Adjustable seats

[oldman23]

Hi everyone

I stared at the seats for a model I'm building for about 4 days then came up with

this idea to make them adjustable.

you need 2 pieces of angle I used .015 x.060 brass because that is what I had.

a piece of flat styrene. I used .030 from my scrap bag

a centering block. I used .060 x .080 styrene from the scrap bag.

a small spring from an ink pen. cut down

a piece of .020 piano wire and

a small piece of brass for the spring to sit on.

2 small pieces of sheet styrene edge molding (for doll houses and dioramas)

I used .040 edge strip.

It is almost like U channel except the sides are squared off.

I'm not going to walk through every little step but, I have assembly pictures for ya.

Fit the base made from the .030 flat stock to the bottom of your seat leaving room on each side for the 90 degree angle strips.

You only want the base to be half the length of your seat, Eyeball it a little less won't hurt anything.

If you use the same thickness stock i did you will have to recess the angle pc's .045 inside the edge of the seat

epoxy then in with the angle edges facing each other. like shown. The base plate should be below your seat no more then

.015" If it's more your seat may sit too high. You want just enough room for it to slide and clear the flocked carpet.

glue one edge strip to the the base, slide the other edge strip onto the angle, then slide the base with the strip you glued onto the other angle

Once you have it square and the proper height glue the remaining edge strip in place.

Eyeball the center of the base and glue the centering block in.

use a .025" drill and drill 3 to 4 holes on the center line of the centering Block. Counter sink each hole with a .040 drill just enough to give it a lead in.

When that is done it should look something like this

It should slide easily on the angles.

Drill the piece of small brass near the edge with a .020 drill and insert and solder the piano wire in place.

cut the wire off so that just about .050" of wire remains soldered to the brass. flip the brass over and solder the remaining wire to the top of the brass piece. The brass is used to keep the wire from spinning. Solder the spring near the end giving yourself enough room for it to teeter tauter ( Remember riding those when you were a kid). see the picture.

another view

Now drill a .020 hole in the side of the seat where you want the adjuster to be slide the wire in and adjust the length of spring to your desire

and epoxy it to the bottom of the seat so that the point of the brass will locate itself in the holes on your centering block.

When the epoxy is dry test out your track adjuster then cut the remaining .020 wire to your desired length.

Add a Small piece of styrene of epoxy to the end of the wire. push down the seat releases, slide it until it locks in the next Hole

VIOLA !!

I used my experimenting seat that I use to form seat and body trim on (that is another story).

I hope you understood this I had fun making it

Ernie

[Foxer]

! very cool. You DO have a machine shop there, Ernie

[george 53]

Ernie, Now THAT's something worthy of an article in the Mag! You REALLY should consider submiting it. I personally think it's that good. It's stuff like this, and the "How to make Brake Duct Hose" and the Aircraft seat how to ,that makes for REAL interesting reading and learning. This is just flat out neet! I LIKE IT!

Edited May 1, 2009 by george 53

[oldman23]

! very cool. You DO have a machine shop there, Ernie

Hi Guy

No I used to work in one. I'm totally disabled with nerve damage to my spine. I'm stuck in my wheel chair all day.

A also have the big "C"and the Doc's say it won't be too long before I do the Big Goodbye.

Everything I do I do by hand. It just takes longer.

Thank you for the compliment.

Ernie

[Foxer]

That's a real bummer, Ernie. Glad you have this great hobby. Also glad you keep us thrilled at your work!