chair leans too far back

[marise]

Metal vintage chairs that lean way too far back. Is there some way too reinforce them?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Lose 20 pounds

[micky]

Weld bars across where the legs bend at the front bottom. That's where they flex the most, too much, when you lean back.

But how to get it right is another story. How long should each bar be.

6", 8", a foot so there almost no bending there? It depends on how much farther they go back than they should. (Maybe even 4" but that doesn't seem worth the effort**.)

I assume you feel like the whole chair will fall backwards with you in it.

If you make it only 6", I wonder if it will bend and fold just above the weld. Maybe the welded piece should not be centered on the bend but should start just as the vertical pipe starts to bend backwards. And I would want the same splint on the left and right legs but insisting on that might be a bad idea. Do one side, see how much you've accomplished and decide **how long to make the splint for the other side. Maybe you don't need anything.

In that case, if you want the second chair to have splints of equal length, make the first side shorter than on the first chair. Put that on and sit in the chair. Maybe the second chair isn't the same as the first.

And, do one chair at a time and hope you learn something for the next chair.

For the record, I've neve done this.

[Dean Hoffman]

My initial thought would be something like extendable shower rods. Run them from the back of the stand to the back of the seat. Run a small bolt through the two pipes at their junction once you decide what length you want. Put a bolt through the ends of the pipes where they meet the seat and the stand. It's not the most attractive thing but it's something that someone with limited tools could do. One obvious concern would be strength. The guys here who have done a lot of plumbing and/or electrical work will probably come up with an alternative.