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I built a lay-down desk

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Re: I built a lay-down desk

#381

Post by hinkley »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #283
hinkley wrote: post #253

I stopped hanging out in /r/DIY before /r/DIWHY became a thing, because it was turning into a roast of people risking life, limb, and property by doing something structurally unsound. There's educating people on building standards, and then there's just bagging on people. In an attempt to be more of the former than the latter, if the string or especially that strut sheer off of their mounts, that whole contraption is…

I searched for products to compare to and found these: http://www.ergoquest.com/overbed-workstations.html These contraptions cost more than my car... But they do seem to be safer. Nothing hanging above the user's head.

Saving $3500 is a powerful motivator for a lot of people.

I was trying to find a used/rent/borrow arrangement for a device called a log arch a few years ago, to help with a landscaping project. This is how I discovered just how many people have learned to basic to intermediate welding to avoid the labor costs of having someone else do low-volume work for them. Especially out in the boonies.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#382

Post by hinkley »

maxwindiff wrote: post #196
monksy wrote: post #136

Am I the only one that saw this and got very concerned about the structure? That's a lot of weight and hinges in this system. It looks like a guillotine for the stomach.

Same here. The way the thing wobbles in the video doesn't inspire confidence. Although even if the monitor falls off I don't think it will hurt too badly.

It's hard to keep wooden structures from racking, and wood flexes a lot even when the joints are solid.

As I stated at the top level, I'm not a fan of the hinge, but the side braces he added to hinge were a good idea.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#383

Post by hinkley »

Joker_vD wrote: post #46

The true true way to be arranged in front of a computer is to be duct-taped to the ceiling [0]. [0] https://compete.kotaku.com/15-years-later-heres-why-a-gamer-...

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#385

Post by aasasd »

zwayhowder wrote: post #298
xuhu wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspended a kindle over my bed on two 2-meter rails used for reinforcing wall edges. Best reading I did while recovering from leg injuries, but risky as you mentioned.

I have a cantilevered tablet holder over my bed, it can hold a Kindle or iPad without effort and has both clamps and an elastic cord to retain them. Then for ultimate convenience (laziness) I connected a bluetooth presentation clicker to my iPad to turn the pages for me so I didn't have to keep reaching up or take my arms out from under the blanket on cold nights. In two years it's never dropped.

> or take my arms out from under the blanket on cold nights

I keep thinking of assembling about the same thing, but missed the warm-blanket factor. Now I definitely must do it.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#386

Post by aasasd »

searine wrote: post #53
mdorazio wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds pretty awkward for typing more than a few sentences. Do you have something to angle the keyboard somewhat?

I do something similar. Typing isn't bad but it's sometimes tough to get your fingers at the right starting positions for touch typing. I put a few tactile stickers on the keyboard to help. Otherwise it is very comfortable. In my experience, I've found a MS Surface and a gooseneck ipad holder is a lightweight ideal laydown desk. I clamp the gooseneck a few feet above me in bed and I can lay perfectly flat and have ac…

> I put a few tactile stickers on the keyboard

Could you please point me to your choice of stickers, or mention the brand? I desperately need some bumps on the current keyboard and thought of messing with glue and plastic, but it hasn't occurred to me that someone already made a finished solution for that. From searching, I now see a bunch of related stuff, like braille and such, so it would help to narrow it down to more suitable products.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#387

Post by kweinber »

linsomniac wrote: post #60

I tried this ~15 years ago, based around a Novus Zero Gravity Recliner. At the time I had been having a decade of upper back pain that just wouldn't go away. At one point it was so bad I could hardly get out of bed. At that point I went to an osteopath, on the recommendation of a physician friend of mine, and he gave me some isometric exercises for my neck, and the pain was instantly gone. I'm not kidding, if he'd do…

I ended up getting a Zero Gravity Recliner (used off of ebay) with the laptop tray attachment (also used). It saved me until I could get back to a standing desk.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#388

Post by lucb1e »

fyfy18 wrote: post #336
walrus01 wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also I feel sorry for the noise and disturbance experienced by all of this person's neighbors, it looks like it was built in an apartment.

If you aren't using powertools [I only saw a picture of two hand saws], woodworking makes very little noise. The loudest part of OPs project was probably vacuuming once they finished.

A quiet vacuum cleaner is one of the best surprises I had when moving out and buying many things new, thus making appliance decisions myself for the first time.

It doesn't have to be loud!

I literally vacuumed under my sleeping girlfriend (and it's not like she sleeps that deeply on the sofa, it just wasn't louder than the running TV). The loudest part is, unless you turn it to max power, the scraping of the thing over the floor. Compare that to the upstairs neighbours, who we barely hear except when they vacuum.

My mom's first reaction, when I excitedly told her, was "yeah but those don't have any power". Not sure, I've used a bunch of vacuum cleaners over the years (old or second-hand in student rooms, newer stuff at my parents' house) and this one doesn't do any better or worse than others. The EU also reduced the max power of new vacuum cleaners, apparently they're overspec'd for the job and people just buy what they think will get them done faster I guess? Haven't read up on it, I just remember reading that the max power allowance went down as of some recent year. Perhaps the loudness is subconsciously a proxy for performance since an ordinary person can hardly measure suction directly?

In the EU, appliances have a score card. In the case of vacuum cleaners it contains things like how well it vacuums, how much dust comes back out while vacuuming, how loud it is, how much power it uses, and another stat or two that I don't remember. They're all roughly the same (I just walked through the store from vacuum to vacuum for each stat to see what the best is you can get per price category) in pretty much every stat except noise level and power usage. In those two categories you can win a bunch for virtually no extra money and I'm super happy with it.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#390

Post by xuhu »

timeinput wrote: post #333
zwayhowder wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a cantilevered tablet holder over my bed, it can hold a Kindle or iPad without effort and has both clamps and an elastic cord to retain them. Then for ultimate convenience (laziness) I connected a bluetooth presentation clicker to my iPad to turn the pages for me so I didn't have to keep reaching up or take my arms out from under the blanket on cold nights. In two years it's never dropped.

That sounds amazing. Is there a way to use the clicker with the kindle?

Yes, it's called KindleLazy.
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