Building a treadmill desk - Page 5

Moonliner · 03-07-2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GusGus

I really should stop reading the LOT right before bed. I dreamt of a clear lucite treadmill desk with a hydrolic lift

Does Kevy know that I haunt your dreams?

But more importantly, what was the hydraulic lift used for? Can you diagram it? I gotta know!

Moonliner · 03-07-2008, 07:40 PM

I went out shopping to the hardware store today.

There is no joy in mudville, I struck out. I went to two different hardware stores. Neither had the rigid lexan in anything close to the size I would need for the desktop (35x38). They also did not have any ANY 4x4 lumber for the posts that was not pressure treated (you really should not use that stuff for indoor use...). So I have to try again tomorrow. I found one store that carries Trex and that should work. Unfortunately I may have to give up on the lexan surface unless I can find another source.

GusGus · 03-07-2008, 07:58 PM

The lift was for lowering it into sitting position : although you'd have to then put a chair on the treadmill. - maybe not so much a good idea.

Moonliner · 03-10-2008, 10:52 AM

Welcome to Monday. I had a very busy weekend with a birthday party for the Kid, family in town etc... Not much time was left over for my project. However I was able to nip out to Home Depot for the raw materials for the desk and supports.

First up are the front supports. As I lamented earlier, there is an extreme dearth of 3x3 inch posts in the world. So I ended up purchasing a 1x1-1/5" board that when I screw/glue it together will be close enough. Of course I had to have it cut down into 13" chunks.

For the rear supports (which need a hole cut out of the middle) I went with 5" wide Trex (aka plastic) deck boards. I'll screw/glue two of those together to make a good support.

The desktop is a 35x38 sheet of smooth composite board. I will prime and paint it black along with both sets of supports to match the trim on the treadmill.

I have deck screws and a set of hinges (so I can lift the top if needed) to bring it all together.

I'll start assembly this evening.

THE SUPPLIES

alphabassettgrrl · 03-10-2008, 03:10 PM

Cool!

Moonliner · 03-11-2008, 06:32 AM

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

I started work on the desk last night. I screwed/glued the 1x1.5's together to make the front supports and cut the holes out of the deck boards I'm using for the back supports. It looks like I will only need one set of the back supports. Just one set seems to be plenty stable wedged onto the arms of the treadmill and that's without affixing them to the desktop. In a rather serendipitous turn, I think my ineptitude with the roto-zip which resulted in a very rough cut actually helped the rear supports grip better on the arms. Rather like a set of teeth.

Next up I will cut the desktop to fit. Right now you can't see the control panel at all. So there will be one rectangular cut at the top to open that up a bit and an oval cut at the bottom to give me some extra room to stand.

After that we prime/paint the various parts, move the treadmill to my office and with any luck I'll be posting from a fully operational ~~death star~~ treadmill desk by the end of the week.

I think I've violated at lest a half a dozen safety warnings so far during construction. It feels good. My inner Tim Taylor is showing....

scaeagles · 03-11-2008, 06:37 AM

Looks great!

You sure there's no way for those fromt supports to slip off the arms? They look pretty close to the ends.....

Moonliner · 03-11-2008, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Looks great!

You sure there's no way for those fromt supports to slip off the arms? They look pretty close to the ends.....

If by front you mean rear (the gray plastic not the wood) then no. At least not in the final version. Right now I just pushed them on far enough be be sure they fit. I will have to take them off to move the treadmill to the office. Once it's in place I'll use a rubber mallet to tap them father up onto the arms. I will also add a couple of screws directly into the bottom of the treadmill arms snug against the supports so that they cannot slide backwards.

Moonliner · 03-11-2008, 06:48 AM

I've also rethought how to attach the monitors. There is currently a bookshelf where I plan to locate the Treadmill-Desk. I was planning to move it out of the way but now I'll just leave it there and rework the selves to make the bookcase into an over sized monitor stand. Thank the maker for LCD monitors.

That way I can use Kevy's hinge idea so that the desk can be lifted out of the way if needed.

Snowflake · 03-11-2008, 06:51 AM

Keep up the good work! This is really cool!

03-07-2008, 07:40 PM	#42
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	I went out shopping to the hardware store today. There is no joy in mudville, I struck out. I went to two different hardware stores. Neither had the rigid lexan in anything close to the size I would need for the desktop (35x38). They also did not have any ANY 4x4 lumber for the posts that was not pressure treated (you really should not use that stuff for indoor use...). So I have to try again tomorrow. I found one store that carries Trex and that should work. Unfortunately I may have to give up on the lexan surface unless I can find another source. __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
	Submit to Quotes

03-07-2008, 07:58 PM	#43
GusGus DrunkenSeamstress Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Is it hot in here? Posts: 311	The lift was for lowering it into sitting position : although you'd have to then put a chair on the treadmill. - maybe not so much a good idea. __________________ . . . . "Mythology is psychology misread as biography." - Joseph Campbell
	Submit to Quotes

03-10-2008, 10:52 AM	#44
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	Welcome to Monday. I had a very busy weekend with a birthday party for the Kid, family in town etc... Not much time was left over for my project. However I was able to nip out to Home Depot for the raw materials for the desk and supports. First up are the front supports. As I lamented earlier, there is an extreme dearth of 3x3 inch posts in the world. So I ended up purchasing a 1x1-1/5" board that when I screw/glue it together will be close enough. Of course I had to have it cut down into 13" chunks. For the rear supports (which need a hole cut out of the middle) I went with 5" wide Trex (aka plastic) deck boards. I'll screw/glue two of those together to make a good support. The desktop is a 35x38 sheet of smooth composite board. I will prime and paint it black along with both sets of supports to match the trim on the treadmill. I have deck screws and a set of hinges (so I can lift the top if needed) to bring it all together. I'll start assembly this evening. THE SUPPLIES __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
	Submit to Quotes

03-10-2008, 03:10 PM	#45
alphabassettgrrl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,978	Cool! __________________ Why cycling? Anything [sport] that had to do with a ball, I wasn't very good at. -Lance Armstrong
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03-11-2008, 06:32 AM	#46
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	CONSTRUCTION UPDATE I started work on the desk last night. I screwed/glued the 1x1.5's together to make the front supports and cut the holes out of the deck boards I'm using for the back supports. It looks like I will only need one set of the back supports. Just one set seems to be plenty stable wedged onto the arms of the treadmill and that's without affixing them to the desktop. In a rather serendipitous turn, I think my ineptitude with the roto-zip which resulted in a very rough cut actually helped the rear supports grip better on the arms. Rather like a set of teeth. Next up I will cut the desktop to fit. Right now you can't see the control panel at all. So there will be one rectangular cut at the top to open that up a bit and an oval cut at the bottom to give me some extra room to stand. After that we prime/paint the various parts, move the treadmill to my office and with any luck I'll be posting from a fully operational ~~death star~~ treadmill desk by the end of the week. I think I've violated at lest a half a dozen safety warnings so far during construction. It feels good. My inner Tim Taylor is showing.... __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
	Submit to Quotes

03-11-2008, 06:37 AM	#47
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	Looks great! You sure there's no way for those fromt supports to slip off the arms? They look pretty close to the ends.....
	Submit to Quotes

03-11-2008, 06:48 AM	#49
Moonliner 8/30/14 - Disneyland -10k or Bust. Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 9,022	I've also rethought how to attach the monitors. There is currently a bookshelf where I plan to locate the Treadmill-Desk. I was planning to move it out of the way but now I'll just leave it there and rework the selves to make the bookcase into an over sized monitor stand. Thank the maker for LCD monitors. That way I can use Kevy's hinge idea so that the desk can be lifted out of the way if needed. __________________ - Taking it one step at a time.
	Submit to Quotes

03-11-2008, 06:51 AM	#50
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	Keep up the good work! This is really cool!
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