Literally had the head of that exact same screw shear off today during lunch. Video was a life saver, since the new assembly is crazy pricy and I bought mine second (or more likely third) hand a couple weeks ago
@@kennethcarroll5007 I'm glad this video helped you out. Those assemblies are quite expensive when you price them out and when the bolt head shears off, you'd think you should be able to replace just the bolt right?
Yup! The bolt in my right arm broke off, too. I'll fix it as soon as I can find the correct bolt at my local hardware store. I'm not purchasing the 'kit' they sell for like 30 bucks! What a rip-off! THANK YOU Sean for making this video for us! :)
I was readjusting in my chair when the arm just fell off and nearly me with it. Found the bolt, found your video, and now I feel more accomplished in 10 minutes replacing both bolts than anything else I've done all week.
That sounds about what happened to me @MarkBaldwin-c. I was leaning on one arm I guess just a little too hard and just about fell out of my chair as well. Glad the video help!
Great video, helped a ton, thanks! Just chiming in to report another case for fellow metric Europeans. M6x0.75 x 70mm bolt in my case, M6 fine thread pitch, roughly equivalent to US/imperial UNF thread pitch and all I could find was grade 8.8 which should hold up to the load easily.
@@ediazrod glad if it helps! word of warning, I measured almost identical threads on the bolts on both arms, but one of them turned out to work much better with a standard pitch M6 thread in the end! I don't know what HM were doing when they made these but what a whole load of hassle! Anyway, seeing as it's much easier to find standard pitch for this size bolt, I'd try that first and see if it is suitable before investing in shipping over fine pitch versions from overseas like I ended up doing... I found testing the thumbwheel nut much more useful too seeing as the end nut is more like a locking nut which should bind.
Last year, I broke my armrest. However, since I live in Japan, it was difficult to find a replacement armrest at a low place. At that time, I came across this video. It was SUPER helpful. I went to the home improvement store and repaired my chair by myself. It only cost 100 yen. Thank you!!!!!!
Thank you, Sean, for sharing this video! I found the 1/4"-28 x 2.5" grade 5 bolt & nut at my local Ace Hardware store and completed the task before even finishing my coffee. Your tutorial was really helpful!
This is the most helpful video yet, wow. Love my Herman Miller chair and with the pandemic now work from home i spend all my days in this chair and tonight it happened! 21 years and it snapped!!! Going to the hardware store tomorrow so i will share when i'm done. But thank you!!! I feel better spending less than $89!
You are so welcome @Tony Rivera! I love my Herman Miller chair also didn't want to "modernize" with a newer chair when I've grown into this one over the past 20 years.
@icey35 You're more than welcome. Thank you for the Thanks as well. I really appreciate it. In fact, I'm starting a new thing were I recognize people that do what you did and give them recognition at the end of a future video. So unless you say otherwise, you will be in the closing Thanks in the future.
Thanks for a great video! I got 10 (!) grade 8 bolts from Amazon for $9 delivered, and with your instructions was able to fix it right up. Like some other commenters, my bolt broke right at the joint between the threaded and non-threaded sections of the original bolt. Soaking the nut in the arm in penetrating oil (Tri-flow) for a couple of hours made it possible to use a pair of needle nose pliers (and a tight grip) to unwind it. Taking the back off also revealed the sticker showing that mine was manufactured in 1999-here’s hoping I’ll get another 22 years out of it! Thanks again!
Great tutorial, thanks. I had ordered a part that would cost $200 CAD by the time it was shipped to me. Thankfully i found your video and did the repair with a .75cent bolt. Thank you!
Great video, thanks! I looked up the OEM replacement part... $90 for the assembly including the broken bolt. Thanks to this video, and $2.99 spent at the local hardware store, I'm good to go!
the arm just snapped off my chair this morning (screw head snapped), I'll be rewatching this in a few days once the new bolt arrives. thanks for the video!
Hi Kris. Sorry to hear your bolt snapped. It seems that within the past year or so a lot of people have been having this problem also. Hope my video helps you out!
Thank you for this video! When my arm rest fell off randomly I was devastated. No one wants to have to buy a new HM Aeron chair (or maybe we all *want* to...but we don't want to spend the money) so I was at a loss. I googled to see if it was fixable and I landed on your video. Ran to the hardware store, got two of the bolts needed and got to work. I figured if I was taking it apart to fix the one arm I may as well prophylactically do the other side as well. Good as new (maybe better since I doubt the new bolts will be snapping in two at any point.
This was an excellent guide to fixing my chair. I had the exact same shearing problem. I used a 6M x 70 mm Phillips head bolt and it worked like a charm. Putting on the arm was a 2 person job.
Thank you - my daughter is not 6 ears old anymore and she still likes to sit in daddy's chair (when it is occupied!) and today the armrest broke off - knowing the size of the bolt and the general instructions - it took 20 minutes to fix - including making sure I could still use the wheel to adjust the armrest vertical adjustment. This cost me $1.70 - and only because I bought 2 bolts - in case the other one snaps off - lol.. Again - thank you for the guide!
Sean, what a great video instruction. My problem ended up being a stripped nut, not a broken bolt. I didn't know that was the problem until you showed the details on the disassembly and reassembly of the armrest. Armrest now fixed! Thank you so much for sharing this information.
Thanks. Fixed a 22 year old Aeron once I knew the process and spent the 55 cents on the bolt. Splurged and got a few extra for the other arm and the other chair in my office.
Thank you for posting this! The head sheared off the original bolt and I just completed the fix based on this video. Worked perfectly. A point about bolt length that might help others-- my original was 2-5/8" as some others noted. However, a 2-1/2" replacement worked just fine. The extra length was just going beyond the nut into the cavity of the arm anyway so no impact.
i went to adjust myself and my left arm rest just broke off. so happy for this video. i think now my right one is about to break. so im gonna do this again
Great Video, exactly what happened to my chair. I would have figured it our but you saved me a lot of time and probably an extra trip to the hardware store. I needed to put a couple washers behind mine to have enough thread to really tighten it up. For .99 cents will probably last longer than the OEM one. Thanks
Another happy customer...thanks Sean - Only comment I'd make is that I had no clue as to what the 28 referred to in your 1/4" - 28 - 2.5" Grade 5 Bolt....a helpful Menards employee let me know that it referred to the thread and 28 means fine.
Hi Barry, yes. I updated the description but I haven't had time at the moment to update the video with some overlay text. I'm going to try to get that done in the next few days but thanks posting that so others can see this comment as well!
This is a terrific video and perfectly shows how to make this repair. Thanks Sean! My chair is just over 19 years old so the bolt head sheared "right on time."
Off to a hardware store to get two bolts - had an armrest fall off today. My Aeron chair (so far) has lasted 25 years and three offices. Thanks for this writeup. I also had my backrest "bar" fail and the seat bottom replaced over the years. The "strut" is still passable.
Wow - 25 years is a little longer than mine. You're welcome and glad it helped. Word of thought though, I believe my "strut" is starting fail. Sometimes when I sit down in the chair it does about a sudden 1 inch drop and then compresses like it should.
I almost bought a new arm assembly for $89. Thanks for this video--instead I spent $2 on new bolts (I replaced BOTH the broken AND unbroken arm bolts on mine!).
so i finally went to hardware store and bought the exact bolt in description (the guy said it was going to be grade 5 after i told him size) after taking it apart 3 times and realizeing i was missing a piece (thought i just didnt have that part cuz i didnt see it fall. I think it fell off when the arm rest snapped off readjusting myself) Found the part I was missing and now it works perfectly! you'd never know i used a bolt.
Hey sorry it took so may attempts. I know when the head of mine broke off it sounded like a gunshot and parts shot all over inside the chair and the floor. Glad you got it solved though!
Fantastic detailed video and explanation. One arm bolt just broke, my chair is about 20 yrs old. I'm not as lucky, as the bolt snapped on the opposite end down in the hex hole. It left me about a 1/4" to grab. Hopefully a needle nose vise grip will allow me to grip it and turn it out. Wish me luck. I'll post back. FYI, I did have my shock replaced under the 10 year warranty 10 years ago.
Thank you for your comment. Sounds like your chair has been a long lasting chair also with a few repairs. I'm not sure if this is possible but you could perhaps grind a slot into the bolt shaft using a Dremel or something. That would allow you to use a flat screwdriver to maybe turn it out as well if a needle nose vice grip / pliers don't work.
@@SeanMoenkhoff I only had about a 1/2" to grab the broken bolt down in the hole. Success! With a pair of medium sized needle nose pliers I firmly compressed them with the assistance of Vise Grips. Hand grip alone was futile unless your the Hulk. Once loosed a full turn breaking the factory thread locker it easily removed with the pliers and only hand grip. Off to the hardware store sometime today. Thanks again Sean.
Thanks for sharing, people on fleabay are selling a replacement bolt for $32. Not even OEM, just a hardware store stainless hex cap bolt. Since you gave the spec and show it fits i can just run to Ace and buy the right bolt.
@fefi, thanks for the update and glad this helped! I guessing the sizes vary some depending on the year of the chair. It is why I recommend taking the thumbnail locking wheel in to ensure you get the proper threading. Size should just be measuring the length of the existing bolt.
This is super helpful. However it would be a better if you could center the action -- some of the most important moments occur offscreen or nearly offscreen. If you use a monitor you'll be able to see your frame while you shoot. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback @Tim Immordino, I have since gotten a better tripod and an additional camera for other angles which has improved the onscreen shots.
Great video, thanks for taking the time to do this. Helped a lot when it came time to replace my broken bolt...! Note to self, fat guys should not use the arm rest to leverage their butt outta their chair!
I unfortunately slipped when removing the adjustment knob and now and the washer and bearing assembly slipped out. I don't know the order of re-assembly - any chance you could help?
Hi @RealArtsMedia, at about 1.5 minutes into the video I talk about the washer and the bearing. One side should have the washer and the other side should have washer bearing assembly. If you get them backwards the knob will not spin very easy. In addition, at 5 minutes in my video I show the hardware illustration - this section does not show the bearing assembly but only the washer in the knob. I hope this helps out!
i did "like" the video but...I was listening to it more then watching it and if i were you i would edit the sound and replace the m6 with the 1/4-28. the longer verbiage where you corrected it doesn't show from google search.
Just what I needed, thanks. Must be a HM design fault, or is it reasonable for stress over the years for the head to fall off? Just need to find the right replacement in the UK, which might be challenging
To me it looks like a design flaw since with the bit slot so deep into the bolt there's very little steel to hold it and over time I'm guessing metal fatigue just causes it to break.
@@Combicon The initial fix with a similar original bolt didn't last long, and snapped again. So I ditched the adjustable wheel and other fittings and put in a regular bigger bolt and nut, since I don't need to change the height, and it's holding steady now
The size has varied as you can see by the comments on this video, I'd suggest taking it to Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowes or another hardware store to make sure you get the correct grade.
drum roll please... the bearing goes on inside twords chair (where all the locking pressure is). the other thing is the nut that falls out of the arm rest can only screw in one way so check that during assembly. dont do it twice.
Hi @James, check the both sides of where the adjustment thumb wheel is. I believe there is a nut inside of that housing that the thumb wheel goes it. It should be hexagonal shaped receiving slot.
