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I see little/no discussion about arguably the most important thing to the gamer/long time computer user - the place we park our bums.
I'm a pretty light guy (6'3, 165lbs) and I have always found that any and all computer chairs lose their padding in very short order. Granted, I have no experience with chairs costing over ~$200, but everything under that has always become incredibly uncomfortable after a year or two, sometimes less.
My current chair broke recently (sheared two bolts and the back snapped off!) so I went to my old fall-back plan from years ago: Cars.
I used to build hot rods, so I've got a reasonable understanding of the automotive world. Off to the pick-n-pull I went. Came home with the cloth passenger seat from a Volvo 240 Coupé for $25, and another $20 in a pre-cut piece of 3/4 plywood and some 5/8 bolts in the 1-1/4 length, along with some washers. (depending on the car seat you get, you may need to remove the rails. With the volvo seat, I simply removed the runners. If you have to remove the entire rail assembly, it's easy to do, just unscrew a few bolts, but make sure you get bolts in the 1-1/2 inch length range that fit the seat. Just go into lowes and grab a few different kinds, remember that most non-american cars will use metric, and ask the cashier if you can leave your keys with her while you go see which one fits) I simply removed the broken leftovers of my old seat from the base, most all chairs will have a base with a nice wide mounting plate. If you don't have one on hand, simply craigslist or cannibalize a cheapo one from office max.
The tricky part is figuring out where the bolts need to go. So I put a little bit of grease on the bolt-holes, and set the board on the seat. Voila, grease marks where you need to drill. Drill holes a little larger than the bolt diameter, and test fit.
For the base, mount up the board to the chair completely and finger-tight. then set it on the chair base. You want to have the back bolts line up with where your butt will be, or slightly behind your bum (slightly behind will make it a little harder to tip back, slightly ahead will make it easier to rock. From my experience, slightly behind is better, I like having to lean into the chair to make it rock)
I do the same, just marking with grease where the drill should go, unbolt the wood from the seat and double check with a tape measure that it's centered. Drill away, bolt it all together, make sure it fits and works correctly, and you're done!
For me, when I did the first chair, I used a Fiero seat, and I sanded all the edges round with a drum sander, and then painted it black.
The benefits are manyfold. Longevity (car seats are designed to last decades) and comfort (most car seats are designed to be comfortable for hours on end) as well as optional complexity (if you were electronically inclined, you could rewire seat heaters, seat massagers, a-la mercedes, into a standard grounded plug and have a baller-status chair)
The only downside is you lose your armrests, unless you're willing to make some or have them made. Personally, I prefer no armrests, as it lets me use the chair to play saxophone or cello as well.
This volvo seat is about as cheap as you can go. I have to have the chair base set as low as possible, but it's still fairly tall. If you could weld, you could drop it down by doing a thinner base-frame. Alternately, when you're looking for seats in the junkyard, look for thinner seats that don't require rails.
I have one of those infinite-adjust backrest adjuster wheels, adjustable lumbar support, and best of all, it hugs your butt like only a volvo could. I washed it first, but I will want to run my girlfriend's little pilling-remover over it. I prefer a cloth seat so I don't stick to it, and it feels like my favorite old sweater.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/SbKKs.jpg)
Not my prettiest one, but missing my belt sander made it a little rougher. Also, if I had more time, I could have found a better seat. Pontiac fiero seats are awesome, as are 240sx seats.
total cost was about $47. you could do cheaper if you had a smaller hardware store in your area, like home depot. Jerks at Lowes made me spend $18 on a sheet of plywood much larger than I needed.
If anyone is interested in having one made, I can probably do it within ~$200 plus shipping (volvo seat, for example, can fold completely flat, so shipping isn't bad. Other seats may not, all depends on what you want and what the scrapyard has to offer) and I could integrate armrests (I can weld/paint nice metal ones) if you wanted.
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That looks awesome :D
I wonder how heavy it is though, its nice to be able to easily lift a chair out of the way. Other then that, you should start an internet business selling them, think of the profit margins 
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Looks pretty nice. All it needs now is a nice color dye and you could put it up for sale
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I was okay with volvo beige, but I can go for normal grey seats, black, leather, cloth, whatever. I could have dropped $75 and bought my roommate's old recaro racing seat, as well. Almost anything will work (minivan seats tend not to.)
Weight wise, it's actually a tiny bit lighter than the standard chair. Most of the weight in a computer chair is in the base itself, to prevent tipover.
This chair can tip over the entire range of motion the seat allows without becoming unstable.
And selling them would be horrible, shipping costs would be abhorrent, haha. Anyone local to the seattle area is welcome to PM me about having one made for themselves, however. I'd do it for $20, including parts.
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Hehe nice. I couldnt play on a chair with no arm support though.
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Cool idea and yeah I agree computer chairs under 200$ pretty much suck.
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if you're sitting on your ass all day, don't be afraid to drop a bit of cash on a sick chair. get one where you sit on that mesh so it doesnt wear out. those are dope
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
Holy crap!! Thats awesome, i too have spent many 100s of £s on computer chairs which ALL start to hurt my back 3-5 months into having them, and what your saying makes COMPLETE sense, computer chairs are desgined for comfort yes, but not nescessarily designed to last the length we would use them and the times we use them for. Car seats are! Id love a ferrerai seat <3 or an Audi type one like they do in football stadium dug outs would be sick!
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I've found the mesh type to create pressure points and not be overall very comfortable. The cat chair gets around these problems by having very thick padding and in most cases, a sprung underside as well.
Even the more expensive computer chairs, you just get the feeling that the quality isn't there for all that long, like your butt is hovering about a half inch from the base when it's brand new. That'll wear down quickly.
As for armrests, I can probably get some steel bar and simply weld together something if I really wanted them. It's not like this setup forbids you from armrests. Hell, some seats come with armrests built in (older BMW back seat buckets had two arm rests)
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Looks sweet! But i feel it's easier to just add padding to the chair. Simplest way; Throw a pillow on it, done! Or if you know how to work a needle on a basic level, you could just throw some new padding (foam rubber can work) in and needle that in place with a new slipcover. To each his own though! When it's time to scrap my current car, i think i'll give this one a go!
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Adding padding is always do-able, but you're still left with a poor quality chair. And taking one apart to re-pad under the cover is actually more work than this. This was a matter of going to pick and pull, looking for a seat that I liked (I loved the slot headrest of the volvo) and then having your hardware store cut you a piece of plywood, drilling eight holes, and bolting it all together.
Furthermore, doing the padding yourself can be hit or miss on the comfort and longevity front. When you use a car seat, you know it's going to be comfortable and last pretty much forever.
here's a crappy ancient (2007) cell phone pic of the original prototype. Still works flawlessly, my dad uses it every day.
![[image loading]](http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c101/popnsplat/0925071827.jpg)
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On November 17 2011 18:43 Honeybadger wrote:
Adding padding is always do-able, but you're still left with a poor quality chair. And taking one apart to re-pad under the cover is actually more work than this. This was a matter of going to pick and pull, looking for a seat that I liked (I loved the slot headrest of the volvo) and then having your hardware store cut you a piece of plywood, drilling eight holes, and bolting it all together.
Yeah... The quality of the chair will still stay crap. I'll have to try the car seat
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Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this:
![[image loading]](http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/wood_chair.jpg)
Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old).
Timeless design.
A Masterpiece.
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Am I the only one who uses a bed as a computer chair with my back against a wall supported with pillows? ...It's so comfy compared to computer chairs, regardless of price. Whenever I'm forced to use a computer chair I find it hard to stay at the computer, with a bed I can literally game non stop
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On November 17 2011 19:04 RunAwayCactuar wrote:
Am I the only one who uses a bed as a computer chair with my back against a wall supported with pillows? ...It's so comfy compared to computer chairs, regardless of price. Whenever I'm forced to use a computer chair I find it hard to stay at the computer, with a bed I can literally game non stop
Many psychiatrists say that you should only use your bed for sleep and sex, 'else it can mess with your sleep quality/ability to sleep
On November 17 2011 18:53 Velr wrote:Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this: Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old). Timeless design. A Masterpiece.
I see this
![[image loading]](http://www.beatking.com/forums/uploads/post-92-1125225071.jpg)
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I use this:
![[image loading]](http://k.b5z.net/i/u/2175885/i/Rock_Seat.jpg)
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On November 17 2011 18:53 Velr wrote:Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this: Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old). Timeless design. A Masterpiece.
you must not sit that much on it. my back would be in 5 pieces sitting on a chair like that for upwards of 16h/day.
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On November 17 2011 21:15 CultureMisfits wrote:I use this:
Like Zeus on that thing man, watch out for this guy! :o I actually use a shit WalMart chair personally, the lovely fake ass leather ones that "deflate" after a few months. Thank god for pillows though, otherwise I might have to get up more often and live my life. lol
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i went on an ebay-type site (gumtree) and lucked out, a guy was selling an amazing huge white leather + wood luxury desk chair for £12, i wheeled it down the street 5 minutes back to my house gg :D love your idea
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This thread is already hilarious lol.
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On November 17 2011 18:53 Velr wrote:Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this: Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old). Timeless design. A Masterpiece.
You'll get varicose veins when sitting on this for hours. GL HF with that dood.
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I got this thing. It sucks.
The arm padding has worn out in under 6 months, the "leather" on it has started to crack and crumble away, my elbows basically rest on pure metal now.
The chair is comfy though, and its always good to scare the shit out of my missus with the recline
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Doesn't the height/weight of a car seat upset the balance of the chair? It just seems like it would be very easy to tip over. Especially being on wheels.
I like the idea either way, and it could be very fun... I was actually looking at building a simulator cage for playing racing games recently, I never thought of just changing the chair!
Really got me thinking, thanks man.
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![[image loading]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_duEXmLdyTEI/SC2u_lM1kzI/AAAAAAAAAYI/QGm5PC_pn4g/s320/01150601160601040920080514f1428966d25f1cddb80098c7.jpg)
After I mastered the balance the chair was pure sex.
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On November 17 2011 22:10 Kyhol wrote: After I mastered the balance the chair was pure sex.
lmfao I love it!
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Get a used Herman Miller Aeron chair (ebay) and never look back.
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i use a seat from an Audi
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On November 17 2011 21:55 skipgamer wrote:
Doesn't the height/weight of a car seat upset the balance of the chair? It just seems like it would be very easy to tip over. Especially being on wheels.
I like the idea either way, and it could be very fun... I was actually looking at building a simulator cage for playing racing games recently, I never thought of just changing the chair!
Really got me thinking, thanks man.
That's where the placement of the chair on the base comes into play. Proper placement results in balance. Just need to be sitting the seat with your butt more on the "center" or the front of the chair base. All of the ones I've made have been absolutely stable with full recline possible.
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On November 17 2011 23:02 jaydubz wrote:
Get a used Herman Miller Aeron chair (ebay) and never look back.
$1000 for a non-expecutive office chair seems reasonable... I could build a heated, massaging, air conditioned office chair with a seat from a $100,000 mercedes for under $500.
lulz.
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On November 17 2011 23:50 Honeybadger wrote:Show nested quote +On November 17 2011 23:02 jaydubz wrote:
Get a used Herman Miller Aeron chair (ebay) and never look back. $1000 for a non-expecutive office chair seems reasonable... I could build a heated, massaging, air conditioned office chair with a seat from a $100,000 mercedes for under $500. lulz.
If you spend upwards of 8+ hours in a seat every day, spending $400 (which is what I got mine for) will probably be the best investment you ever make for your back. The chair will last for several years, whereas, a cheap staples chair will probably need to be replaced every year to two years if you are lucky. Divide the cost over time and add the benefits of having a quality chair and you will soon see dropping ~450 on a chair is not only reasonable but advantageous.
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I just don't trust the quality to stand the test of time. Office chairs tend to last less than 4 or 5 years (I've never seen one last longer with no serious degrade in comfort, really) and when I drop that kind of coin on something, I expect it to. My Gigaworks S750 surround sound was about $550, and it's been working flawlessly since I was still in high school. Same goes for my monitors and peripherals. I only replaced my benQ with a '30 hanns-g because I wanted a '30 monitor. same goes for my mechanical keyboard over my old, still-flawless G-15 and my RAT7 mouse over my microsoft sidewinder. As I said earlier, I built that black chair in 2007 and it feels identical to when I first built it.
I trust myself to build something better than any mass-produced product, if I have the means to access the parts.
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I bought my old one in 2005 for about $450, lasted 6 years before it broke and I hardly had any back issues. Seriously if you're a gamer a good chair's the best investment. I skimped on this new one for about $90 and it's already giving worsening support a couple of months in, my neck feels shot 
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i started sitting on this monstrous seat when i was younger but got used to it. pretty comfy and all that jazz~
+ Show Spoiler +
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That's pretty cool! I think I might try making one when my current chair dies (probably in another year or so)
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Haha, funniest thread i've read in a while. I like the OP chair, looks really comfortable. As for me, i'll sit on a bed of nails as long as my arms are rested.
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On November 18 2011 00:30 Displace77 wrote:
Haha, funniest thread i've read in a while. I like the OP chair, looks really comfortable. As for me, i'll sit on a bed of nails as long as my arms are rested.
If the arms bolt to the bottom of the seat, you can simply drill holes and bolt them to the board used as a baseplate for the car seat.
I'll look into mounting the ones from my old chair to show you guys what it'd look like.
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On November 17 2011 18:53 Velr wrote:Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this: Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old). Timeless design. A Masterpiece.
I actually used a very simple wooden chair for years and loved it... 'course, I was a teenager then, maybe my body was more resilient.
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Hey, could you post a picture of the chair on its side so we can see how you have it mounted on the plywood? This is a cool idea and I think I might make one when I get back to MN. The only problem would seem finding a decent seat at a junkyard.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/qoW3i.jpg)
If I could have found my belt sander, the edges would all be tapered and smoothed, and I'd have put a few coats of flat black paint on it. but what you see is the cheapest way possible, only requiring a hand drill and a measuring tape.
As for finding a seat, make sure you go to a junkyard with a "you pull it" policy, or they'll charge you a TON.
pull-a-part, pick-n-pull, etc.
just walk down the aisles, look for seats that you like, then look at the mounting hardware and see if it'll work. With the volvo seat, I had to keep the rails because the rear bolt holes on the seat itself were angled.
And you can't see the wood unless you're looking for it, really. It's hidden nicely under the seat.
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Oh wow, this thread.
I think the OP has a good point though. I just spent like $120 on a new chair about 8 weeks ago and the padding is already shot. Same thing with my last $90 chair.
Those chairs that are made out of the stretchy mesh are just about the best, but they cost like $200 for some reason.
And I don't understand how people can use chairs that don't have arm-rests for gaming. This is insane to me.
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On November 18 2011 03:00 TheToast wrote:
Oh wow, this thread.
I think the OP has a good point though. I just spent like $120 on a new chair about 8 weeks ago and the padding is already shot. Same thing with my last $90 chair.
Those chairs that are made out of the stretchy mesh are just about the best, but they cost like $200 for some reason.
And I don't understand how people can use chairs that don't have arm-rests for gaming. This is insane to me.
You get used to it really, really quickly. Like, less than five minutes.
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Russian Federation266 Posts
On November 18 2011 03:00 TheToast wrote:And I don't understand how people can use chairs that don't have arm-rests for gaming. This is insane to me.
You may use a large desk with enough space to rest your elbows not one of these awful common computer desks.
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On November 18 2011 03:31 Evilmystic wrote:Show nested quote +On November 18 2011 03:00 TheToast wrote:And I don't understand how people can use chairs that don't have arm-rests for gaming. This is insane to me. You may use a large desk with enough space to rest your elbows not one of these awful common computer desks.
This is true. But I've known a number of people who use computer desks and chairs with no arm rests. This to me = craziness.
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oh wow im defiantly going to try and make one of these next summer
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On November 17 2011 21:22 Nizaris wrote:Show nested quote +On November 17 2011 18:53 Velr wrote:Since half a year i use a very similar chair like this: Astonishing quality (it's over 40 years old). Timeless design. A Masterpiece. you must not sit that much on it. my back would be in 5 pieces sitting on a chair like that for upwards of 16h/day.
yeah, same here.. my butt and back hurt just looking at it.. heh.
XD
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I used to use an old motorcycle chair propped on a leather trunk sorta thing.
A much cheaper/blander/less cool version of this
![[image loading]](http://www.fleetfarm.com/images/products/large/0000000038895.jpg)
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XPqOx.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/CaHxB.gif)
