Tennis Ball Chair

I made a pair of these chairs a few years ago while I was in school, and had access to a nicely-equipped shop and, most importantly, a laser-cutter. The tennis balls you see are not glued in place; they are held only by different-sized holes in the top and bottom sheets of plywood. The holes on the bottom are smaller so the balls don't push through when you sit on it. To create the contoured effect, the sizes of the top and bottom holes vary in specific ratios. The balls can still freely rotate and some of them can come all the way out. That said, it is much easier to make without all the contouring, but decidedly less comfortable. I made prototype version in which the balls do not contour, and will include some pictures of that chair at the end of the instructable.

I have unfortunately lost some of the construction photos, so, in lieu of illustrations, have tried to make the written part as detailed as possible.

Everyone always asks me if it's comfortable. Yes. The key here is that the balls are not glued in place or screwed through somehow, so they can flex and deform. With the body distributed over fifty of them, no single one makes a pressure point; the slope on the seat pan, and the U-shaped contour on the back match butt and back as closely as possible, giving spine and tailbone some breathing room.

The fact that they are not fixed in place also means that they shrink and expand from their holes with changes in heat, humidity, and altitude, as the air trapped inside the balls changes in volume.

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Step 1: Finding a Chair Frame

1. Find an old chair frame. I used a popular stacking office chair by Galaxie Furniture Company that has been in production for a lot of years. They are common at yard sales, church basements, dumpsters, etc. The dimensions are specific to this frame -- tweak according to your frame, whatever size it may be.

2. Unscrew the cushions, which are held in place by four metal straps that span the frame from side-to-side. Use a Dremel or an angle grinder to cut the straps off the frame, and then grind down the weld spots smooth. The frame should now just be two sides, only held together by the crossbars on the legs. The cushion straps acted as a brace, so the frame will now be lacking stiffness.

memorris027 says: Dec 18, 2012. 7:08 AM

My old dog would've gone nuts over this...

soapbox derby car says: Dec 18, 2008. 7:15 PM

imagine gluing a ton (almost literally) of tennis balls together in hexagon patterns and having a chair that is comprised entirely of tennis balls. It would probably be pretty comfy too.

Funky Mcgroovy says: Mar 15, 2011. 12:57 PM

Hey I found this on google images... if this inspires you

the_boss_builder says: May 8, 2012. 7:35 AM

lol send me a link please!

soapbox derby car says: Mar 16, 2011. 2:05 AM

thanks! I'd completely forgotten about this idea!

jmacfarlane823 says: Aug 9, 2009. 9:44 PM

OMG you just gave me a great idea!!! if i do end up doing that i'll post an I'ble of it (and of course i'll give you credit :) )

the_boss_builder says: May 8, 2012. 7:32 AM

ha me and my gifted class are gonna make this. any tips?

jackfrost1 says: Apr 3, 2012. 11:37 PM

cool.

WUVIE says: Dec 4, 2011. 5:35 PM

This is very cool!

beet195 says: Sep 6, 2008. 10:36 AM

TENISE BALLS ARE REALLY CHEAP....I GOT LIKE 100 OF THEM FOR 20 BUCKS

banane says: Dec 3, 2011. 7:25 PM

You can go to your local tennis arena/gym(?) and pick some up in the throw-away-your-old-tennis-balls basket. They're there for recycling so if you use them for something-- it's all good!

coolguy says: Oct 23, 2008. 12:44 PM

Scenario: Tell you're girlfriend to sit in it, when she does say ::sarcastic::"Hey! you're sitting on my balls!"::/sarcastic:: I was also thinking, instead of using two sheets of MDF put some form of mesh/fabric as backing so the balls actually conform to you're body's shape and distribute the weight. Kinda like a trampoline effect but the mesh acts as a firm buffer where the balls act like a soft buffer.