It’s a pain to get up and down from your rocking chair, especially if you want to change how you’re sitting. It can be difficult for those with mobility issues or who are pregnant.
This article is written to show how easy it is to turn your rocking chair into a swivel so that you can easily switch between positions without having to get up!
Steps to Converting a Rocking Chair into a Swivel
Step One: Loosen Screws in Front Legs
The first step is to loosen the screws at the base of each leg so that you can adjust how much they’ll lean inward when you turn it into a swivel chair. You want them all leaning slightly inwards and no more than two thirds out from vertical.
The goal is for your swivelling seatback to be able to rotate 360 degrees without falling over or tilting too far forward or backward as this would create uneven wear on its parts due to gravity.
You may need someone taller than yourself ( or use a step ladder) to hold the chair steady while you loosen these screws.
Step Two: Mark Center Line
Measure how far apart your back legs are from one another and mark that distance on the centre of each leg. This measurement will change as you adjust how much they lean inwards, but it’s important to know how much space is available between them so that when you turn it into a swivel chair, you don’t have anything hitting or rubbing against the other furniture in your room.
Step Three: Drill Holes for Bolts
Once this has been done, drill holes at either end of both sides where your front legs meet with an electric drill bit just large enough to fit bolts through without scraping their sides.
Step Four: Bolt the Swivel to the Front Legs
You’ll want to make sure that you’re turning your drill bit at a 45-degree angle and then screwing in bolts from either side of where they meet, only for one leg. If you don’t do this, it will cause an imbalance and come crashing down towards whichever way you swivelled last.
Thread both bolts through holes on opposite sides of how far apart your back legs are positioned so that when turned into a swivel chair, there’s enough space between furniture items in your room without hitting or rubbing against any other pieces of decor.
Step Five: Drill Holes for Bolts with Springs
You’ll want to drill holes in the front legs of your chair for bolts with springs that will ensure a secure lock. Again, use the ruler to measure how far apart you want them and then set it up so that they’re approximately 18 inches from one another by using brackets on each side.
Step Six: Attach Bolts with Springs
Now take your long bolt through both sides of their respective bracket hole, threading it onto the opposite end where there’s a spring attached and attach this too. This is how we go about making sure our metal furniture stays firmly fixed into place when turned into swivel chairs, which means no more creeks or squeaks!
Step Seven: Turn Into Swivel Chair
And now all that’s left to do is turn your rocking chair into a swivel – how fun!
How do you put legs on a swivel chair?
The process of putting legs on a swivel chair isn’t too complicated, and you’ll probably find that your new sturdy stool is really worth the work. Here are some steps for how to put legs on a swivel chair:
Step One: Take measurements
This should sound obvious, but it’s important! Make sure you know how tall your leg needs to be – this will help make sure you’re measuring in the right place as well. Remember that the height of the seat determines how high up from the ground your feet need to go so measure accordingly.
Measurements can also include length if needed; most people don’t want their stools taller than their chairs.
Step Two: Cut the Legs
Cut your legs to size using a circular saw with a decent blade, and always use safety goggles and thick gloves when cutting anything! (If you’re not sure how to do this, ask an adult for help.) You can also find pre-cut leg kits at many hardware stores which will make it easier than trying to work out measurements on your own.
If you need something custom made or have any questions about how long the legs should be, talk to someone who knows how they work before making a purchase decision.
Step Three: Attach the Legs
Attach all of the legs by screwing them in with screws that are just slightly shorter than one inch – keep these handy and in a bowl next to your workspace. When attaching the legs, make sure that they are on either side of the opening and not towards the middle – this will allow for better stability when you’re sitting down in it!
Step Four: Turn Your Chair
Remove all screws from one chair leg so that there is only one screw left at each joint. Grab onto both ends of the upper piece (the higher part) with two hands and turn your body away from where you have been working so far until the seat pops off.
Place it gently aside then repeat this step with another leg before moving onto another armrest or other piece on your rocking chair which needs re-upholstering!
Step Five: Reinstall Seat
Repeat step four with all legs and armrests and then reattach the seat back onto your chair, screwing in each leg as you go. If it doesn’t fit properly into place when going over a joint don’t worry – look for how to tighten up joints here: Step Six!
Step Six: Pull Tightly & Re-screw
When reinstalling the last side of the seat on your rocking chair if you find that the material is bunching together around one or more screws take hold of them tightly from underneath and use a Philips head screwdriver (or any small manual twisting tool) to turn the nut which holds them in place until they are tightened. This will pull everything tight again so be careful not to over-tighten and split the wood.