Ya get what ya pay for- there is a reason the big-boxes sell 'office
chairs' for $79-$200 dollars, and traditional commercial furniture stores
sell them for 3x to 5x that price.

Yes, and no. Good stores sell crap, too. I'm a welder. I've fixed many
metal chairs of this description. Five wheeled star base, various other
gadgets. Most were very poorly welded or VERY! poorly welded. And some of
the chairs were the expensive ones.

Most were abused from leaning back in them. And some of the desk jockeys
would have been too heavy to ride on a camel. Know whut uh mean, Vern?

I resurrected many a chair that would have gone on the junk heap. I had an
old mailbox by the front door, locked, with a slot on top and some business
cards. When people would ask how much, I'd say, just put something in the
box, take a card, and when we have enough, we buy some pizzas for the guys.
And bring us your other repairs, too. No one left less than $5, and the
most was $20. $10 seemed to be average. They also brought in small quick
cash jobs on lawnmowers, benches, etc.

Some of the chairs cannot be fixed, but that's rare. Mostly when the
hydraulic unit goes out, or bracing needs to be added, and the person does
not like the aesthetic of a piece of angle or flat bar that was visible.
Some where the broken metal was near plastic or fiber and it couldn't be
taken off. Some where the welding would have been too close to the
hydraulic oil.

Steve



I guess word got out, cause we fixed a lot of chairs.