Hardware for Morris chairs

Replacement Hardware for Morris chairs

While I never intended to go into the hardware business, I get a lot of requests for replacement Morris chair hardware. I hate to have to charge for hardware, because it seems so small. However, I am in business and the hardware does entail steel, arc welding supplies as well as acetylene and oxygen. I consume grinding disks and wire brushes that have a limited lifespan, as well as spray lacquer. I also must have simple packing supplies and I have to pay postage when I send hardware. There is a little bit of my time involved too. I bill my forge time at $30/ hour and a bunch of that money goes to shop overhead, rather than into my pocket. I don't like to sound as if I am whining. I guess I am trying to make an honest apology for the cost of seemingly small hardware.

If you want to order any Morris chair hardware or have questions, email me. I have no order forms or anything like that because the orders often need a bit of communication. Drop me a note or a call (207-885-9433) and we can figure out what you need.

Some Morris chairs have a version of the hardware store backflap hinge, as shown here. The pattern of holes in the wood will give that away. Get those from the hardware store if you need them.

Hinges are the most commonly requested hardware. Many of the originals were cast iron and they broke very easily. I get requests to replace Morris chair hinges that have been broken as well as ones that have been lost. As far as I know, I am the only source of the special hinges that many antique Morris chairs require. If you should find another source of these hinges, I would be glad to know because I would buy them myself, rather than making them.

I send slotted screws with the hardware. I think they look better than modern-appearing screws on Morris chairs. If anyone is looking for a great supplier of slotted screws, I highly recommend Pointe Products in Chesterfield, MI.

On the far left is the Mark 1 model hinge that I have made for Morris chairs. It is shown next to the antique Morris chair hinge after which it was modeled. I make the pins long so that the back cannot work itself off the hinge over time. I believe that chairs originally designed for this type of hinge need a similar hinge as a replacement. It lifts the back of the chair above the back stretcher. Replacing it with something else, such as the hardware store backflap, would alter the angles of the chair back. I will make a set (two pairs, four parts) of these for your chair for $40, which includes 5% ME Tax and postage within the USA.

On the left is the cast iron pin-and-eye type of antique Morris chair hinge: it breaks easily. Just below is a broken antique is shown with my replacement. Usually it is only the female part that breaks. I will supply only the female part if that is what is needed. This type of hinge, The Mark 2 model is quite a bit more work than the simpler hinges above. A single replacement female or male (1 part) from me is $30, and a replacement set (two pairs, four parts) of complete hinges of this type, males and females, is $100, Both prices include 5% ME tax and shipping within the USA.

My version of these hinges are made as a blacksmith would make them. They are a lot of work, but I believe they are worth it.

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Antique cast iron himges

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Pair of my Mark 2 hinges next to an antique pair

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New Mark 2 hinge with broken antique

Of course, there are certainly other ways to repair broken pin-and-eye female Morris chair hinges. Here is a clever repair I found on the web. It only involves a hardware store screw eye and a screw. This is not a budget-buster and would put the chair back in service. Who (besides me) looks at the hinges anyway?

I sell back bars like the ones I make for my chair. These have to be custom made for a particular chair. The measurement I need is the distance from the outside of one back rack to the outside of the other. Definition: the back racks are the metal parts with the hooks. I can make the bar longer than usual, if you like. I am told that the reason why some antique back bars stuck out three or four inches on each side was so that the back could be adjusted while sitting in the chair by reaching back with both hands. I don't do that on my own chairs because if they stick out too far they snag clothes and the dog bumps its head on them.

The steel back bar with cylinder knobs, pictured above, made to your length specification is $30, which includes 5% ME tax and postage within the USA. If you need a more formal look, a steel back bar with steel balls as finials, as shown at the right, is $40 including tax and shipping.

A solid brass bar with brass balls for finials is $50 including tax and shipping. It is intended to be a replacement for lost or missing back bars where the backracks are brass. The bar has no finish and it will oxidise gradually until it looks like antique backracks. I can lacquer it, if you prefer, to remain shiny brass. If you want to order a bar or anything else, email me. Brass bars are available from commercial outlets such as Hardware Tree and Kennedy Hardware. You can save some money by buying a commercial version. In my opinion, my brass back rod is more historically correct and better looking. Antique chairs often had brass balls at the rod ends. For some reason, the commercial ones have little beehive-shaped things for finials. Worse yet, these commercial beehives are held on with nasty little set screws.

Here is how to measure the length for the bar on an antique chair: outside of one back rack to the outside of the other. From white arrow to white arrow. This one is 22 1/2". I usually make the bars so that there is a little more than an inch of clearance on each side of the backrack.

I have never sold a pair of the back racks just like the ones I make for my chair because people do not seem to break or lose the old ones and, anyway, people might prefer an older look. There are brass back racks available from several vendors including those mentioned above who also sell brass back bars: Hardware Tree and Kennedy Hardware.

It might be a challenge to put the back racks I make on another chair with a deep curve on the back because I usually have to do some fine tuning to get them to fit on my own chairs. The welding processes slightly deforms the bend in the metal and the steel is so thick that it is difficult to get it to conform to the curve of the chair. It is rather like fitting a horseshoe onto a horse.

I have been asked several times to make metal back racks for people who are building large mission style Morris chairs with long sloping arms. The plans for the chair call for wooden pegs to support the back. Some people would rather have something metal. I have made a version of my rack that is almost flat and it has worked in that application. On the left is a beautiful chair built by a craftsman who mortised almost-flat versions of my back racks into the arms. He suggests that any one builidng this type of chair should make the arms a few inches longer to allow more backward adjustment. Email me if you are interested in something like this: we will need to communicate about the exact design before the chair is built.


		I can make a custom spring box from the ground up to drop into your old Morris chair. You will have to email or call me (207-885-9433) so that we can talk about dimensions. Many old chairs have lost their springs and have a piece of plywood in the bottom. This is usually not a very good repair. When I sit in these chairs I hit bottom, that is, I can feel the plywood through the cushion. Unlike plywood, my spring box has steel zig zag springs. I use red oak or white oak for the spring box frame and it is built for very long service. It is padded with bonded dacron and covered with tan-colored denim decking. I will also make wooden battens to be screwed to your chair to support the spring box. A replacement spring box costs $175 and this includes 5% ME tax. Shipping via USPS, UPS or FedEx is extra. A springbox wrapped for shipping weighs about 15 lbs. I will bill you for that after it is sent.

I have no training in business and it probably shows from all the rambling above about each little part. Since I am going to make the little part by hand, it will be very special to me. As replacements, most of them will go on Morris chairs that are about 100 years old. With the correct parts, the chair will be ready for the next hundred years. Drop me an email if you wish to order something

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