Games room swivel couch (",)

[danny_galaga]

I was showing some friends my games room. I have a 68cm CRT on one wall for everything up to the Dreamcast. On the opposite wall an LCD screen for xbox onwards. since there a lot more "CRT" consoles in my collection, i figured the couch can face in that direction and LCD stuff i would just sit on the floor with my back against the back of the couch. Which works ok.

So I was showing my friends the setup and I said I might modify a couch one day so that it tilts so that the backrest becomes the base therefore ending up facing the other way.  Until my friends wife asked why I don't put the whole couch on some sort of lazy suzan. Of course!

That was months ago. I tend to let ideas mellow for ages. That way they get simpler and simpler. Yesterday I headed to the hardware store with a really simple idea. I just had to buy some castors. At the store I found a little three castored thing for moving objects around and my idea suddenly became even simpler again!

Basically I just removed the centre leg off the couch, reused the coach bolt from the leg and screwed the castors to the couch base with a wooden locating dowel underneath. Then that sits on a few bits of wood with some foam rubber sandwiched in there. The idea being that with no weight on it, the remaining four legs of the couch are pretty much free of the carpet. I can swivel the couch around and when you sit on it, you compress the foam so that all legs are on the carpet again 

And waddaya know? It works! Today I fine tuned it by removing the cheap arsed things that pass for glides on the bottom of the legs with proper ones. The originals are a tiny bit of plastic with a nail. One of them fell apart even before I started this project. If the plastic comes off leaving a nail behind I'd hate to see what happens to the carpet! And I'd hate to see what my partner would do to me! The new glides screw on. Got a pack of eight. four for the legs, and the other four I put on the castor base to stop it trying to move around when swivelling the couch. I installed those upside down to give it more of an edge to grip the carpet.

[bobbyb13]

This is awesome

[Howard_Casto]

I can see my fat ass breaking that in about 5 minutes.   That being said I have the exact same issue so you've given me something to think about.

[danny_galaga]

I can see my fat ass breaking that in about 5 minutes.   That being said I have the exact same issue so you've given me something to think about.

Already ahead of you there mate. The only modification of my design is to make the centering dowel longer and the guide hole goes all the way through the first piece of wood. When the foam compresses, the dowel will be resting on the base piece. It will be as solid as if it were just a regular leg 

Unless you mean you would break my couch unmodified. In which case, STAY AWAY FROM MY COUCH!

[Vocalitus]

My first thought was like on the busses and trams where the back rest moves from back to front, like a deck chair.

I think the swivel idea is far better, and maybe getting a servo connected to Mame Hooker to automatically position you when you fire up arcade classics.

Seriously though you have to do something with that Steel Battalion controller.  Maybe make a cockpit for flight sims?

[danny_galaga]

Seriously though you have to do something with that Steel Battalion controller.  Maybe make a cockpit for flight sims?

Ha. I bet pretty much every person who's ever bought a SB controller had thought they were going to make a cab for it. Including me 😄

And yes, there is a slowly evolving cab design in my brain.

[pbj]

I had a pretty cool car seat on a platform with a swinging control panel will steel battalion.

I wish the game had been better.

[danny_galaga]

I had a pretty cool car seat on a platform with a swinging control panel will steel battalion.

I wish the game had been better.

There is nothing in the world.

[Howard_Casto]

I kind of want one just to sit in a corner and not use.   Kind of like the silverware in Hook.

[danny_galaga]

Nice side effect of the swivel couch is that if I'm lying on it and playing a game I can turn it to an angle that takes my fancy. Walking Dead is not exactly a twitchy FPS so I've been enjoying just kicking back to play it (",)