Chromcraft Swivel Tilt Mechanism Repair Rebuild

If your chairs are leaning to one side, and the center post bushing is still good, this video will show you how to rebuild your swivel tilt mechanism for about $5 per chair instead of replacing the entire mechanism for $55+ per chair. After you have done one chair, the rest of them should take about 10 minutes each. If your spring adjustment cap is broken, that function can be replaced in another 10 minutes for less than $1.
The bushings used in this video are McMaster Carr part number: 6338K569 from www.mcmaster.com.

[@carg2528]

Finally! I suffer thru 5 or 6 videos before finding this one. Perfect. Thank you so much

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it helped!

[@melissarij8687]

I just returned from Sam’s Welding, Inc. in San Diego, who welded two of my Chromcraft chairs’ stems on the swivel/tilt mechanisms. Thank you for this video. It helped me figure out the actual problem with my chairs. Luckily the plastic bushings are ok for now. After welding, the chairs are as good as new! Only cost $20!! Thank you!

[@jonnyhuckins]

I think I have the same problem as you.

[@melissarij8687]

Thank you for the awesome video. My chair has a different issue. The center metal rod has too much movement. When sitting in the chair, it wobbles side to side. Do you have a fix for that problem? Thank you!

[@BethanyBlueGray]

Wonderful! Thank you so much for this video!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

You're welcome. Glad it was helpful.

[@EJH-p4b]

Many thanks for this excellent video. Fortunately, I located all items off the shelf at Lowes. The two bronze flange bearings are made by Hillman.

[@muddyooch]

I may have to take mine to a welder. Sooo disappointed in my Chromecraft chairs! The first set I had lasted over 25 years. The new ones barely lasted a year, they are shot! They all wiggle and tip and make so much noise! Thanks for the video.

[@olw546]

Thanks, been searching for a video like this for four years. Now i can repair my Blacksmith dinette chairs. Ebay price for replacement swivels now over $75. Bought two and they only lasted about a year. I had the same ides as you, but could not find suitable rubber bushings. Now will go with the bronze.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

You are welcome!

[@KilgoreTrout-w3n]

You did a great job here, why would they put in plastic bushing, planned adolescence I guess.

[@arncj18]

yea they are and were afraid of legal threat that's why they make them non serviceable, plus "Planned obsolescence" as they do nowadays and been doing for a while

[@christinekelcher5449]

Great instruction, thank you! I’m wondering if you happen to know of a compatible pneumatic height adjustment mechanism one could add to these chairs? Thank you!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Sorry, but I don't know about the pneumatic mechanisms. Good luck, and thanks for watching!

[@MarkGoodwin-m5o]

Thank you for going through this. I had just started pulling one of my chairs apart to try and replace those exact bushings.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

I hope it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@arncj18]

so as long as those metal pads are intact, you can upgrade your parts to last a life time

[@jimmaule1388]

Thank you so much! I have watched and watch videos on how to repair and only 1 mentioned the bushings , and all that was mentioned was "I turned my own". Nothing was mentioned of where they were, what size of how he installed them. Thank you for all of those details.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching.

[@raymarshall2995]

You're a natural born comedian. If Mr. Rodgers and Bob Ross were brothers, you'd be the 3rd brother. Love your enthusiasm, and how you smiled while speaking about your awesome camera woman/wife. I'm working on my chromecraft chairs right now, sanding all of the gold tone off, and showcasing that awesome shiny chrome. I gotta fix that broken plastic cap, too. Thank you for all the great help.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you found it helpful. And thanks for watching!

[@samgreen7284]

Great tutorial! Chair is like new. The only thing I did differently was I used a reciprocating saw to cut the head off of the shaft. Thanks for the help!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Thanks for sharing!

[@heatherhoyt9083]

So these are SUPPOSED to lean back ? I got a used set and they all lean back and I thought that was just the way they were ????

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Yes! They should lean back, but not side-to-side also... Thanks for watching!

[@marknpatsykistler3436]

Do you know if it is possible to shorten the leg assembly height? my mom got one and they are 19" high but she is short and wanted about 17"

[@jwsworkshop4169]

I don’t know of any way to shorten the chairs. If you had a way to cut the center post off squarely, it might work. Then you could post your solution on KZbin. Thanks for watching!

[@heathermurdy8358]

This was a fantastic tutorial, thank you for sharing your fixes for stuff like this! For someone who was raised in a break it and trash it generation, I appreciate people like you who help us solve problems, save some money and use our creativity.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it helped!

[@jeromemarsh2848]

Great tutorial, exactly what I needed! Thank you for the thoughtful and precise presentation! Good job!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the feedback!

[@davdwong5188]

Thanks, very helpful and detailed.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching!

[@randymartin2040]

Nice work. Thanks for sharing !!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Thanks for watching!

[@melissarij8687]

Can I please get an email address to ask you a question with photos of my issue? Thanks.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

If you are signed in to KZbin, you should be able to go to my channel (JW’s Workshop), “About” tab, and under “Details” should be a button to “View Email Address.” Thanks for watching!

[@melissarij8687]

@@jwsworkshop4169 Thank you. I couldn't see the "About" tab on my phone or Roku. I finally found it on my pc. I've sent you an email with a couple photos attached.

[@ttt7614]

Fantastic!!! you are a real DIY guy.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Thank you very much!

[@BarryAndrews-un4uh]

Great and useful video, thanks much. Don't have a Dremel but my Rotozip with a cutting wheel fit nicely into the space between the inner and outer swivel bases and neatly cut the pin. It was a simple fix after that.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

[@jameswelsh5102]

Just ordered a new replacement swivel-tilt mechanism for $130. Part is now obsolete so when inventory is gone, I'll be rebuilding thanks to you and your camerawoman/wife. Thanks for the blessing.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Wow, $130! Thanks for watching!

[@karenhaviland3691]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us this fix!!! I inherited swivel & tilt dining chairs & table from my parents & want to repair and continue using them. A grateful heart!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@arncj18]

o boy when i hear you brothers from across the pond, with "1689th's of an inch" i'm like thank God i am on metrics.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

I hear ya! I got to work with both systems for 40 years in manufacturing.

[@angelah7301]

Great tutorial! Shared with all of my friends! ❤️

[@carg2528]

Went to order the parts from McMaster but the shipping was 13.00 which is more than double the price of the parts. Can't do it. Will check my local hardware.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Ouch! Shipping on my order of 8 bushings was $8.39 which was still a lot. Most industrial supply houses should be able to get them if they don't have them.

[@carg2528]

@@jwsworkshop4169 Couldn't find the bushings in the local hardware so I went back to Mcmaster and order it.

[@therealjimmywebb]

From one JW to another JW, thank you for the informative video!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

You're welcome JW! Glad you found it informative.

[@robkilpat3143]

Thanks for the tutorial.

[@jwsworkshop4169]

You're welcome!

[@garyschaub1116]

First, JW, excellent tutorial! I appreciate that you did it after working on a few of the chairs and then made a clear presentation of the breakdown and solutions for each dimension of the problem. On my chairs, the stem has wiggled up and into the plate mechanism and that has generated so much play that they are unusable. I haven't "sacrificed" one of my chairs yet by grinding the pin out to see more clearly if the stem is supposed to be welded on, but I have considered it out of frustration given the dearth of relevant tutorials. But now maybe that has changed! Since you -- and many viewers -- have had a good look inside, is that stem supposed to be welded? If not, then is my problem just one of replacing the bushing inside of the cylinder? Thanks! Go KZbin DYIers!

[@jwsworkshop4169]

Gary, at about the 13:50 mark I mention a welded in cross support member. I looked at one of my chairs this morning, and that welded in piece is what holds the stem in place. It appears to be a piece of 3/16” x 1-1/2” flat bar with a hole in it for the stem to go through. It is welded all around the hole and then welded to the chair mechanism at the edges. With a flashlight and small mirror, you should be able to see if the welds are bad when you wiggle the stem. The good thing is, if you take the mechanism apart, all of the welds would be very accessible and could easily be re-done. Then you can make the “stem weld fix” KZbin video! Thanks for watching and for your comments! Good luck!

[@garyschaub1116]

@@jwsworkshop4169 Thanks! I will take a look. If it is the case on one, I bet it is the case on all four....

[@melissarij8687]

@@garyschaub1116 Did you ever tackle this repair. I think I have the same issue on two of my Chromcraft chairs. The pole move up and down inside the mechanism.

[@garyschaub1116]

@@melissarij8687 Hi Melissa, I did tackle this repair. JW was correct: there were welds intended to hold the stem in place. That weld had broken on each of my 4 "Black Prism" Chromecraft chairs. Since the weld was the problem and I lacked the equipment to fix it, I took the bases to a metal shop & had them re-welded. They charged about $60 per chair. That was a bit much, but they did get the job done and my chairs are usable again.

[@melissarij8687]

@@garyschaub1116 Did you have to take the mechanisms apart like in this video so they could be welded?

[@kmtech8342]

Great idea thanks man .. can i have your Instagram or any social media profil to discuss ..

[@jwsworkshop4169]

I just added an email address you can contact me on. It should be accessible from the “ABOUT” tab of my channel home page. Thanks for watching!