall, I can say that I have never been so pleased when doing business with someone else. They are absolutely wonderful for customer service and are always willing to help explain/address any uncertainties you may have. If you find an issue, they are willing to help solve it, in any way that they can.
Regarding the shock mounts specifically, it seems that most of us do not have the vast knowledge of those that are producing them and therefore are unable to make judgement upon which is best from the different offerings. Hume, Depury, Herman Miller, and Special K all have their own variations, which all seem to be well developed. I have experience with Herman Miller's originals, their replacement service, and Special K's. For 1/5 of the cost, Special K provides a quality product that they have tested and thoroughly developed.
If any of you have doubts about it, do not bother to wonder on this forum, just ask. Request that they provide you with compelling statistics, data, or video to make the point that they have developed a suitable product. They will. I'm sure they will simply ask that you judge the product accordingly and to check back if there are further concerns. Considering the incredible effort they make to please all of us Eames enthusiasts, I find it sad to see so much bashing of their product.
DavidR, if special k cannot...
DavidR, if special k cannot afford to have at least seen every piece of furniture that they sell parts for, then how are they offering compelling statistics for what to use and how to repair these chairs? This doesn't make sense. They cannot purport to be experts at repairs, and then never have seen the chairs they are supposed experts at repairing.
It's a red flag for me if someone is advertising any product as the best solution for something they have no direct experience with. I mean, come on, they have so little experience with the pieces they're making parts for they can't even be bothered to take their own pictures?
Your response has little logic and simply sounds like an ad campaign.
By the way, just because someone has taken a photo of something and shown it on the internet, doesn't make it a "stock" photo available for free use.
kin1117, I am glad that you...
kin1117, I am glad that you are authorized to speak on behalf of Vitra and that you have confirmed that this is a legitimate use of Vitra content.
Ebay item number 320640293225 has an image copied directly from Vitra's miniature collection.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/320640293225?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3...
http://www.vitra.com/en-us/home/products/miniatures-collection-1/gallery...
And Ebay item # 220798599785...
And Ebay item # 220798599785 uses an image that has been used in several books.
You will find it on page 31 of "Eames: Furniture 1941-1978" by Brigitte Fitoussi and published by Assouline. Page 76 of this book indicates that Herman Miller is the copyright owner of this image, not special k. This image is featured in a number of other books, all with copyright indicated to be Herman Miller.
But kin1117, you're saying using Herman Miller copyrighted material to sell shockmounts in competition with Herman Miller is a legitimate use, so I'll take your word for it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EAMES-MILLER-CHAIR-PARTS-LCW-OR-DCW-BACK-SHOCK-M...
Don't take anabelle too seriously, kin1117.
... edited by DA ...
She pops up here every once in a while to express outrage at trivial facts about MC's competitors -- SpecialK's apparent use of images they don't own, Modernica's sourcing of some components from China, etc. -- and then she goes away. She never posts anything else; it's safe to ignore her.
I recently took it upon me to restore a very worn out (I like a challenge) Eames Lounge Chair (replica, a real one is way out of my budget). because I fell in love with the (red) cow hide upholstery. The replica had no rubber schock mounts, but thick blocks of plywood. With a rigid construction like that, something had to give, and indeed, some of the seat plywood was delaminating a tad. Fixed it with injections of epoxy. I ordered rubber shock mounts in the UK. Early in this very ancient thread I found commendations for Epoxy resin. The supplier of the shock mounts recommended JB woodweld. It’s not available here in NL, but similar ‘the world strongest’ resins failed me. I understand why. Any epoxy resin cures rigidly, while the rubber of the shock mounts ‘wriggles’ (by lack of another description). Back in the day, polymer high tack compounds didn’t exist and some of them withstand a lateral force (the sliding force, mainly hammering the shock mounts when you lean on the back supports) while staying flexible, up to 25 kg per cm2. That is for a shock mount of +/- (11x5)=55cm2 1375 kg. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think that could work.
Any comments?
I recently removed the old broken shock mounts with new mounts from a seller mentioned here before. The mounts sit in a routed depression. I glued with a fairly thin coat of PC-7 that has cured over 3 weeks.
Now I come to attach and as seen in the photo, the spacing is off. Does anyone have a suggestion to fix this?
Simple geometry suggests that this situation could only result if the new shock mounts are substantially thicker than the originals (if, as you said, the glue film thickness is minimal). Did you remove all of the old glue residue from the routed recesses? That might make a difference, too.
Seems like the only remedy is the least attractive one. Ouch. My condolences.
FTR, I've had to re-glue almost a dozen of these on a set of DCMs that I bought new in 2000. In my case, though, the mounts all popped off clean and intact so it was a (not so) straightforward matter of removing the old glue residue and re-gluing. I also used PC-7 as Alfie Hume recommended at the time and they've all held securely going on well over a decade now.
Uuughh! I hoped I could avoid removing the mounts I just carefully attached with PC-7 and let cure for 3-4 weeks.
The mounts are from Special K and others seem to be happy with them, so I don't think they were too thick.
I removed the old broken shocks by cutting them off with a utility knife and then paring down the residue a micron (what it seemed like) at a time with that knife until not a speck remained. I hope someone tells me a better way to remove these new shocks.
Perhaps the problem was that I did not clamp the shocks while the glue dried (someone warned against over=clamping so I squeezed with my hands and then let them rest to dry). Maybe that added the extra thickness...
In any case, thank you for responding.
Peter
Yeah, big bummer for sure. I sliced, chiseled, scraped and pared old glue residue from all eight of those shallow recesses down to bare wood on my four chairs. I feel your pain, believe me.
Anyway, I measured my chairs out of curiosity and the mounts project from the surface of the back panels almost exactly 1/2-inch for purposes of comparison. I remember the recesses being approximately 1/8th-inch deep once the old glue was cleaned out, so that would put the mounts at about 5/8ths total thickness.
Hmmm... I just noticed that your chair is an LCM, not a DCM like mine. The dimensions of the back panels are different on the two models, I believe. Did you acquire yours with the back panel attached? In other words, are you sure the back panel goes with the frame? Just a thought...
Ultimately, though, I think Special K owes you a full refund at the very least and maybe a new set of mounts that fit properly (if they even offer them) at no cost. Be sure to include a link to this thread in your correspondence. Otherwise, talk to Hume Modern or Modern Conscience (assuming you are in North America and that they are still in business). Be sure to detail your project needs and ask about thicknesses of their spares for reference.
Thank you. The photos really help. My shocks seem to be about 1/16" thicker than yours but that is probably because I didn't clamp them. The metal bracket seems to be exactly as wide as yours with shock centers perhaps 1/6-1/4" too far apart.
Would it make sense to drill the holes in the metal bracket to elongate them?
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