Ball bearings were a major technological advance in the 1800’s bringing about a revolution in duration of action for many applications where wood rubbed against wood or steel against steel.  The traditional bar stool swivels have been using thrust-type ball bearings for over 100 years. 

The development and advancement of plastic polymers in the last 50 years has similarly brought about many wonderful innovations in modern life.  Look at our cars, lawn mowers and household appliances.  Engineering plastics such as Nylon, Teflon, Xenoy, and many others are increasingly being used to replace other materials like bronze, stainless steel, aluminum, and ceramics.

Faull & Son decided to take advantage of this new technology for use in bar stool swivels, and was decidedly ahead of its time with its first patent in 1969. Today with companies like GE Plastics and DuPont making major and progressive advancements in polymers, we continue to take advantage of this technology for use in the furniture swivel industry.  The original Swiv-lon® chair swivel used nylon ring bearings (no steel balls) and this material has consistently shown duration beyond 1,000,000 cycles in Faull & Son in-house testing.

When someone sits on a “thrust bearing” swivel chair, the significant torque applied opens one side of the swivel plus puts tremendous pressure on the opposite side, increasing the friction between the two surfaces. With ball bearing swivels, this gives room for the balls to leave the race and fall out. That is why traditional swivel manufacturers had to resort to using a plastic retainer to hold balls in place, especially for bearings that are not full-race. This however does not overcome the friction on the opposite side wearing the balls down, resulting in steel shavings, resulting in more friction, binding and eventually failure of the swivel.  They last 60,000 cycles in our testing.

The advanced polymers now used in Swiv-lon® swivels provide a durability far beyond the traditional ball-bearing swivel, even with continuous use.  Moreover, the use of heavy gauge steel and our engineered design with the star in the middle, combined with the no-failure space-age polymer bearing, make Swiv-lon® chair swivels a cut above the rest. The specially designed stress-released rivet struck by our rivet press at precisely the right force also provides exceptional strength. It is set to provide just the right amount of torque to avoid any rocking motion of the swivel chair.

So why should you choose a Swiv-lon® chair swivel to build or repair your swivel chair? Maybe the strength of the swivel plate itself and the extreme durability of the polymer bearing are enough to convince you. Possibly our lifetime warranty provides the motivation because you’re tired of slipping on the balls that have fallen out of your traditional  ball-bearing swivel and replacing your swivels every couple years.

But what you really need to do is sit down on a chair with a Swiv-lon® bar stool swivel and take note: It is smooth and it is quiet. You can not feel or hear the balls like a traditional ball bearing swivel.  But remember:  It is built to last and it is not going to fail.  If you want the best, at a great price with a lifetime warranty, buy Faull & Son Swiv-lon® bar stool and chair swivels!