US office chair

Hi,

I've bought a US office chair a few weeks ago.
It's made of wood and has leather on the seat.
Overall condition is average, one armrest has been broken, and badly fixed.
All nails that hold the leather are completely rusted.
It needs a complete restoration.
The chair can lean back, but the main bolt that allows that function has been lost/broken and replaced with a modern one. The spring is broken, but I have the original and I can have one remade.
After disassembly, I've found it is a "Milwaukee Chair Co." office chair. Using that info with google, I can't find the same chair (wood, leather seat, lyre-shaped splat, single-spring mechanism...). I have found many "1914" chairs but mine seems "rare".
The markings in the cast metal are : "PAT'D MILWAUKEE CHAIR CO.", and on another part : "PAT. IN U.S. & GR. BRITAIN"

My questions are : does someone know the name/model of this chair and when it was produced? I'm also looking for pictures of the mechanism to have the main bolt rebuilt like the original one.

I've made some photos, here they are :
https://goo.gl/photos/xSdM8ZWmwXSgdnv3A
(can't display images directly in this message from google photos, sorry!)

If someone can give me some answers, I would be more than happy

 

Thanks a lot for the photos !

 

Nice chair! Just because you can't find one doesn't necessarily make it rare. These are utilitarian items and there is not a whole lot of interest in documentation on them. You may run across another one like it but you are just as likely not to.

I think if you compare your mechanism to similar chairs from the same era you should be able to get an idea of what it should look like. Since you need a bolt, spring, and casters, it might be just as easy and cost effective to buy another chair by the same company and cannibalize it for parts. You could always just put your top on another base of any kind. I don't think it really matters much if an office chair is totally authentic.

If what you are talking about is the uneven separation between the back and the arm in the one photo, that is not a repair. These chairs use a steam bent back joined to the bent arm piece. infiltration of moisture can cause these to warp and lose their shape. There are dowels in there to hold the pieces together but the end of the back piece can move and separate from the arm piece. Consequently, they no longer line up exactly as they once did. This is a very common problem with all chairs made like this.

You can try to force it back and glue it but it is likely to snap back to this position in a short time. You usually just have to sand off the overlapping sections to get them to line up better. They never look perfect again but at least they don't look misaligned. Your other option is to live with it as it is.

 

It may not be especially valuable, but if you are restoring it to use yourself, it is a nice chair. I got an old office chair, with several old repairs, many years ago. Mine only needed new casters; it has given me many years of service, though a newer chair would probably have worn out years ago.

 

Thanks for the answers.

@verybrad : Maybe this kind of office chairs are common in the U.S., there are not much of them in France. I would have more chance of winning the lottery than finding the same chair here
My father has made a new spring for me yesterday, 5mm wire instead of 6mm, but wound on a smaller diameter, strength should be about the same.
I'll make a sketch of the bolt as I imagine it : rounded head, square nut, and 3/8" UNC thread (the 10mm screw has been very hard to remove, 3/8"=9.525mm), and my father will make a new one from billet steel.
As far as i know, no casters on this chair (no holes visible on the legs).

Here is a better picture of the broken and fixed armrest :



Maybe I can correct partially the twist by re-fixing the break. You're right, the wood can warp with humidity, and when you look at the rusted nails, it sure has been exposed to moisture and even water I won't try to bend it with steam, too complicated!
If parts don't line up after break fixing, I'll sand the two parts.

 

Didn't realize that you are in France. Office chairs like this are common here, though not necessarily with that same back. I missed the poor repair job in your first pics and see what you are talking about now. Surprised that there are no holes for casters. Have never seen a similar chair here without them. Seems like you have a handle on dealing with all this and having a father who can make parts for you is amazing.

 

I've not seen a chair with a backing like yours ..... VERY nice!!! Best of luck with all of your repairs!!!! And lucky you with your Dad!! My Dad also could fix, restore, repair, refinish almost anything!!!! He was a tool and die maker his whole life, and my Mom kept him busy in any spare time with her antiques!!!

Oh, and WELCOME Fred to the site!!!!

 

You're right about no castors....that's strange.

 

I know I'm lucky to have a dad that can make many parts for me! He's a retired turner, milling and supervisor. He's got 2 small lathes and a milling machine at home These are old machines but they will do the job if you know how to use them.
If you look at the photos in my album, you can tell there are absolutely no holes for castors, nor recapped ones. The lyre-shaped splat seems to be not so common too, that makes this chair special to me
I know I'll spend some time to get a good result, but I think it's worth it. I had much luck with the rusted nails, none broke when removing them. Leather has been cleaned, rust was embedded in it, spent 2 hours with an old toothbrush removing those stubborn stains I had to remove paint on it too (thanks to the previous owner ).
When you look at the leather now, it seems almost new but looking at the back side, you know it's old!
I hope restoration is finished in one or two weeks, I'll make pics of the final result.