Project Information
This is one of my first woodworking projects, so there are a few mistakes and I definitely learned many ways to not do things. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
Background
I love going out at night and looking through my Dobsonian telescope, but depending on where I've got it pointed, the height of the eyepiece can be anywhere from ~2-4 feet off the ground. It gets pretty uncomfortable stooping down or kneeling to look through it, so I decided to build an adjustable observation chair.
Functionality
The seat height is adjustable from 10" at its lowest setting to 3' at the highest setting. The seat fits around the frame, and is held in place by a 1" oak dowel which fits into round grooves in the backrest. To adjust the height, I just tip the front of the chair up and slide it along the backrest.
To keep the back support leg from slipping, I added an adjustable bracer which is held in place by a 1/2" dowel. The back support and bracer pivot on dowels, and the chair frame collapses (almost) flat for storage/transport. I haven't tested the max weight limit, but I often invite friends out to observe and the heaviest person who has used it so far weighs about 225lbs-the chair seems to have held up fine.
Construction/Materials
The chair is made from 3/4" red oak, and everything is held together with glue and (red oak) dowels. The only place I used screws was to hold the wide foot to the main chair frame (2 screws). The finish is a 3 coats of clear polyurethane.
Background
I love going out at night and looking through my Dobsonian telescope, but depending on where I've got it pointed, the height of the eyepiece can be anywhere from ~2-4 feet off the ground. It gets pretty uncomfortable stooping down or kneeling to look through it, so I decided to build an adjustable observation chair.
Functionality
The seat height is adjustable from 10" at its lowest setting to 3' at the highest setting. The seat fits around the frame, and is held in place by a 1" oak dowel which fits into round grooves in the backrest. To adjust the height, I just tip the front of the chair up and slide it along the backrest.
To keep the back support leg from slipping, I added an adjustable bracer which is held in place by a 1/2" dowel. The back support and bracer pivot on dowels, and the chair frame collapses (almost) flat for storage/transport. I haven't tested the max weight limit, but I often invite friends out to observe and the heaviest person who has used it so far weighs about 225lbs-the chair seems to have held up fine.
Construction/Materials
The chair is made from 3/4" red oak, and everything is held together with glue and (red oak) dowels. The only place I used screws was to hold the wide foot to the main chair frame (2 screws). The finish is a 3 coats of clear polyurethane.
