Furniture foot/glide MF20 black

MF20 in black is a furniture glide in TPE that screws under chair and table legs to protect the floor and damp noise. The series comes in three diameters, 19, 21 and 25 mm, all with a height of 10 mm; you pick the size as a variant to match the leg. The material is a thermoplastic elastomer with a matte surface, soft enough to spare the floor but firm enough to carry the weight of the furniture without being squashed.

Three diameters may sound like few, but in practice they cover most common furniture legs; 19 and 21 mm suit slim chair legs while 25 mm takes care of heavier legs on tables and work chairs. That the whole series shares one height is a point in itself: if you mix sizes under the same group of furniture, everything still stands at the same level. At the same time the 10 mm height is low enough not to change seat height or table height noticeably.

The elastomer grips the floor surface and gives a degree of slip resistance, damps the scraping noise at the source and leaves no marks behind. Compared with felt it wears more slowly and does not collect grit in the surface; compared with hard plastic it is quiet. For premises that are cleaned by machine it is also an advantage that the glide takes water and cleaning agents without coming loose or swelling.

TPE deserves another line. Thermoplastic elastomers give the softness of rubber with even quality from batch to batch and a surface that does not dry out and crack over the years. The glide does not stain the floor it stands on, a familiar problem with certain older rubber grades, and it keeps its damping even after many years of load under a chair that is used daily. The material is also quiet in itself: if someone sits down heavily on the chair the glide does not creak, and the furniture can be lifted and set down without a bang.

Each glide has a countersunk screw hole of 3.5 mm. The screw is driven through the glide up into the center of the leg, and the 4 mm countersink hides the head so that metal never meets floor. Fitting them to existing furniture goes quickly: remove old glides or felt pads, clean the end face, predrill and screw.

Furniture makers draw the glide in as a standard component, but the large volume goes to property management and refurbishment: schools tired of scraping noise in the classrooms, offices with newly sanded wooden floors, restaurants where chairs are pulled out a thousand times a week. In rooms where the sound environment is a work environment requirement, chair glides are one of the simplest measures that actually gets noticed. Black is the discreet standard color under most furniture; for light colored legs the same glide comes in matte white in 25 mm.

The pack sizes are set for exactly that kind of project: the 19 and 21 versions are supplied in 1000 pieces and the 25 version in 750. That is enough for hundreds of chairs per box, and the same box covers the need for spares for a long time to come.

Measure the end face of the leg before you order; the glide should preferably cover the whole end without sticking out more than marginally. Check at the same time that old screw holes are not worn out, otherwise you have to move the mount by a millimeter or so. Exact dimensions with the countersink and hole size are in the manufacturer's data sheet. It is a good idea to split the order over several sizes if the stock of furniture is mixed.

Would you like to know more before you replace a whole stock of furniture? We will gladly help you pick the right size.