When DIY spins out of control...

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
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George the original one
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When DIY spins out of control...

Post by George the original one »

So I want something like https://usa.gtomegaracing.com/monitor-s ... -v3-canada. The thinking goes "For $250 delivered to my door, I should try building one." :idea:

At this point, after spending several days in half-design and beginning to build a prototype, I have spent:
$20 on fuel (two trips to Home Depot)
$40 on materials (reasonable, but I'll need more since I'm in proof-of-concept stage)
$170 on a finish nail gun (justified by being used for other projects so I won't be borrowing from father-in-law)

And I don't yet know if it will work because it will take me a couple more days of tinkering and waiting for glue/paint to dry.

Yup, this one is quickly spinning, spiraling out of control. :roll:

jacob
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by jacob »

I think I see where you're going with this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/%2410-L ... oor-Stand/

Or something like that ... Next step would be to add a Kreg jig to your repertoire. That's 80% of the Pareto solution. @ffj turned me onto those but I warn you: It's all dark side and easy cookies from that point on ...

Riggerjack
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by Riggerjack »

Or not far enough out of control. At a auction, we found a few modular monitor stands, that mount to horizontal surfaces.

So now my wife sits in her recliner, 2 cats on lap, mouse on armrest, the monitor swings over the cats. The monitor stand swings off the bookcase to her left, allowing easy access/escape.

If you are going for full immersion, a favorite recliner is the seat to have.

enigmaT120
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by enigmaT120 »

I don't understand what the device in the OP is for.

George the original one
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by George the original one »

Image

enigmaT120
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by enigmaT120 »

Wow. Can it work for flight simulators too?

jacob
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by jacob »

Yup!

Check out youtube to see what people are building in their garages. 737 simulators are common. There are even 720 (4pi) setups that rotate the entire cockpit. The racing pic above is a static setup and easy to DIY. If you don't want to, you can buy it for $500-$1000 tops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5BmA3ejyHY (737 in garage)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d6XcnCB5R0 (F16 in living room)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWtJAJiA4Ts (pvc tube, etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_3CLm7jmE4 (desk version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvBUbQbHdOI (bigger)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BLvi5nvfTU (arduino controlled motion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Re4DSogX4 (+2 Wheaton from that)
and so on ...

There are websites. Ask me how I know :-P ...

George the original one
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by George the original one »

Picking up where we left off, the proof of concept model worked reasonably well and then serendipity struck, leading me down a new path: sit/stand desk frames!

I may have gone through the motions before, 1.5 years ago when I bought the triples (can't recall for certain), but this time I'm serious because I know more about what's involved.  Anyway, ended up looking at the desk designs to see what mechanisms were being used to lift the work surface.  Stumbled into Amazon from one of the pictures, where they have just the frames being sold.  Tens of different frames all doing essentially the same thing at many varying prices.

Now you're probably asking why a sit/stand desk frame?  Because it can elevate a large work area while keeping it level.  So mount the monitors to the frame since the work surface only gets in the way when it's bridging a simracing cockpit with silly steering wheel sticking up.  Naturally the steering wheel is in the sight line when you're trying to do real computer work, so being able to raise & lower the monitors is handy.  Then came the question of whether it should adjust manually or with an electric motor... I'm partial to the hand crank, but a crank might not be within reach if the seating position is extremely laid down.  Besides, one of the features of the model I chose is that it has a 4-position memory in addition to the usual up/down control.  So I plunked my money down on this one: https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Electric-A ... B06XDC11PJ and it is arriving today.

KevinW
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Re: When DIY spins out of control...

Post by KevinW »

Yeah, sometimes it's just cheaper to buy the pre-packaged mass-produced commodity.

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