I moved from a house with a bar height bar to a counter height bar. I have great sentimental attachment to the bar stools I have to the point I don’t really care if the “go” with the house and decor, I can’t part with them — too many memories when I look at them. Maybe you found a great deal on bar stools with metal legs at a thrift shop but they are too tall for where you want to use them. There is a remedy.
Research
I found a good starting place with an ehow article How to Cut Metal Bar Stool Legs so I knew it was possible. I should have taken the advice offered in the article…
Next a thorough discussion on what height is right in Kitchen Seating – How Much Knee Space Do I Need? and I confirmed this on other sites (I never take the word of only one site).
Look for 24″ high stools for a 36″ counter and 30″ high bar stools for 42″ high counters.
Then I needed to know how much room should be between seat and bottom of counter for user comfort and found this at HowtoDecorate.com:
Keep in mind you need 9″-13″ between the seat and the counter for seating comfort.
Now I knew how much I wanted to cut off, but didn’t relish the idea of using a hacksaw on 8 legs.
Methods tried
Keep in mind I had a little room for scratches since I planned on replacing the rubber legs tips when I was done cutting and they would cover any scratches right at the bottom of the legs.
The easy tools – tubing cutter and multi-tool. Both were failures.
I decided to try a power tool first in hopes it would quickly whisk the 8 legs off. I taped and marked the legs to prevent damage and found the multi-tool bounced all over the place before actually biting in and starting to cut. This could be the result of my lack of experience and a more experienced user might have much better luck. With great disappointment I decided that was not the way to go.
Next was the copper tubing tool I had from plumbing projects. It worked great on consistent diameter tube. It does not, however, work great on tapered tubing like the legs. I spiraled down the taper and there was no way I would get an accurate cut. I again set a tool aside with great disappoint.
What actually worked
The dreaded hack saw. I went to work with the hack saw, and while not fun, I cut all the legs off and corrected the bad cut from trying the copper tubing tool and both stools were mostly level when placed on a hard surface. I had one leg that was just a little short.
Leg tips
I had hoped to reuse the leg tips. Unfortunately, once cut the leg diameter went from 1/2″ to 5/8″. I wondered how much trouble I would have to go to to find 5/8″ black rubber legs tips. On online search showed HD and the hardware store were a waste of time. I have found that L may have things on their website and not in there stores. I almost jumped and down with joy when I walked in and found 4 packs of 5/8″ rubber tips in black.
Now for getting the buggers on.
Attaching the leg tips
Okay, so maybe the tubes were a tad over 5/8″ and the legs got wider where the tops of the tips would sit.
I had figured I could correct the the short leg by adding washers to the bottom of that leg tip. Then I decided washers would also prevent the ends of the legs from working their way through the legs tips over time so I bought a pack that fit perfectly into the leg tips. I used the handle of a wooden spoon to force the washers down into place.
It pretty much took brute force to start the leg tips and a hammer to get them all the way on. Good thing there were washers in there to prevent me hammering right through the bottom of the tips. All 8 tips on are. Man, I hope I never want them off. I would probably have to cut them off. On the bright side — I don’t ever have to worry about them falling off and the stools are nice and level.
So pleased
I don’t know if I may at some point paint the metal or the wood, but I do know when I put those stools in place and stepped back to look at them I just smiled. Silly how attached you get to things, but I am so glad I found a way to make them work with the shorter counter height and people will actually be able to sit on them 🙂
Thank you do much I figured it would take the hacksaw. now I’ll give mine a try. I think I should find the rubber bottoms first. Thanks again
Thanks for the tips, I just purchased 4 metal bar stools 30″ seat high for counter island 37″ high, apparently the chairs are too tall (although checked with merchant before I place the order, they told me 30″ high should fit in legs. I am a single woman and not sure if I can do the cut by myself, do you know if the plumber has such hacksaw can help me to cut the legs? Or, should I purchase an electric hacksaw to do it myself for cost saving?
I don’t know what the legs are made of, but it’s not that hard to saw them yourself with a regular hack saw. If you get tired, take a break and come back and do the next leg. Personally, I wouldn’t go the expense of an electric tool or a plumber.
Loved your post, especially the inclusion of methods that didn’t work. I thrifted a couple of brass leg bar stools for a new apartment that has a breakfast bar and they are way too tall! This was very helpful, including the information about how much room there should be between the seat and bottom of counter. Thanks.
Really glad to hear my information helped. I always like for others to learn from my mistakes 🙂
Can I cut the metal table too and make it shorter
Too
Who would I call to cut down the legs of two chairs and a table? I really dislike the high dining set on my balcony.. I can’t do it myself.
Make sure you can find appropriate feet for it before cutting the legs off. I would think a handyman would be able to do it with no trouble.
The legs on my bar stools do not spread out and although they are very heavy, they still tip. Can they be bent or reshape somehow?
Hi–I need to cut down my iron tubular bar stool legs, which are similar to yours pictured above, with graduating widths as the legs get closer to the seat. Your tips and tricks were most helpful. Thank you!!! I am concerned about cutting the legs. Did you cut the legs while laying the stools down on the ground? Do I need to use a vice grip? The seats on mine are swivel, which may create some challenges while trying to cut.
I put them on their sides and cut them. I didn’t use vice grips because I didn’t want to damage the legs. I did tape around the leg and cut through the tape to avoid scratching the legs. Hopes this helps!
Yes, it dies! Thanks so much!!!
Hello, is the only reason the copper tubing tool didn’t work for you because the legs were tapered? Mine aren’t tapered and hoping that would work otherwise I guess it’s the hacksaw! Could you also show a photo of the type of hacksaw you used? Thanks
The legs were tapered and the copper tubing tool just slid down when tightened. Tools are packed for travel, but a fine tooth saw would be best.