Heavy Duty Felt Pads for Chair Legs by the Waxman Consumer Group
Over the past 10 years, I have tried a few different products. They usually last for several years before the felted bottoms start to wear off and then it’s time to pull them out and replace with new protectors. I looked everywhere, but could not find the brand we had previously used, which worked great. The cushioned felt pad was attached to the glide, which had a round metal base that was hammered into the chair legs. These were the best products around, but I don’t remember the brand name, and I was so disappointed that I couldn’t find them.
I ended up purchasing the nicest looking pads that I could find. These pads are made by “Waxman Consumer Group” (the “Do-It-Yourself People”, or so it says on my package). Each package consisted of eight pads and eight glides, enough to fix two chairs, so I had to purchase two packs since we have four chairs. The cost of repair is about a dollar per chair, which is actually a great value.
Claims
* Great for chairs, tables, desks
* Protects tables and countertops from scratches
* Can also be used on cedar chests, curio cabinets, grandfather clocks
Installation
I was skeptical of the set up when I looked this over in the store, since these did not have the pads attached like my previous brand. You are instructed to drill a small guide hole into the center of your chairs wooden leg. The glide is a flat piece of plastic, colored white, with a long nail attached, and you need to hammer the nail into the hole and deeply into the chair leg. After that is completed, you then peel away the felt pads and stick them to the center of the glide. That’s it, you’re done.
Sounds simple, and it actually is. Everything went fine, and the felt pieces were affixed so that they were very easy to peel away from their packaging. They didn’t seem all that sticky to me, but hey, I already had the glide hammered in place, so I had no choice but to stick them on and hope for the best.
My Experience
I can’t tell you how inferior I found these Heavy Duty Felt Pads!! Within one day, I had these felt pads coming off of four of my chairs!! And it’s not like we are hard on our furniture either, they get used very little. I can see how these pads alone, without the nailed glide, would be great for the bottoms of furniture that you don’t move around, like curio cabinets, etc, but I wouldn’t want to be nailing the long nail from the glide into any of my good furniture! Plus this adds a substantial height to your furniture as well, so if you wanted just the pads (to keep the lower profile), you can buy the pads separately without the glides.
I have considered trying to glue the felt pads onto the glides, since I am happy with the quality of the pads, they seem very heavy duty and thick, and look like they would hold up for a few years like my other ones did. But I am really skeptical of spending any more time and money on a design that clearly has flaws. Unless I somehow managed to pick up two packages that were both defective, the pads I used just didn’t have enough holding power.
These Heavy Duty Felt Pads simply don’t do what they should, and now my chairs have deep holes down the center of each leg. I am hoping I can get these removed in one piece, without too much effort, and can find a style that has the pad attached to the glide, as I have used in the past.
I emailed the customer service department from the company website, and they told me that most people complain that these pads stick so well they can’t get them off, and that I may have purchased old ones. They are mailing me replacements, hopefully they will work better. Seems like this company is very interested in customer service, as they emailed me back right away, and even offered a complete refund.
