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#3552876 - 04/08/12 08:18 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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AndyB Offline
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Hi Lupus,

If you want to save a few bucks on the painting then do as I did:

Paint everything with matt or satin house paint or primer applied with a roller. Give it a couple of coats of this.

Smooth it all back and just do ONE coat of spray. Looks just as good, but is a lot cheaper.

Cheers,

Andy
(a thrifty scotsman)


Andy's simpit: http://www.simpit.me.uk
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3553039 - 04/09/12 03:02 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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Ok, I designed keyboard tray arm based on this keyboard arm:



This one was listed for $450(way to pricy for me)

This is what I came up with:





Figure I'll actually place a board where the keyboard is, and velcroe the keyboard to that. Use long 'arm rests' attached to the sides of my seat which will fold down to level and that I can rest that board on to use as my 'websurfing/fps' desk.

What do you think? I'm also not sure where I should mount it.

#3553115 - 04/09/12 09:39 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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- Ice Offline
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TBH, I am a bit skeptical about the PVC pipe holding all that weight at that distance. You will get a lot of flex.


- Ice
#3553162 - 04/09/12 12:51 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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CyBerkut Online content
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You could possibly address the pipe flex problem by either going with a heavier schedule (thicker) PVC pipe, or using a light weight metal. Of course, that will cost more. The other concern I would have is how tight / stable all those PVC fitting based moving joints will be. Maybe something based on conduit could work better.

I suspect you would be better served by picking out 2 positions in space for your keyboard... One for deployed (in use) and one for stowed (retracted), and then designing something with minimal pivot points that swings the keyboard from one position to the other. make it out of wood/metal and some creative use of stuff you can get at the hardware store [ You already show a flare for that. smile ]

You can probably get pretty good stability out of something that either limits how far a strong hinge unfolds, or lets you loosen & tighten a clamping handle / wingnut sort of thing.

Good luck with it!

Last edited by CyBerkut; 04/09/12 12:52 PM.
#3553175 - 04/09/12 01:23 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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I was thinking the stability would be achieved by setting it across the arms of the chair.

But I've also been thinking about just having the right console open up and having the keyboard tray/lapdesk sit in there until ready for use.

#3553757 - 04/10/12 01:17 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Reschke Offline
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You could do something similar to what airlines do in first class seating where the tray goes into the arm of the seat. Of course that is still a pivot but the trays generally rest on the opposite side of the seat as well.


Star Citizen Referal Code
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#3553783 - 04/10/12 02:20 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Reschke]  
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Lupus Offline
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Originally Posted By: Reschke
You could do something similar to what airlines do in first class seating where the tray goes into the arm of the seat. Of course that is still a pivot but the trays generally rest on the opposite side of the seat as well.


I was considering something like that, I just couldn't figure out how to attach a swinging tray to the car seat from the junkyard I plan on using as a chair for this simpit. Any ideas?

#3554205 - 04/11/12 03:41 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Reschke Offline
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Yep get some cheap low thickness angle iron and take a pivoting joint that allows rotation and turning and place it in there with a hard stop to keep it at the desired level. It could probably be done for less than $10 by scrounging and building it yourself. Start by asking a cabinet maker how they would build something like that. Heck I have a few guys around me that build things like that for free if you are willing to spend a few hours working with them to help out.


Star Citizen Referal Code
STAR-MP6J-VFH7

i7-13700K @ 3.40GHz
32GB RAM
GeForce 3060RTX
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk
lots of SSD's and a good old fashioned 1TB HDD
Samsung G9 Odyssey 49"
TrackIR 5 with Track Clip Pro
Windows 11 64bit
Warthog #1397...compliments of SimHQ
#3554346 - 04/11/12 02:16 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Reschke]  
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Lupus Offline
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Originally Posted By: Reschke
Yep get some cheap low thickness angle iron and take a pivoting joint that allows rotation and turning and place it in there with a hard stop to keep it at the desired level. It could probably be done for less than $10 by scrounging and building it yourself. Start by asking a cabinet maker how they would build something like that. Heck I have a few guys around me that build things like that for free if you are willing to spend a few hours working with them to help out.


My problem is, I'm not sure where to find that kind of joint at my local hardware store, and after looking at the car seat in my Civic (as I'm likely to end up with something similar) I'm not sure how to attach the arm to the frame, as there doesn't appear to be any readily available 'hard point' to attach it to.

I figured any kind of flat ball bearing(like a lazy susan type) for it to swivel up and down with and a standard hinge on the arm to give it the rotation needed (although I like your description of a joint better if you can help me identify what I should use). But again, not sure where to attach that arm to the seat back.

#3554809 - 04/12/12 04:56 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Reschke Offline
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Lupus if you take a look at the bottom of the seat you can most likely attach the angle iron to the seat rails there with a few bolts and some time with a good metal drilling bit on a drill. I will see what sort of pictures I can locate on the pivot joints that I have seen and used in cabinets and jigs for building things.

Go to this website link and take a look at the Jig and Fixture Bases with the "adjustable locking hubs".

http://www.carrlane.com/catalog/index.cf...A3C3B285355435E

At a place I used to work we built some things similar to what they are showing for mounting CRT screens at workstations and the keyboard mounts as well for those same dummy terminals. It was what we used to track inventory and production in the shop and the different users of the stations could adjust as needed and these puppies would not move once they were locked in place. However they were fairly easy to readjust when you needed to adjust them.

Last edited by Reschke; 04/12/12 05:05 AM.

Star Citizen Referal Code
STAR-MP6J-VFH7

i7-13700K @ 3.40GHz
32GB RAM
GeForce 3060RTX
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk
lots of SSD's and a good old fashioned 1TB HDD
Samsung G9 Odyssey 49"
TrackIR 5 with Track Clip Pro
Windows 11 64bit
Warthog #1397...compliments of SimHQ
#3554916 - 04/12/12 12:14 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Reschke]  
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Lupus Offline
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Originally Posted By: Reschke
Lupus if you take a look at the bottom of the seat you can most likely attach the angle iron to the seat rails there with a few bolts and some time with a good metal drilling bit on a drill. I will see what sort of pictures I can locate on the pivot joints that I have seen and used in cabinets and jigs for building things.

Go to this website link and take a look at the Jig and Fixture Bases with the "adjustable locking hubs".

http://www.carrlane.com/catalog/index.cf...A3C3B285355435E

At a place I used to work we built some things similar to what they are showing for mounting CRT screens at workstations and the keyboard mounts as well for those same dummy terminals. It was what we used to track inventory and production in the shop and the different users of the stations could adjust as needed and these puppies would not move once they were locked in place. However they were fairly easy to readjust when you needed to adjust them.


Looks fantastic, and would be perfect. The sight you linked me to is selling them for $116.50. Any chance I can find them cheaper somewhere?

#3555658 - 04/13/12 03:58 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Reschke Offline
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Yes you can get those cheaper than that price...I just remember that place from buying for in house fabrication projects at an old company. The problem I have though is all my suppliers are at that price or higher since I deal with those things on a high end fabrication shop basis and we make some custom items for automotive manufacturers. So I can't point you at a lower price right off the bat.

Last edited by Reschke; 04/13/12 04:09 PM.

Star Citizen Referal Code
STAR-MP6J-VFH7

i7-13700K @ 3.40GHz
32GB RAM
GeForce 3060RTX
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk
lots of SSD's and a good old fashioned 1TB HDD
Samsung G9 Odyssey 49"
TrackIR 5 with Track Clip Pro
Windows 11 64bit
Warthog #1397...compliments of SimHQ
#3562259 - 04/25/12 01:30 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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Ok, I'm continuing to plan my build.

I have the basic design, thanks to DudleyAZ for sharing a Google Sketchup of his pit. I'm collecting cardboard to build a mockup so I can check ergonomics.

In the meantime I'm trying to layout my panel design, but to do this I need to know how big the switches I'm going to use are, and how big the knobs and housings to go on those switches are.

Does anyone know of a good source for quality switches and buttons online? Or if you live in the area around Northeast Atlanta, Georgia, do you know of any place local? I want my pit to have a consistent look across all the buttons and switches, but would like to not pay through the nose.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Last edited by Lupus; 04/25/12 01:31 AM.
#3564069 - 04/28/12 05:54 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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Ok, big thanks to Dudley for sharing his finished and built design. After examining it, I further developed my design, borrowing heavily from him. Here is what I have, I figure I'll use a about a 1 1/2" hole saw to cut some holes to route cable in a few key places.

I still have some developing to do. I want to incorporate Dudz idea for a hidden collective into the left console, but this is what I have so far:



And showing some of the internal structure:


#3564247 - 04/29/12 02:45 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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Ok, here we are, finished design. Again, based largely on DudelyAz's design, with a few refinements of my own.







Finally decided on a solution for the keyboard too, although I am going to end up having two keyboards connected, one used with the 'lapdesk' and one to be used while simming.

#3571729 - 05/12/12 04:53 PM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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68valu Offline
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If you have a "Habitat for Humanity" restore in your area, you can possibly find most of your materials for less than half of retail. I always check those places first for all my projects.

68valu


68valu
68th Lightning Lancers
Aces High Virtual Squadron
#3572395 - 05/14/12 03:35 AM Re: My very first 'Pit', sort of. . . [Re: Lupus]  
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Lupus Offline
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Thanks for the suggestion. We do have one of those in my town. I'll be sure to check them out first.

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