Nail-On Furniture Glides for Chair Legs: 3/4 in, 1 in PTFE or Felt

A chair with a new seat deserves new feet. Nail-on glides tap into the bottom of each wooden leg, so the chair slides quietly when someone sits down or gets up, and the bare end of the leg no longer scrapes the floor. It is the small finishing touch at the end of a chair repair.

Three kinds:

• 3/4 in glides, 24 to a pack, for slim legs
• 1 in PTFE glides, 24 to a pack. PTFE is a slick plastic that slides easily on carpet and on hard floors.
• Felt glides, 40 pieces, for hard floors such as wood, tile and vinyl

Fitting them:

• Turn the chair upside down on a blanket and pull out any old glides or tacks with pliers or a staple remover.
• Check that the chair sits level first. If one leg is long, sand it down a little now, because glides add the same height to every leg.
• Mark the center of each leg end. On hard wood, or a thin leg that might split, drill a small pilot hole for the nail.
• Set the glide on the mark and tap it home with a rubber mallet until it sits flat and tight against the wood. A steel hammer can dent the face of the glide.
• Stand the chair up and rock it gently. If it wobbles, find the short leg and check that its glide is fully seated.

Fit glides to every leg of the chair at once, not just the worn one, so all four stand at the same height. On a set of dining chairs, use the same type throughout so they all slide alike.

Start with the floor. On carpet and rugs, choose the 1 in PTFE glides: they slide over the pile instead of catching. On wood, tile and vinyl, felt is the quietest choice, and PTFE works there too.

Then look at the leg. Turn the chair over and measure across the bottom of one leg. The glide should sit wholly on the wood, so the 3/4 in glides suit slim legs and the 1 in glides suit wider ones. A glide that is wider than the leg overhangs and catches on rugs and thresholds.

Count four per chair: a 24 pack does six chairs, and the 40 felt glides do ten.