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How to Lock a Swivel Chair – 5 Tips To Make Rolling Chair Stationary

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Sometimes it’s handy to know how to lock a swivel chair. Swivelling chairs are a blessing for professionals who have to work at multiple or L-shaped desks. Imagine working with a colleague and having to turn back every minute to report to them about your progress. It can be quite frustrating!

This is where a swiveling chair comes in handy. However, it can become a disaster when the chair swivels unnecessarily, causing you to lose focus on your work. Nowadays, some expensive and advanced office chairs come with a swivel lock mechanism. Yet, if you have a chair without this feature, how can you stop it from swiveling? How can you lock a swivel chair to save yourself from unwanted annoyance?

There are many DIY tricks that can act as swivel chair stoppers, including the drill method, wedges, or sticky tape method. But which one is the most effective and practical? Keep reading to find out!

How To Lock A Swivel Chair – Practical Tips for Locking Swivel Chair:

People have wholly taken it wrong that chairs have been designed to swivel. I mean, Did you know that office chairs are actually designed to be stationary? This means that they don’t REALLY NEED to be able to rotate. 

Related Article: Best Office Chair under $300

It’s a common misconception that all office chairs need to swivel, but that’s not always the case. Some chairs are designed to lock in place, giving you a stable and secure seating option. So, if you prefer a chair that doesn’t swivel, don’t worry – you’ll know how to lock a swivel chair

Tightening the Screw: 

Well, all chairs have different designs. So, inspecting and understanding the design is the key for locking a swivel chair

  • Take a look at the base of your chair
  • Check for any screws that can be tightened or a swivel lock that can be engaged
  • The method of securing a swivel chair can vary based on the model
  • Engage the swivel lock or tighten the screws to hold the chair in place

Another scenario could be, no screw mechanism will be found to lock the chair. In that case, there are other steps to follow

Fitting the Wedge:

You may get many DIYs on the Internet, but converting the swivel chair to stationary through a wedge method is extremely practical. So, how to make a swiveling chair stationary via wedge? Here it is;

  • Get a small rubber wedge.
  • Place the wedge under the chair between the base and the swiveling pole.
  • Gently hammer the wedge into the base, ensuring it creates a seal between the chair’s base and the pole it sits upon.
  • Avoid hammering too hard, as it may damage the chair.
  • The wedge will create friction, which will limit the chair’s range of motion.

Also,

You can wrap duct tape around the pole and wedge to keep the wedge in place. Similarly, as per design, one small wedge would be enough to act like a swivel chair stopper

The Drill Hole Method:

If you need a robust and a permanent fix, the drill hole method will be enough to solve all your future chair swiveling problems. However, you need to be a little technical to operate a drill and this method may damage your chair in longer uses. 

Locate the Swiveling Panel/plate:

You need to turn your stool upside down and find the swivel plate. It’s the part that connects the base of your chair to the seat, and it typically looks like two plates with a swivel mechanism.

Drill, Drill, Drill:

From downside to upside, make a hole by drilling. You can do it yourself if you know which tool will be used to penetrate the metal body. Otherwise, you can ask a professional or any of your technical friends.

Tight a nut in the drilled hole and it;ll be act like a swivel chair stopper. Unscrew the nut when you again need the swiveling function. 

The Bottom Line: 

So, how to lock a swivel chair? Technically, there isn’t much to discuss about the methods used in stopping a swivel chair to stationary. But if you need a temporary solution, the wedge method can do the trick, otherwise, the drilling method is much more practical and robust for worry-free locking of swiveling chairs.