This article includes a 2:24 video walkthrough.

Use the cylinder removal device, the small aluminum collar with three screws. First make sure the locking screw is tight. Then turn the two removal screws in until they touch the chair, and keep turning them two or three turns at a time, alternating sides, until the base breaks free. It often takes more turns than people expect, so don't be afraid to keep going.

Still stuck after many turns? See "My base is stuck. How do I get it off?"

Also called: removing the base, separating the base from the chair, cylinder removal tool, taking the chair apart.

Hi, guys. This is a quick video to teach you how to get your chair apart, from the base to the upper, and you're going to be doing it with the cylinder removal device. It's this little aluminum contraption right here, and there are three screws that you're going to be working with.

The first one is what locks this part onto here, and it's very important that you make sure it's tight. It could have loosened up with use in the field, or even with the vibration in the trucks during shipping. So turn this tight and make sure it's good and snug. That is step one, by far.

Next, you're going to use this tool. Normally you're going to turn one side in and then the other side in, but for speed of video, I'm going to switch over to this. So you turn it in until you feel it get snug, and that's the bolt going down. Right there. That means it's touching the chair. Pause. Go to the other side and get this other one. I'm going to go in until I feel it hit the chair. Right there. Snug.

Okay, now it's go time. This is when you start using your tool and you turn it. I'd go maybe two or three turns on this side, then go to the other side and do two or three turns, and you go back and forth. All you're doing is putting pressure down into the chair and slowly lifting the collar up and away, breaking the two pieces apart.

And I take a lot of calls. A lot of calls from people going, "Hey, I turned it in and it's not coming off." And I go, "Send me a photo." And what I often see is this. They turned it in a few times, went back and forth, and after three turns, three turns, three turns and nothing happens, the frustration kicks in. And I get photos like this, and I go, "I hate to tell you, you're close. You've got to keep going." Don't be afraid to turn this thing in. It's pretty common that you just have to keep pushing to break these two pieces apart. And sometimes those screws are way down in there, like this one. There we go. It just broke right there. Look at how far down those are. Don't be afraid. You've got to go down in there and push these apart, and then they come apart.