# Repairing an office chair?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-office-chair/239432>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 11, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-office-chair/239432 "2004-04-11T06:56:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-office-chair/239432/1 "2004-04-11T06:56:16Z")

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I had a serious “blowout” tonight. My (cheap) office chair (from Big Lots) came apart. More specifically, the entire tilt control mechanism shot off the front of the chair.

In looking at it, it appears that there’s a double-headed bolt that tensions the spring inside the tilt dial. It also appears that this bolt pulled through the mounting plate on the top of the chair base, and that’s what caused the break.

So, is there any way to use a bolt and washer combo to at least hold the chair together? Can I get a replacement base for it cheaply (the whole chair cost $40), or should I just scrap it and try to find a cheap replacement?

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**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-an-office-chair/239432/2 "2004-04-11T07:34:49Z")

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> [@brianjedi](#):
>
> … or should I just scrap it and try to find a cheap replacement?

Give that man a cigar!