Need help with "feet" for tubular chair legs

[omni550]

My BIL bought 6 of these chairs because he likes the aesthetic appearance. Sadly, right after the first time we sat on them, the rubber "feet" (which are inserts in the tubular legs) started to fail.

Here's what the legs and original "feet" (which are rubber inserts that were so soft they tore/broke the first time we sat on them) look like.

I'd love to replace the existing feet with the black nylon articulating glide inserts. The trouble is, the only source I could find for ones that are small enough to fit the legs is in the U.K. (and they seem to be sold in large quantities).

I'm hoping perhaps someone here can point me to a possible source in the U.S.

Tube O.D. = 16mm (.631") and Tube I.D. = .456"

omni

(Sorry, I don't know how to upload images to merge with the corresponding text. The first 3 pix are of the current chair/leg/foot. The last picture is the articulated glide that I'm seeking.)

 

[FIREd]

Since the outside diameter of the leg is ~5/8", I found those "rubber leg tips" on amazon:

Amazon.com: 5/8" BLK Rubb Leg Tip: Home & Kitchen

Rubber Leg Tips Black,5/8" - Amazon.com

They don't go inside the tube like the feet you were looking for, they slip on the outside of the tube.

 

[powerplay]

Here is a site to look around and see if anything might work for your needs.

5/8" OD Gator Round Plastic Insert Leg Glides Easy Parts Divison of Glen Products

I will guess that shipping costs will be the big ticket item, but you could maybe order several types and see what works best. The one I linked are $0.27/each.

 

[Telly]

Check the hardware aisles at Home Depot. There is a display of all sorts of different chair glides, as of a year or so ago (the last time I looked) they had a selection of the good type that slide onto the outside diameter of the tubing, while a grabber goes up the ID to hold it on.

They have a metal sleeve that slides onto the OD, that has a captive but articulating flat round foot attached to them. The foot is metal formed around a protruding nylon glide, so only the nylon touches the floor.

As noted by others in this thread, 5/8" - .625" which is within mfg. tolerances of the OD of the tubing legs you have.

These have been standard on chairs for many decades. Should be easy to find.

 

[omni550]

Thanks for all the prompt responses.

I had no idea Home Depot might have something like that in stock. I will first check there and my local hardware store to see what's available around here.

If I come up empty-handed, I'll pursue the online sites.

Thanks, again.

omni

 

[omni550]

Visited my local Home Depot today. All they had were white rubber tips (that look like the ones you'd put on the end of a walking cane). I know my BIL will not find those aesthetically acceptable.

The locally-owned hardware store didn't have anything for 5/8" legs.

I checked Home Depot and Lowe's websites, but that didn't come up with anything useful either.

Time to start checking the websites that y'all provided.

omni

 

[Telly]

About 2 years ago or so I bought a few packages of them at H/D. For 3/4" legs I think. They must have dropped them. I looked around here to see if I still had a package around, to get the mfg's name off of. Haven't found it.

The type with a metal sleeve that slide onto the outside like I described are the best.
The type that only goes inside the leg have a basic problem - The part is usually plastic, and the weight of the user bears down on the tubular leg, and the thin-wall tubing bears onto only a plastic rim on the foot. All that weight concentrated on a thin cross-section (the cross-sectional area of the tubing wall) cuts into the plastic. And this cutting is aggravated by sliding the chair with the user on it up to a table, like when you sit down, and "bump" you chair forward to final position. And when the user "rocks back" the chair onto it's back legs.

We have some older chairs that have an all-plastic flat foot that is internal mount, and they have held up so far. BUT the chair is made of at least 1 1/2" diameter steel tube, and the tubing is very stout. The wall of the tubing is thick, it's more like pipe. They are pretty heavy chairs. The thick wall, and the large diameter create a lot of cross-sectional area to spread the weight out on the plastic foot with, that is why I think they have survived so far.

 

[omni550]

Telly,

I appreciate your explanation. When you stop to think aobu it, we often put a lot of different stresses on chair legs.

It sounds like glides with metal ferrules that fit around the outside of the chair leg tube are likely the best (and most durable) solution.

omni