John Pollman
Member
- Messages
- 1,338
- Location
- Rochester Hills, MI
Hi folks,
Most of you know that I'm dealing with a pretty serious medical condition that is causing me problems just getting around and such. It's a progressive disease and there is no treatment or cure available. It's getting increasingly hard to just get up from a seated position without leaning on something. I can't just stand up like most people can. It's embarrassing at times if I'm out in public somewhere and have to stand up. I do the best I can, but it is what it is.
I had never thought about it before, but a couple months ago someone mentioned putting longer legs on my couch, love seat, and chair. I figured it would be a real pain but thought I'd look into it. The other day I tilted the chair back and it's got four plastic 2" diameter by 2" high legs that just screw into the bottom of the chair. They have a 5/16-22 stud formed into the leg. I figured that I was going to have to borrow my neighbor's lathe and get busy. But I was at the BORG this afternoon and found 2" diameter x 4' long poplar dowels for $8.00! I picked up a couple, along with some 4" hex bolts and washers. I just cut some 4" lengths of the dowel and then used a forstner bit to drill a 1" deep hole in one end. Then I finished the hole with a 3/8 spade bit. Took them upstairs and they bolted right up and worked great! That extra 2" doesn't sound like much, but it makes a BIG difference to me! I did the chair first and I just have to remove them and throw some stain on them and they're good to go. Once I knew that it worked, I went back down into the shop and cut and machined enough of them to do the couch, love seat, and ottoman. They're already stained and ready to install. I'll do that tomorrow after they've dried. I wish I'd have thought of this a LONG time ago.
All in all, it was a good day!
Most of you know that I'm dealing with a pretty serious medical condition that is causing me problems just getting around and such. It's a progressive disease and there is no treatment or cure available. It's getting increasingly hard to just get up from a seated position without leaning on something. I can't just stand up like most people can. It's embarrassing at times if I'm out in public somewhere and have to stand up. I do the best I can, but it is what it is.
I had never thought about it before, but a couple months ago someone mentioned putting longer legs on my couch, love seat, and chair. I figured it would be a real pain but thought I'd look into it. The other day I tilted the chair back and it's got four plastic 2" diameter by 2" high legs that just screw into the bottom of the chair. They have a 5/16-22 stud formed into the leg. I figured that I was going to have to borrow my neighbor's lathe and get busy. But I was at the BORG this afternoon and found 2" diameter x 4' long poplar dowels for $8.00! I picked up a couple, along with some 4" hex bolts and washers. I just cut some 4" lengths of the dowel and then used a forstner bit to drill a 1" deep hole in one end. Then I finished the hole with a 3/8 spade bit. Took them upstairs and they bolted right up and worked great! That extra 2" doesn't sound like much, but it makes a BIG difference to me! I did the chair first and I just have to remove them and throw some stain on them and they're good to go. Once I knew that it worked, I went back down into the shop and cut and machined enough of them to do the couch, love seat, and ottoman. They're already stained and ready to install. I'll do that tomorrow after they've dried. I wish I'd have thought of this a LONG time ago.
All in all, it was a good day!