“Spaceship” Chair

I’ve been looking for a more comfortable way to sit at a computer for long periods of time, and this is my latest attempt (and yes, I’ve also tried a standing desk). The guys at the Makerspace have been calling it the “Spaceship”.


The structure is a little haphazard because I was making it up as I went along. I had planned to make all the angles adjustable, but when I found an angle that seemed right, it turned out to be exactly 30 degrees, so I drilled some holes and bolted it in place. Next time I’ll start with that, and the structure will look more like I planned it that way…

The monitor and bookstand can be raised on drawer slides to get them out of the way. The weight is balanced by two paint cans full of pea gravel. I think the monitor should be slightly lower, and maybe a little farther away, so when I take it apart to take it home, I’ll drill a few more adjustment holes (everything bolts together, and no single piece is more than 6 ft long, so it will fit in my car).

I had to use a narrow keyboard, because a full sized one has the main keys offset to the left to accomodate the keypad on the right (which is where I wanted the trackball). This one is a “Happy Hacking” keyboard, which unfortunately does not have “tactile” keyswitches, but it’s not bad. (There have been some narrow keyboards with better keyswitches in the past, but none are in stock right now). I’m just holding the keyboard+trackball in my lap, which is less than ideal, but it works OK
for now. The keyboard has a USB hub built in, so I plugged the trackball into it, leaving just one wire going to the computer. I also have a generic mouse mounted to the left of the keyboard (not visible in the pictures) to provide a scroll wheel, since the trackball doesn’t have one.

Computer Case

I hacked this semi-portable computer case together in one weekend as a “proof of concept”, so it’s a little rough around the edges, but I’m pleased with the way it turned out. I’d like to build another one, with some changes to the design.

Larger pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24308938@N04/sets/72157626087260849/

It’s made from 1/2″ oak plywood. The computer is in the bottom, with an open bin on top for the keyboard and trackball. I appreciate high-quality keyboards, so the length is dictated by the size of the keyboard (Unicomp used to make a smaller one, but they discontinued it, and so far I haven’t found another small one with high-quality keyswitches).

The main problem I ran into is that the center of gravity isn’t quite right, because I didn’t realise how heavy the LCD was (it weighs about 8.5 lbs). When I use it on my desk at home, I keep a couple of old DigiKey catalogs in the bin to make sure it doesn’t get accidentally knocked over.

Also, it’s kind of heavy– about 40 lbs total. The wooden parts weigh about 12 lbs. I’m thinking it might be possible to remove the LCD from its case and mount it differently– the standard VESA mounting puts all the stress in the center of the back, instead of distributing it around the edge. I might also try thinner plywood, although the thin stuff tends to warp. And I might use aluminum framing instead of wood.

CNC Projects

The cost of building a CNC machine has been coming down dramatically, and every makerspace needs a CNC router. I was planning to build one at Bucketworks, but their space was destroyed by flooding last spring, before I could get started. I had put together some notes on a wiki at http://bucketworkscnc.pbworks.com/ (check out the “useful links” page). Anyone can read that page, but if you want to add to it, you have to set up an account at pbworks and then request access to my wiki.

I’m thinking of building a CNC router with a working area of 2’x4′, so it will be able to cut large signs or furniture parts. I’ve also thought about building an automatic box-joint cutting machine (there are several ways to do this with a tablesaw or a router, but it would be cool to just clamp up the parts and push a button).

Tom has access to used stepper motors, among other things. I’ve got some ideas about construction details, and I’ll want to build some test jigs to try out ideas before I build the actual machine. Join us if you’d like to help, or would like some help with your own CNC projects.