Building a treadmill desk

Moonliner · 03-07-2008, 07:42 AM

Prototyping - Day-1

I completed the basic setup of the treadmill yesterday.

Here you can see the control panel and the two cup holders I'm planning to use to hold the mounting supports for the front of the desk.

Prototyping the desk using the box / packing material the treadmill came in.

These are the four supports, despite the look from this angle they are in fact pretty much level to each other. I played around with the height a bit and decided that the desk should be high enough that I can rest my elbows on it while typing/walking. This gives me an added bit of stability and makes typing easier. To give the desk stability, I will be able to bolt the front posts to the treadmill by drilling holes through the bottom and sides of the cup holders. The rear posts give me more concern. I think I will have to drive a pair of bolts through each arm to secure them to the post.

With the posts set the desk just lays on top.

You can see how the keyboard fits and there is plenty of room for the mouse plus at least a few papers. (Wow another benefit! I'll be forced to keep my desk cleaner). The monitor will be mounted on an arm and sit above the instrument cluster.

The one issue I'm not happy with.

Getting to the instrument cluster is going to be a challenge. Bending over and reaching in while the tread is moving.... Still I'm only going to use one setting so I won't have to dive in there too often. Perhaps I can better address this issue if/when I build Desk v2.0. (Oh and say hi to Jack who's hiding in the photo)

Ta da! A side view of the setup

So this is what I'm planning to build over the weekend. I'm still not sure of what to use for the desktop (wood, drywall, acrylic, etc...) or how I'm going to cut the posts to the right size (I might need more power tools!) but this is the direction I'm heading in. Comments and suggestions for improvements are most welcome!

Snowflake · 03-07-2008, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Prototyping - Day-1
(Oh and say hi to Jack who's hiding in the photo)

Hi Jack! You're a cutie!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Ta da! A side view of the setup

Who's that skulking behind the couch?

Good job Moonie! This looks doable, but for me, I'd never be able to get the darn treadmill turned off. Wonder if some Harmony universal remote works for this kind of item?

Moonliner · 03-07-2008, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflake

Hi Jack! You're a cutie!

Who's that skulking behind the couch?

Good job Moonie! This looks doable, but for me, I'd never be able to get the darn treadmill turned off. Wonder if some Harmony universal remote works for this kind of item?

That would be patches skulking.

As for turing it off, I'll either just step off and reach in from the side or the other option is to use the safety key. It came with a little key on a string that you can pull out to shut it off.

03-07-2008, 07:42 AM	#1
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	Prototyping - Day-1 I completed the basic setup of the treadmill yesterday. Here you can see the control panel and the two cup holders I'm planning to use to hold the mounting supports for the front of the desk. Prototyping the desk using the box / packing material the treadmill came in. These are the four supports, despite the look from this angle they are in fact pretty much level to each other. I played around with the height a bit and decided that the desk should be high enough that I can rest my elbows on it while typing/walking. This gives me an added bit of stability and makes typing easier. To give the desk stability, I will be able to bolt the front posts to the treadmill by drilling holes through the bottom and sides of the cup holders. The rear posts give me more concern. I think I will have to drive a pair of bolts through each arm to secure them to the post. With the posts set the desk just lays on top. You can see how the keyboard fits and there is plenty of room for the mouse plus at least a few papers. (Wow another benefit! I'll be forced to keep my desk cleaner). The monitor will be mounted on an arm and sit above the instrument cluster. The one issue I'm not happy with. Getting to the instrument cluster is going to be a challenge. Bending over and reaching in while the tread is moving.... Still I'm only going to use one setting so I won't have to dive in there too often. Perhaps I can better address this issue if/when I build Desk v2.0. (Oh and say hi to Jack who's hiding in the photo) Ta da! A side view of the setup So this is what I'm planning to build over the weekend. I'm still not sure of what to use for the desktop (wood, drywall, acrylic, etc...) or how I'm going to cut the posts to the right size (I might need more power tools!) but this is the direction I'm heading in. Comments and suggestions for improvements are most welcome! __________________ - Taking it one step at a time. Last edited by Moonliner : 03-07-2008 at 08:17 AM.
	Submit to Quotes