LumberJocks
DAILY DEALS Painter’s Pyramids  |  Makita Makita Recon LCT203W 10.8 Volt Lithium Ion Impact Driver 2 Pc Kit

Telescope Observing Chair

Project by JerryL posted 663 days ago 705 views 7 times favorited 15 comments Add to Favorites Watch

I just noticed that I have three telescopes in my projects list. I do build other things – take this adjustable height observing chair for example. Instead of looking through it you sit on it ;-). Basically the problem is that when you use most telescopes the height of the eyepiece changes as you look at things high in the sky vs. low on the horizon. Constantly bending down or standing up can really take a toll on your back.

This chair solves that by having a seat that’s adjustable. The first picture shows it best. The seat is made with two metal bars in the back (covered in heat shrink tubing to soften them and add some friction). By tilting the seat up it allows it to slide from where the legs attach to near the top of the back.

The construction is all 5/4 hard maple execpt for the seat slats which are 3/4 soft maple. There’s no stain just 3 or 4 coats of wipe on satin polly. This is my first real project with maple and I had really enjoyed working with this wood. 5/4 is really beefy to start with and the nice tight grain and hard wood make this stuff a dream to work.

Now if only those clouds would go away….

-- Jerry L.


15 comments so far

View jerryw's profile

jerryw

100 posts in 809 days


posted 663 days ago

I like your chair. nice design. keep up the good work. have fun.

-- jerryw-wva.

View Karson's profile

Karson

25792 posts in 1294 days


posted 663 days ago

Nice chair and designed for a purpose. Great job. Kids could use something like that to sit at a table.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View RobS's profile

RobS

1243 posts in 1200 days


posted 663 days ago

Nice, Karson’s right, it could be used in numerous scenarios. Great job.

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

View Marge's profile

Marge

144 posts in 847 days


posted 663 days ago

cool design and very functional

-- Marge, Colorado

View RobH's profile

RobH

460 posts in 943 days


posted 663 days ago

I love the chair Jerry, any chance you could post plans or make them available?

Keep up the good work!

-- -- Rob Hix, King George, VA

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5968 posts in 959 days


posted 663 days ago

Great design and execution.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View rikkor's profile

rikkor

11335 posts in 768 days


posted 663 days ago

Great chair.

View ratchet's profile

ratchet

300 posts in 680 days


posted 663 days ago

Can you tell us if the it appears the seat removes for easy storage?
Ingenious design and its well executed. Good work. Thx for sharing.

View CharlieM1958's profile (online now)

CharlieM1958

7618 posts in 1112 days


posted 663 days ago

Great design!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View Tomcat1066's profile

Tomcat1066

776 posts in 689 days


posted 663 days ago

Neat design. I like it a lot!

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

View Grant Davis's profile

Grant Davis

481 posts in 802 days


posted 663 days ago

That looks sweet. I could see that coming in handy while scrolling or working at the workbench.

-- Grant...."GO BUCKEYES"

View Roz's profile

Roz

461 posts in 680 days


posted 663 days ago

Great design! This is a good idea that could be applied to other projects.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

View JerryL's profile

JerryL

38 posts in 941 days


posted 662 days ago

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. The seat does in fact slide off the top. I’ve seen designs where the bar in back passes through the seat sides and is removable. This lets the seat be positioned independently of the legs. I’ve also seen versions that add a movable foot rest using a similar sliding mechanism. If I end up using this one in a high position I’ll be adding a foot rest myself.

To RobH, I can get you the “plans” that I used if you want them. I used them as a rough guide and if you look at this chair you’ll see the spacer blocks at the top, middle, and bottom. It’s obvious that the guy who did the plans I used wasn’t a wood worker. My second version will use cross pieces at the top and bottom with three mortise & tennon joints in place of the spacers and threaded rod.

I plan to use two pieces of dowel in the middle. They are short enough that I can get a hole through them without much trouble.

-- Jerry L.

View mrpeabody's profile

mrpeabody

1 post in 655 days


posted 655 days ago

Don’t know if you’ve gotten any feedback from astronomers, but there’s a couple of us that find your chair design very intriguing. A fellow astronomer/friend is taking a woodworking class and has offered to think about building me a chair like yours if I can come up with the plans. I notice that you’ve already received one request for plans, and that you plan on improving those plans – Either way, any plans that you might care to share would be greatly appreciated. I use a small telescope design known as a Schmitt-Cassagrain, and I’m constantly having to bend over or squat to use it, and since this telescope is “clock” driven I can spend long periods in a single position observing and/or photographing. So yes, please do share.

Thanks very much.

-- -- "Keep Looking Up..." - Jack Horkheimer

View jeanmarc's profile

jeanmarc

1751 posts in 610 days


posted 480 days ago

Nice chairKeep up the good work

-- jeanmarc manosque france

You must be signed in to post the comments.

  • View all advertisers
  • Advertise with us

DISCLAIMER: Any posts on LJ are posted by individuals acting in their own right and do not necessarily reflect the views of LJ. LJ will not be held liable for the actions of any user.

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

HomeRefurbers.com

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

GardenTenders.com :: gardening showcase