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Old 20-12-2011, 02:07 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

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DIY obs chair from found stuff

Hi all,

Here's another DIY observation chair project.

My brief was to use as much stuff I had already at home, making the thing not only cheap, but as practical as possible. So here is my Mark 1 obs chair:

The seat is height adjustable. The mechanism works just by lifting the seat which disengages the 25mm dowel from the cut hole and lifting or lowering it to the next hole and the dowel just slots into the desired hole. The dowel piece came from the top end of a dead broom. The seat is from assorted detritus, including an old cypress pine floor board.

The frame is from a merbau off-cut. The holes in the seat piece were done carefully using a 25mm spade bit. What I did need to buy was the stainless steel hinge. Not for the corrosion resistance, but for the added strength of stainless over conventional steel hinges.

The bracing member is from ironbark recovered from a smashed up park bench (bloody hard timber!). The locking mechanism for it is the angled cut-out that slips over the frame. I can lift the chair just from the brace the lock is so effective.

The rubber feet where placed into filed slots so that when the chair is opened out, the maximum amount of rubber is in contact. The chair folds up neatly for storage too.

This is the Mark 1 version. In the field 'testing' is still to happen, once these clouds bugger off, . So far the seat works a treat. Stable, adjustable and simple to use.

Thanks for looking,

Mental.
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Old 20-12-2011, 02:32 PM
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steve000 (Steve)
just a bit obsessed

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You have a small bum.

I love the design though, and the fact that is folds up into somthing tiny yet rugged enough to be plonked on roof racks or wedged in the boot.
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Old 20-12-2011, 03:50 PM
mercedes_sl1970
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Great seat, Alex especially as it is from parts around the house. It makes such a difference to be able to sit and relax when observing.

Andrew
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Old 20-12-2011, 03:59 PM
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DavidTrap (David)
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By the look of your lush green grass and plants, you've been seeing a lot of clouds lately!

Chair looks good - that style works well.

DT
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Old 22-12-2011, 03:34 AM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve000 View Post
You have a small bum.
, I wish, , well, I guess it's nicely padded,

So far I've found that the 'small seat' allows me to find a comfy position for the pose I need at the EP. Time will tell if I need to modify the seat such as padding, making bigger, smaller, what ever. Even the height of the chair too is liable to change depending on how I find its performance from its first manifestation.
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Old 23-12-2011, 01:48 AM
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marcheenek (Marcin)
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Hi, I also made a 'scrap bin' chair a while ago and it's been serving me well. The seat is made out of 2x1, 12x1 and some 1x1s glued together and it just slides off the bottom for storage. The strut brace is attached to the leg with just a screw and it's fastened with a bolt lock on the other side.

My design is for people with nerves of steel. Every time I sit on it, it makes a loud "crrreeeeek!" sound
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