Your office chair is the only thing that relates to your comfort during those hectic hours of work pressure and any discomfort here means disappointment. From start till end, this is the thing that holds your body. And not having proper support, comfort and stability here is something you don’t want to add into your already pressurized moments.
However, sometimes, you can’t help it and end up finding a faulty part that needs your attention. And one major component that works constantly with augmenting functionality is the chair casters. Even if you use a chair mat to protect your floors, a problematic chair wheel can still cause minor damage to your wooden floors. And so, you must think seriously about removing and replacing it with a new one.
Of course, you don’t need a new chair, the removal and replacement parts are very simple. And to make you realize that, today we will be talking about how to remove office chair wheels as well as the process of replacing them. Enjoy!
How to Remove Wheels from Office Chair
For the first part, we will be only talking about the process of how you should remove the wheels from an office chair. Let’s Get into It!
Bring It to Upside Down Position
To start, you need to turn the chair over and make wheels face the air. The head of the chair should be on ground. So that you can have a clearer view of the bottom side and access better. If the chair is too weighty then make sure you get help from a friend to turn it upside down.
Eliminating of Threaded Stem Caster
The next step to remove casters from office chair involves threaded stem. If your caster is secured with this type of screw, then simply twisting it should be enough for removing. You want to twist the thing in a clockwise manner. If clockwise motion makes the caster move, then keep on going and it should be enough.
Eliminating Grip Stem Caster
Now some casters do not allow unscrewing. In this case, a grip stem is a system that you need to deal with. Apply some lubricating oil on the area where chair meets caster. You want to place one hand on the chair leg. Place another hand on the caster.
Now give it a pull. You can use a spray oil for the process. This is available in most hardware stores. If there’s no budge noticeable, then use gloves or a towel to grip things better.
In some chairs, instead of the stem mechanism, a swivel plate might be used. This basically stays with a chair leg and looks square in shape. You can use a screwdriver to get this plate out if that’s the case.
Using Prybar or Screwdriver in Case of No Budge
In some cases, the caster may be too rusted. And this may lead to obstacles for removing it with pulling out. In this circumstance, you should use a wide flat-head screwdriver. Also, you will need a nail pulling slot included pry bar. The pry bar’s slot should be enough spacious to hold caster stem. Usually, the stem is slightly more than 13 mm.
The place where caster meets chair, you will insert screwdriver’s head right here. Then simply turn it. Do the running very gradually and you’ll notice that the caster is starting to move upward.
It should be moving away from the chair. If this does not happen with turning motion then try rotating. You want to try various angles here. So that more leverage can help you to pull the caster out of chair.
Using pry bar to remove caster wheels from office chair is the next alternative you should try after screwdriver. Position pry bar’s slot right into the place between chair and castor. It should be over the stem.
Use force to pull the caster out. And after trying for a while, it should pop out. You can also ask a friend to hold chair from another side while you are pulling the caster.
How to Replace Caster Wheels on Office Chair
So now that you have a crystal-clear idea on removing the caster wheel from office chair hopefully, we can move onto next phase. And it’s about how to replace caster wheels on office chair with the new one. Let’s Go with It!
Buying Replacement Caster
The first thing to change office chair casters is buying a new one that matches well. You want to measure stem part using a ruler for finding right substitute. If your chair has a swivel plate, don’t forget to calculate its width as well.
To measure the previous wheel, you need to consider from front to back. Usually, it should be somewhere between 5.1 to 6.4 centimeters. Now if you previously had a bad experience with rolling the chair since there’s a rug on floor, then go for a larger wheel.
Screwing the Threaded Caster
Now we are entering the main process of how to replace caster wheels on office chair. For this, you need to clean the area first where you’ll be installing new caster. After you are done with cleaning, focus on aligning. I’m talking about threaded caster here. You want to align the threaded stem along with leg of chair. Next, simply screw it until there’s no turning noticeable.
In Case of Grip Caster
To replace wheels on office chair with a grip mechanism, you’ll have to follow a different route from threaded one. Onto the chair leg, you’ll simply push grip caster. Keep an eye on the caster top.
If it flushes with the chair leg bottom then stop pushing. If you think caster is not getting into the hole, then use some lubrication. You can use any lubricating oil such as WD-40 for this process. Apply it within the leg inside part. You can also use a rubber mallet to gradually drive the caster in.
If It’s a Swivel Plate Caster
In this case, you need to simply screw. You need a suitable screwdriver to fix it onto place. This should not be hard if you’ve already removed the old caster swivel plate. It’s basically the same thing done in a reverse manner.
Video Tutorial : How to Replace Office Chair Casters
Conclusion
And now you know most parts about how to remove office chair wheels and install a new replacement. These wheels are basically the main reason for your chair’s overall functionality. So, you don’t want to be careless here.
If you notice that the wheel needs a replacement then don’t sidestep it and keep things for tomorrow. The overall usability of your office chair will be compromised otherwise. And also, it’s quite simple plus less time-consuming for you to go through the removal and replacement process than bearing pain of an uncomfortable damaged office chair.
This is Autem Decker. Main Author of ‘TheHomeDigs‘. You may not find her on the list of top 10 contemporary Canadian interior designers, but everyone who knows her says she was born to be an interior designer.
She makes her plan in her head and draws them in her years-old diary with a note in the corner. The way she plays with color and shape amazes us.
Connect Her On – Twitter
