Binocular stargazing made easy

I love using big 16x70 binoculars for the Milky Way, but holding them steady overhead was impossible. My neck was hurting after 5 minutes of tripod viewing up high or from just holding them up. So I built this binocular chair with simple wood and hardware components attached to my chair. It keeps the binoculars exactly where I point them, and it completely takes the strain off my arms and neck. It's great for slowly cruising through star fields in the upper reaches of the Milky Way. Happy to answer any questions about the mechanics. If you would like to build this, I can send detailed directions.

u/Nervous_Musician_377 — 23 days ago

Binocular stargazing made easy

I love using big 16x70 binoculars for the Milky Way, but holding them steady overhead was impossible. My neck was hurting after 5 minutes of holding them up high. So I built this binocular chair which has simple wood and hardware components attached to my chair. It keeps the binoculars exactly where I point them, and it completely takes the strain off my neck. Very smooth positioning to anywhere in the sky. Happy to answer any questions. If you want to know more about how to build it, I put together these complimentary detailed directions to help you get started with this.

u/Nervous_Musician_377 — 23 days ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 11.8k r/mechanical_gifs+2 crossposts

Binocular stargazing made easy

I love using big 16x70 binoculars for the Milky Way, but holding them steady overhead was impossible. My neck was hurting after 5 minutes of holding them up high. So I built this binocular chair which has simple wood and hardware components attached to my chair. It keeps the binoculars exactly where I point them, and it completely takes the strain off my neck. Very smooth positioning to anywhere in the sky. Happy to answer any questions about the mechanics. If you want to know more about how to build it, I put together these detailed directions to help with getting started.

Wow, over 220,000 views and 7,200 upvotes! Thank you all so much for the incredible reception. A lot of you have asked about building this—the link above takes you to free zero-wall build plans for this binocular chair’s rotating base. It’s a great standalone build to try out in a home workshop.

u/Nervous_Musician_377 — 14 days ago