I bought one of those old all oak office chairs on spec because I have the matching teacher's desk--the type that used to be made in prisons, and if you're my age was in every classroom at your elementary school. Both are solid oak, some quartersawn, and together look pretty good. The chair has problems, most of which can be fixed. The biggest issue is the wheels and sockets. Someone previously tried to repair the sockets and failed. They are all reamed out and the wheels just fall out. The replacement sockets just don't get any purchase to hold the wheels in place. I figure I'll have to overbore the stripped sockets, plug them with oak plugs, and then rebore and install new inserts. It won't be pretty but the chair will be saved. I spent over an hour searching Amazon for caster wheel inserts and didn't find what I hoped to find. Almost all the inserts are thin stamped metal just like the ones that are in the chair now and stripped out or plastic, which I don't trust to hold up under my weight. I'm hoping someone has done this repair/restoration and can direct me to a source for both new wheels that will look period correct for the chair and matching inserts. Thanks.
