New barstools, looking for glide recommendations

[tperson]

Spring is springing in southeast Nebraska and I trying to wrap up one last project before my window of time completely closes. We’ve needed 4 new/different barstools for a while now and around Christmas I convince the Dept of War and Finance that I could build them significantly cheaper and better than anything we could purchase…I we can pick exactly what we want (A&C style, QSWO). I dry-fit the first one together Saturday (but all the pieces are cut for the remaining 3) and have started thinking about the finish. Typically, I’ve used an aniline dye/orange shellac/polyurethane sequence, but wanted to try fuming with ammonia this time. All I can find locally is hardware store grade, got some 30% coming from Amazon…we’ll run some tests over the weekend and figure out what works best. Here’s where I need the advice of the group (because I couldn’t find anything I liked): what are your recommendations for feet/glides for hardwood floor? I’m hesitant to use plastic or felt; with 5 kids and a rural home, there’s constantly dirt/grit on the floor that I’m worried about getting embedded and causing scratches. That leaves metal glides…nail on? Anything better? Something like these:

Open to suggestions and recommendations.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Mark J]

I think that metal slides are going to be more likely to scratch a wood floor than plastic.

If you decide to reconsider felt those Ruby Sliders advertised on late night TV (and available at Lowes) actually work.  And they go on & off without tools. 

[Von]

We face this conundrum as well. We tend to go with the hard whitish plastic they make furniture glides out of (e.g.) which seems to resist most stuff getting embedded in it.

[Tom King]

We switched to the felt ones.  One slide with one of those nail stubs after the nail breaks will do more damage than a lot of use with a chair with none.  You can tell when one of the felt ones comes off.  We just keep spares on hand.  They stick for a long time to a finished chair leg bottom but not long on bare wood.

We use the Ruby sliders in the rental house and have not had to replace one of those with all sorts of different people staying in that house.  They aren't invisible though.

[curlyoak]

GET PTFE plastic It is slippery. Comes in sheets. Comes in colors.  I get some at 1/2" and cut pieces smaller than the leg. It cuts, routes and drills. It will hold a screw but requires accurate pilot and slip holes. It won't glue or paint or sand. I drill slip holes with a countersink. 2 screws to each. It is tough as iron. I also use it outside. the legs must be on masonry. The plastic stops wicking on the bottom of the legs.

[curlyoak]

This walnut table is very heavy. I installed the PTFE plastic on the bottom of each leg. The lady of the house is 90 pounds maybe. And she can slide this table with ease.

[Coop]

@curlyoak, that’s a neat looking table. Being drop leaf, can we assume the top thickness is the same all the way across and not just built up around the outer edges? 

[curlyoak]

On 5/22/2024 at 11:05 PM, Coop said:

can we assume the top thickness is the same all the way across and not just built up around the outer edges

The real McCoy! Solid through and through!

[curlyoak]

On 5/20/2024 at 11:37 AM, tperson said:

On a chair the glide in the picture broke. The part that touches the floor broke. It was cheap plastic. So I had to replace all 4.

This one didn't break but I had to replace the other 3 .

I made 4 just like this one.

Installed.

On the floor.

I had an overweight dinner guest, I believe this new glide will handle the jumbos.

 

I wonder what happened to the original poster?

It was just a coinkadink  that I needed a glider repair...

 

 

[tperson]

On 5/24/2024 at 9:02 AM, curlyoak said:

I wonder what happened to the original poster?

The original poster is still here, lurking. I fell down the ‘build your own out of PTFE sheet’ rabbit hole…I think that’s a good option, allows for a custom fit. . I even found a reasonably priced source: buyplastic.com (they’re SIGNFICANTLY cheaper than anyone else I can find). Ordered leather (20) samples last night from leatherhidestore.com… for $0.89/ea, why not have all the colors you think you might like? Was able to get the 4 chairs glued up and shellac-ed over the long weekend; even got the first coat of poly on the first one. I'll make minimal progress this week, we leave for the annual prairie dog shoot Friday morning and I have shells to reload and things to get ready. 

[tperson]

realized I never updated this thread...barstools are done and have survived their first 6 months of use by 5 semi-feral children...and are holding up great. The PTFE feet turned out the be an absolute disaster. A rural family of 7 tracks in a significant amount of dirt on a daily basis...dirt that gets embeded in the plastic and is extremely abrasive...and that dirt ends up scratching the floor. Refinishing our floors is now on my radar, but I think I'll wait until the kids get a little bigger. Back to felt feet.

 

The leather sample is the color that the Dept of War and Finance selected for the seats. I was apprehensive at first, but really like it now.

[curlyoak]

nice chairs. beautiful wood. Nice stain. It accentuates the the beauty of the wood. The chairs look strong but if animal nation gets in a fight the chairs  could suffer...

[tperson]

On 11/4/2024 at 2:39 PM, curlyoak said:

...but if animal nation gets in a fight the chairs  could suffer...

spoken like an experienced parent