Project PatioRocker Spring Plate 3 Inch x 5 Inch, Universal Fiberglass Replacement Part for Swivel Rocking Chair, Outdoor Furniture Repair - 2 Pack

These fixed a problem with our metal patio chairs.

Items were great. They fit exactly as needed. Promptly delivered and great price.Thanks

Perfect replacement and for me a 175 lb person the 2 1/2" wide was good. If you have larger folks then you could do the 3" wide springs.Fairly easy replacement but if you rush you will chip and perhaps crack the new one. The fiberglass spring has an outer gelcoat that can shatter or splinter and that might spread to the inner side. Like my wife did on the first attempt. I guided her along and she thought other folks might like to see how I told her to do the task.You will need some good sharp drill bits and drill.Caution_WEAR A MASK-should not be too hard to find one these days. This fiberglass dust is nasty and most likely causes lung cancer.Caution_WEAR EYE PROTECTIONCaution-WEAR WORK GLOVESUnbolt the old one ONE AT A TIME-that way you can see how it's supposed to go back together.Place the old spring on top of the new one and clamp together then secure the 2 in a vice or work top table. Good excuse to buy a drill press but most of us don’t own one.Take a 5/16 sharp drill bit and slowly drill 90 degrees you see the outer layer of gelcoat start to spiral up. The old spring will crack a little. When you hit the powder layer go a tiny bit more. Use vacuum cleaner to gather the dust. You want to make a valley so you can find center. The dust is nasty keep it out of your eyes and wear gloves. Fiberglass can easily cut.Remove the old spring that was a guide and reclamation and take a 3/16 bit and try to find the depression the larger drill bit made and find the center of the cone. Slowly go through to the other side. Do all 4 holes.Flip the spring over and take the 5/16" bit and drill out the gel coat layer and stop. Then take a 1/4" bit and finish the holes.Back to the chair and put on the spring. Notice how the other one goes so you put it correctly. Don't force the bolts I would guess 10 foot/lbs of torque is enough. I had to use a ratchet to get the 1/4 x 20 bolts to get started and go through. If you can't line up perhaps take round file and make the holes a bit wider. DO NOT FORCE OR HAMMER use a file.Bonus points for using either Red Locktite or Lock nuts on the chair. Our patio chairs had lock washers and hex nuts that I replaced with lock nuts. There needs to be a rectangular bar over the plastic side not against the metal. If it’s not there use fender washers or get the part.

Good size

I work on a computer 40+ hours a week. Office type chairs are generally uncomfortable, and I break them often, typically less than a year. On an occasion when I had broken my office chair and needed something to use in order to complete my task, I grabbed an inexpensive swivel rocker that was intended for use on the patio, but my wife opted to keep them indoors because they were very comfortable.I never did buy another office chair. When the springs eventually broke, I either repaired them by drilling new holes, which shortened the springs, or scrounged replacements from scrapped chairs. One of the pair eventually broke the frame in a manner that couldn't be welded back together, but I still use the other one daily, now on the 3rd set of springs.The problem with shortening the springs, or even some of the replacements I had found, is they caused the chair to be too upright, which would cause me back aches.These fiberglass springs restored the slightly reclined position which is the reason i opted for these patio rockers in the first place.Tip: When installing the springs, the bolts / washers / nuts should not contact the fiberglass. There are metal plates that should be used to "sandwich" the fiberglass springs in place. Also, mind the edge distance between the edge of the hole and the edge of the spring plate. That distance should be a minimum of 2x the diameter of the bolt, even if that means moving the bolt holes closer to the center of the plate. Those two items probably account for the failures some others have posted.To calculate the center line of your holes from the edge of the plate, multiply the diameter of your bolts by 2.5 (2d + 1r). So, if your bolts are 1/4", then the centers of your holes should be 5/8" from the edge. Draw a pencil line 5/8" from each end, and then center your old plate's holes over your pencil line to locate the place where you will drill your new holes.

I used these to repair a Darlee Outdoor Living Madison swivel rocker chair. They were slightly larger than the stock ones, but actually I think they work better than the originals. These spring plates are very solid and nice and stiff. Use the existing plates as a guide to drill the holes, but don't try drilling both plates at the same time by sandwiching them on top of each other. I did that and got a little bit of skew on the hole alignment on one of them.

These replacement parts work great! I'm glad I didn't need to buy new patio chairs, I didn't even know that these parts were available for replacement. I'm extremely happy (so far, so good) !

I bought the 3" wide unit to replace my 2.5" wide plate. Centered and taped the old one to the new one and drilled the holes to match. After assembly, that chair was slightly stiffer than the duplicate15 year old chair. Hoping the wider plate will last and not break. TIP 1 - Wear work gloves, otherwise the material might leave very small splinters in your fingers and hands. TIP 2 - Be sure you hold your drill perpendicular to the unit, otherwise the bolts will not align when reassembling. I eyeballed it, but had to elongate a couple holes to allow everything to assemble properly. TIP 3 - Mark ("X") on one end of the old and the new plate that corresponds to the end that attaches to the chair - in case the hole pattern on the other end is different.