Sliding Seat

[Steve Demuth]

Just curious - anyone ever built a sliding bench seat (that is, a long bench with a seat that slides from one end to the other). If so, what did you use for rails. I need to build one with roughly 5' of travel for a single person seat.

[Matt Day]

I'm just curious, what's the point of the sliding seat?

[Jamie Buxton]

I’d make it a rolling seat, not a sliding one. Wheels will give you much longer life, and be easier to move too. I’d likely use skateboard wheels, rolling on hardwood rails. Red oak is strong and not expensive.

[Steve Demuth]

I'm just curious, what's the point of the sliding seat?

It's a bench for a wide loom. The weaver (my wife in this case) works her way across the face of the shed (the line at which the threads being woven are placed), and since the shed is wider than a she can comfortably reach, she needs to slide across the width of the loom easily.

[Peter Christensen]

Linear guide rails, rods, bearing systems. There are tons and many are very inexpensive for what you get. Simplest are a plastic bushings sliding on a rod, which have the benefit of being greaseless.
Here are some from a quick search.

http://www.rollon.com/GLOBAL/en/products/linear-line/

https://www.ebay.com/p/SBR-20-1200mm-20mm-Linear-Slide-Guide-Shaft-2-Rail-4sbr20uu-Bearing-Block-CNC-SE/11005616281?iid=371869568523 You can ask if they have longer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Set-15-1800mm-2x-Linear-Guideway-Rail-4x-Square-type-carriage-bearing-bloc/172900366566?hash=item2841aa38e6:g:KksAAOSw1DtXF5B o

[Larry Edgerton]

Machined HMW plastic. They use it on snowmobile slides, so I am thinking your wife can not wear it out. Simple and would provide just enough resistance.

[Steve Demuth]

Machined HMW plastic. They use it on snowmobile slides, so I am thinking your wife can not wear it out. Simple and would provide just enough resistance.

In the spirit my original post, have you done this? I had exactly the same thought as your suggestion, but was hoping to find someone who had actually built one.

[lowell holmes]

You just introduced us to another facet of woodworking. I never thought about it, but I can imagine a lot of innovative seats have been made.