My custom desk

Hi guys, new user here based in Auckland. I thought you might be interested in my latest silly idea.

I built this from an old exercycle, an office chair, and some steel I scored from work. I wanted something that was custom made to suit me so I mounted a chair to the old exercycle frame and built a desk around myself. I used the desk in its previous incarnation for a year and it worked fine but there was a lot of tidying up to be done, so when we shifted to a nicer house I decided to upgrade the desk so I didn't feel so bad keeping it in the lounge.



The footrest comes up at the same time as the desk comes down, the springs underneath are to help with the weight of the desk.



Here it is in the open position



The keyboard is held on by magnets I have glued to the bottom and there is a metal plate on the desk to hold it in position, that way I can still move it around for comfort. I am making a side table now so that I can keep my mouse cradle, USB hub, volume controls, iPhone dock and a place for my coffee. The table will also enclose my PC, so I guess it will be a custom case when it is finished.

I have more info on my blog at geek2green.blogspot.com

More pictures here
Also the evolution of the chair (10 videos) is at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC4BF16ECBAF8F4F6

I will do a video of the finished desk working soon but I was in a traffic accident on my scooter and I am a bit messed up right now.

Please feel free to ask any questions or make comments. I know the whole idea is wacky but it works really well for me.

Cheers.

You built that? That is absolutely awesome.

Hey thanks! I put a lot of time into it and it does need some finishing yet but I am so happy with it that I had to show people that might not think I am insane (as my family does).

Wow that is absolutely amazing, you sir have some skills!

Excellent work! Don't let anyone tell you you're crazy Is the computer itself mounted to the chair or is it free standing somewhere? I don't think I can see from those pics.

pwnmachine said:

Wow that is absolutely amazing, you sir have some skills!

Click to expand...

Ironically the only reason I have skills is that I made this. This desk is what I taught myself to weld on, I just bought a welder and scored some steel then read a book about welding and had some fun. The first couple of versions of the desk were much rougher but as time has gone on my welding has become better and better and I keep adding to my tools/skills and improving things.

Cheers.

kaltag said:

Excellent work! Don't let anyone tell you you're crazy Is the computer itself mounted to the chair or is it free standing somewhere? I don't think I can see from those pics.

Click to expand...

It is free standing, I am making a side table that will also be a computer case but I have only just started on that so my old case is doing the job for now.

That looks excellent!

Elroc said:

Ironically the only reason I have skills is that I made this. This desk is what I taught myself to weld on, I just bought a welder and scored some steel then read a book about welding and had some fun. The first couple of versions of the desk were much rougher but as time has gone on my welding has become better and better and I keep adding to my tools/skills and improving things.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

I started a similar project a while back that is pretty much the same story. I got an old welder as an inheritance and just learned from there. Keep it up!

That is amazing! Great work!

....Can you build me one? LOL.

That's awesome..

But doesn't the screen (even with the mounting) flex a little facing like that when the chair is open? Or is it solid?

EDIT; I suppose the way its mounted I guess not.. Most of the weight would be in the bottom.. Hmm

PS: Lucky son.. He looks quite happy there

awesome although i'd be inclined to make it a dual monitor setup.

Holy crap that's phenomenal!!

Looks very nice and very comfy! How much time did it take to built it?

kaltag said:

Excellent work! Don't let anyone tell you you're crazy

Click to expand...

You're crazy...

That said, if that's crazy, I want to be crazy. That chair pwns.

95blackz26 said:

awesome although i'd be inclined to make it a dual monitor setup.

Click to expand...

I am planning to go triple monitor when I have the cash and the time to do it. I am currently making the side table that will house my PC so the monitors will have to wait for a bit, I will also need to upgrade the springs to hold more weight when I change the monitors so it is not a priority yet.

This is roughly what I am making for the side table



Cheers.

BenF said:

Looks very nice and very comfy! How much time did it take to built it?

Click to expand...

The original prototype took me 11 days to make but the latest upgrade took about 2 months of after work and weekends. When I made the original I was on holiday time but I had to do the latest upgrades in my spare time after work etc. It takes a lot more time to make a "final" version because it has to look pretty so there is a lot of grinding, filing and sanding plus all the paint prep.

Elroc said:

I am planning to go triple monitor when I have the cash and the time to do it. I am currently making the side table that will house my PC so the monitors will have to wait for a bit, I will also need to upgrade the springs to hold more weight when I change the monitors so it is not a priority yet.

This is roughly what I am making for the side table



Cheers.

Click to expand...

nice like the side table. i only said dual monitor given the size out the chair. now since i have been using 3 monitors myself i would probably go that route.

I made a start on the side table tonight, I have already changed the design from what I posted earlier to this

I have decided that the bottom shelf is not necessary so I am going to remove it. I am also going to make the CD rom enclosure part of the main box to make it easier to construct.

I think I am going to lay out the internals like this



For the wheels I am going to do 2 of these.



But the box section will be split in 2 lengthways to make 2 pieces of angle iron that I can use to bolt to the wood.

I will update again as I go, or should I put this somewhere else?

Cheers

Edit: I will be pulling my PC apart to use in this so the parts I am using here are just spare bits I have laying around that I am using for a mock up.

Wow thats awesome! Good job on the build man.