Zero Gravity Computer Chair
10 August 2017
The standard ergonomic office chair never worked for me for keeping good posture. Despite all my attempts to maintain a good posture, gravity always won. My muscles always got tired, I became focused on whatever I was working on, and gravity took over. The result was the typical slumped posture that defines someone who spends most of their time sitting at a desk. Since I learned I would never win in a contest against gravity, I chose to work with gravity instead by converting a "zero-gravity" chair into a computer chair. I use this setup whenever practical including when reading and writing. I purchased a small white board that I use as a desk that sits on my lap for writing. There are still situations when horizontal table is better suited to a given task. However, I have found that there are many things I can also do in a "zero-gravity" chair and it is more relaxing.
Below is a concept of the idea that I drew in SolidWorks.
Here are some pictures of the finished product along with relevant commentary. All the hardware came from a local Home Depot. I used screws for all the construction because I have never been good at pounding nails and screws can be stronger and less likely to split the wood provided one drills proper-sized pilot holes first.
This is me in the finished product. Much more relaxing and easier on the neck, shoulders, and back.
How it looks from my point of view. The monitors are about two feet in front of my my face. This picture was taken with a wide-angle lens so the monitors look further away from me than they are. Under my right hand is a Logitech trackball.
A front view. The red and blue pads are re-purposed pool noodles.
A view from rear left side. Attached in the top of the chair is a portable LED lamp that you can read about here.
Shown here is one of the monitor swivel-arm wall mounts attached to a vertical post. These are available at Amazon for $15 to $20 each and come with a variety of hardware for mounting to vertical surfaces.
The left armrest. I needed a zip-tie on one end to keep the pad from coming off.
This is the right armrest and my trackball. Velcro underneath the trackball holds it in place.
Shown here are the three brackets for securing the vertical posts. The two white brackets are designed for bookshelves. The steel-colored one is designed for attaching studs together.
Pipe mounting brackets worked well for holding the chair in place. Mine were for pipes of about 1" diameter. The green cloth in between the bracket and pipe was to help the fit and to keep from scratching the paint on the chair. Also seen are the Shepherd ball casters that my boyfriend held onto for at least ten years because he was sure they would be useful someday. I added them to be able to move the whole thing around easier for when I need to vacuum.
The undercarriage as seen from the left side. An advantage of this design is it creates a space to keep a desktop PC underneath. The power strip's location makes it easy to switch the power on/off when sitting at the chair. Also accessible is the power supply on/off switch and all the PC's I/O ports. The PC's power button on the front face-plate is easy to reach from the right side as are the auxiliary audio, USB, and fire-wire ports (not visible in this picture).
Required hardware:
1 zero-gravity chair
4 swiveling wheels (make sure they are rated to handle the weight of the person in the chair, the chair, the PC, the monitors, and all the hardware)
4 bookshelf brackets
4 pipe wall-mounting brackets
2 stud joining brackets
2 monitor swivel-arm wall mounts
1 pool noodle (if desired for arm and foot rests)
2 "1x4" 36" long boards (Support the chair and PC)
2 "2x4" 36" long boards (Run parallel to the chair/PC support boards)
2 "2x4" 39" long boards (Gives the chair mount width for stability and to make getting in and out of the chair easier. The coaster wheels went under these.)
2 "2x4" 48" long boards (Vertical posts for the monitor mounts)
2 "2x4" 6" long boards (Needed to mount two of the bookshelf brackets)
Approximately 50 wood screws of various lengths.