The first photo might look slightly more dramatic than it is, here area two more:
So I tried to remove the gas compression spring of my new office chair from the sockets to send it back. It’s firmly stuck in both ends, and I read the recommendation to knock it with a rubber hammer. I couldn’t find one, so I covered the gas spring with some soft cloths and tried a regular hammer - and was a bit too enthusiastic. Is this spring still safe to use? I’m guessing/hoping that that’s not really the outer wall of the gas cartridge? It is still working, extends and compresses smoothly.
For many of these friction fit adjustable height chair and stool pedestals, I’d skip the rubber mallet and definitely skip hammers.
The easiest method is to place the flattest end between your feet and apply steady pulling pressure while gently rocking back and forth.
That’s the cover/structural reinforcement. Get a rubber mallet for next time and reinforce the casing with something strong enough to keep it from failing.
What do you mean by reinforce? Reinforce the casing how? And do you mean that for a hypothetical next time I try to separate a gas spring from some other office chair’s base, or do you mean I should reinforce this one somehow?
Make one out of pipe, do a carbon fiber wrap, etc. figure something out.
A rubber mallet is handy to have but you do you
I’m unsure about the safety, but I have replaced several when they failed and I had a terrible sinking feeling. The kits come with a pair of collars that clamp onto the shaft and allow for the seat to be separated from the cylinder. From there, you can flip the wheels upside down and tap the cylinder with a hammer right in the middle of the wheels to remove it.
Well I knocked the side of it with the hammer, obviously. I was convinced that the outer ring that is recommended to tap was actually part of the base (5-armed structure that holds the bottom of the gas lift) and soldered to the arms - but inspecting it again carefully I relaize that it’s not: the bottom of the gas lift is in fact sticking out through the hole
However, after working on that with a hammer as recommended it still won’t budge (I used a piece of wood instead of cloth this time - and it broke multiple times 😂)
So instead of the piece of wood displacing the gas lift, the latter left prints on the former.
Oh and I also sprayed WD40 in there before…
