Name of this midcentury furniture hardware (& where to buy replacement)?

May 9, 2017 12:06 PM

So we picked up a midcentury bar that is really cool--but is missing one of the brass-colored metal pieces that go on the ends of the legs. No problem, we thought, that will be easy to replace. Hah! Here is a picture.

Part of the problem seems to be that I don't know the technical term for the part. Leg cap? Leg end? Ferrule? Glide?

Anyway, if someone could point me to a source for a replacement, I'd be grateful. I have found some on Ebay and the like but most are too small--this piece is 2.5" from the floor to the top of the metal. Thanks!

posted by LarryC to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

We luckily have one of those old hardware stores where the entire 50 foot long back wall, floor to ceiling, is a repository of every strange accessory piece, nut, bolt and screw ever made. They could probably suss it out in seconds, so I would recommend a hardware store like that if you can find one.

Restoration Hardware used to be the go to source for this, but since they've moved upscale into furnishings, I'm not sure if they bother any more.

Found this site on E-bay and they seem to refer to them as toe caps.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Those parts are usually called "Glides" in my experience.

I had great luck with Hume Modern in replacing glides for some midcentury Herman Miller chairs. I emailed with them, they were very helpful.
posted by Cranialtorque at 12:48 PM on May 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

You have most of the right words already. The "glide" is the slidey-part, and I think the term is newer. The ferrule is the metal band/cup around a piece of wood.

I get plenty of relevant hits on google shopping searching various combinations of /ferrule, toe cap, foot, glide (furniture)/
A less common term is "sabot". E.g. /ferrule glide furniture/ shows lots of things that, while perhaps not the exact right size, are definitely the right kind of thing. "Glide with ferrule" seems to be a pretty good description that is used by some sellers.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:53 PM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Here are some sources
posted by rmless at 1:00 PM on May 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all. I explored all the sources, emailed several of the companies, and found some new sources with your search terms. Still no match! I guess this bar will sit on one wooden block for the foreseeable future.
posted by LarryC at 2:03 PM on June 8, 2017