Adding a swivel to a reclining chair

Does this sound like it's practical? I've got a pair of recliners in my living room that rock and recline, but they can't swivel; I'd like them to have that ability. I've thought about ordering a couple of lazy susan hardware setups (1000 lbs capacity) fromn Rockler and maybe mounting them onto a thin plywood base so it wouldn't be too obvious.

Is this worth pursuing? One of the chairs is a Lazyboy which has a "H" shaped base; the other chair is a nondescript one of unknown origin I got for next to nothing that has a square 1X3 framework base.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
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I've got a fairly high capacity lazy susan that used to be in a cabinet. It has a 2 foot plywood disk screwed onto it. If I stand in the middle of it it rotates fine. If I stand on the edge of the plywood then it has enough play in the bearings for the plywood edge to touch the floor.

Sitting in a chair if you had it more or less under the center of mass this might not be an issue--I'd say give it a try. My gut reaction is that one of the larger diameter bearings would be a better bet but at

7 bucks vs 150 bucks I'd certainly risk the 7 bucks first.
Reply to
J. Clarke

That certainly sounds doable as there are swivel rocking chairs and have been for at least 50 or so years.

Reply to
Leon

I am well aware of that. My question was more dealing with whether Rockler's Lazy Susan hardware was appropriate. As it turns out, it is not. Rockler does however sell an extra heavy duty swivel mechanism that is appropriate for the job. I just ordered one. If it works out I'll get a second and do the other chair.

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for the reply... also to J. Clarke who also answered.

I used to own a swivel reclining rocker some years ago and have missed the swivel feature since I bought this chair. I look forward to correcting the omission.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

I see. The only think I would look out for is heavy duty and as large in diamater as possable.

Reply to
Leon

Front hub from a light FWD car, then some welding and bolting. Easy, but not the lowest mechanism ever, unless you hunt for parts carefully. Avoid McPherson struts and look for wishbone suspension instead.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Tue, Jan 29, 2008, 11:57am mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com (Mortimer=A0Schnerd,=A0RN) doth wonder: Does this sound like it's practical?

Doable? Probably. Practical? Probably not. If I was doing it I'd probably just put 4 casters on the bottom.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President - Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - except for Hillary.
Reply to
J T

Doable? Probably. Practical? Probably not. If I was doing it I'd probably just put 4 casters on the bottom.

Yeah! If you were not paying attention when rocking, you would end up in another room.

Reply to
Leon

Tue, Jan 29, 2008, 2:48pm (EST-1) snipped-for-privacy@swbell.net (Leon) doth sayeth: Yeah! If you were not paying attention when rocking, you would end up in another room.

Road trip.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President - Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - except for Hillary.
Reply to
J T

I know I saw the hardware for this specific application in a catalog recently either Rockler or Hartville. Now whether you could put that hardware into an existing rocker I've no idea.

Reply to
asmurff

Well, I'm about to find out. I ordered from Rockler a couple of days ago. I'll report on my success or lack of it in about 10-14 days. Got a beach trip to make first. Hopefully the hardware will be waiting on me when I return.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

Did it work?

I've been wanting to do this to my recliner for a while. I have an H bottom recliner too. It looks like that heavy duty lazy susan hardware you posted is only 10 square inches... what are you going to mount it to before mounting it to the rocker (I'm assuming it's too small to mount directly) ? I'm guessing wood, but what type? thickness? etc.

Thanks for the info! I've been sidelined on this project for a while due to lack of a plan, so this is giving me the boost I need.

Reply to
WillDeed

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