DIY convertible armrest

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

So I finally got tired of resting my arm on the hard plastic, especially after it started going numb while I commuted to work for 1.5 hours every morning.

I didn't really like any of the offerings for armrests out there, because to have a drink in the cupholder in one of them means leaving the armrest flipped open. The other slides forward with this awkward reverse rake. Some even take up the cupholder space. Despite the fact that the cupholder location in this vehicle is terrible (I think porsches have it right, though the worst I've had so far is the S2000), I tried to think of a way to cover the box, and also retain cupholder accessibility when needed.

Total cost of parts: $20
Time: 1.5 hours
Tools: Band saw, hacksaw, screwdrivers, glue, sandpaper/file, staple gun, sharpie.

Here's a picture of the result, which hasn't been mounted yet because I ran out of daylight. It is kind of hard to explain in one picture, so I'll show three:





So it basically has two hinges, and can hinge open like a normal armrest (from the back), or it can fold completely back and cover the spot where the rear seat armrest would be, and completely clear the entire center console box (including the cupholders). Hopefully that makes sense.

I wasn't originally going to create a DIY but I figured I would because I... would. The result is I don't have any pictures of the first steps. Not that hard.
Here is a picture of the dimensions I used:

I purposely made it symmetrical because I think it looks better. Especially when folded back, but feel free to modify it.
I used a piece of pine plywood I had lying around, cut to those dimensions using a band saw, and then used a metal file to file all the edges round. I also filed the front trapezoidal area of the armrest significantly more, so it raked downward toward the edges. I also filed the front underside edge, to make a spot where your fingers can easily grab the edge of the lid.
After cutting out the piece of plywood, I used some high density foam I got at JoAnn's, and black vinyl. I cut the foam (green stuff) into a shape a slightly bigger than the wood, and shaved off some thickness in the trapezoidal area (on the side touching the wood, so you don't get an uneven texture against the vinyl), again so I get that downward rake in the front. I then pulled all the sides of the vinyl over, and stapled it down.
Here is the first picture I decided to take:








Okay so we have the armrest. I used some hinges I got at Lowe's. I also found a metal plate/bar. It doesn't really matter what you use.
It is important to mount the hinges in the orientation I have them, because these only close completely in 1 direction. If you mess with a hinge you'll understand, typically they can only close like this ">" but you can't flip it around the other way, it will only close to a shape like "L"

First the plate: I measured it to about 8" long because my armrest was 16.5" inches long. I cut it by hand using a hack saw because the neighbor came over and yelled at me for using a band saw so late. Justifiable reason I suppose.


Second, the hinges. Important part here, as you need to place the hinge that goes on the armrest in a very specific place. For me, since I cut the plate first, I knew exactly where it was supposed to go. Pretty much 8" from the rear edge of the armrest. Enough so the armrest can open up normally without the rear hitting the console. This also means, when "flipped" the armrest sticks out half an inch further (8+8 = 16, 16.5-16 = .5) which is fine because I kind of want it to cover the console-mounted hinge anyways.
Okay so I had some adhesive lying around that works really well for metal-on-metal stuff. I suppose you could use epoxy or superglue. The alternative is bolting it all together and putting counter-sunk holes in the armrest so it will lay flat. I stuck with glue for now, and those hinges are really stuck to that metal plate. You build it so it looks like this:




Now you'll notice the bottom looks all ugly.
First i glued all the fabric down so it wouldn't cause wrinkles. Then i threw a ton more staples at it because... I can.
Then you cut out a piece of vinyl like this:

And use a sharpie on the white edges like this:

Then glue it down using something like this:

And then I stapled it around the edges like this:

because the adhesive wasn't holding and it was the underside anyways. I used a sharpie on the staples, it is more purple in the picture because of the flash. I really don't think you'll notice in the car.

Now the large metal bar will be scuffed and painted, probably plastidipped black. I just haven't done it yet. I'm thinking I'll fill the holes in the plate with bondo or whatever, have to find something in the garage.

My original intention, use a bunch of kitchen door magnets on the underside of the armrest so it "sticks" to the metal plate, allowing you to open the armrest using the hinge that will be bolted to the center console. Like a normal armrest.
So this:

Would be stuck like that from magnets on the underside of that plate. Unfortunately the great kitchen magnet purge of the decade happened not too long ago, so I have no magnets. I will get some soon.

Here's what I want to accomplish, with a neat paper demo cupholder to boot:

(this one could also just open without propping it up)




And now in the car:




Mounting point in the vehicle:


Yes this will require me to drill holes in the center console. I will be putting a reinforcement plate on the other side, using two countersunk bolts that go through the hinge, console plastic, inner plate, then one of those anti-loosening rings that I can't remember the name of right now, and a nut. I'll also be putting some felt between the metal hinge and console plastic because... scratches.
I've also got some little rubber feet that I'll be putting on the edges of the armrest that come in contact with any plastic.
I have not mounted this in the car yet because I ran out of daylight, and out of time. I'll hopefully have this done in the next few days/week. I've seen pictures of the console there when removed and I don't foresee any issues.

This write up took longer to write than actually doing it.
Comments, hatred, and gushing adoration can now commence.

[Target70]

that's a pretty cool design, I may have to steal parts of it. I have thought about how to make one that slides out of the way but it was too complex, but this looks much more manageable.

[DrunkMonkey45]

Interesting I like it but I'm still anti drilling holes. Which is what stops me from getting the oem one

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

This same design could be easily designed to mount onto the cup holder. You'd lose one cup holder or have it permanently positioned in the forward position though. It would be easy to fabricate a bracket. Thus no drilling on the car. Just a replaceable cupholder insert.

[Target70]

Originally Posted by Bigbadvoodooguru

This same design could be easily designed to mount onto the cup holder. You'd lose one cup holder or have it permanently positioned in the forward position though. It would be easy to fabricate a bracket. Thus no drilling on the car. Just a replaceable cupholder insert.

The cupholder isn't very stable to pivot the arm rest from. But I have been toying with the idea of cutting a piece of metal that fits in the bottom of the console, and bolts down with those two bolts under the rubber mat. The only problem with this is figuring out how to recess the bolts into the plate so that they don't stick up. the plate could extend and be bent at the back to go where his hinge mounts, and just mount to the plate extension instead of drilling into the console.

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

That's true, which is why I didn't really want to mount to the cupholder.
Your method might work, but unless that bracket 1) didn't flex and 2) wasn't very thick, you'd have issues with the cupholder insert sitting flat, and it wouldn't be able to fit in the rear position at all. That, and the two mounting bolts under the rubber mat are positioned near the center. So you'd essentially be creating a sideways U shape (including the armrest), which isn't conducive to a stable bracket. I suppose you could double side tape it down to the back to be stable enough.

I am considering redoing the wrapping on the armrest because I want to put red stitching on it, and actually take the time to sew it in the right shape. But I suppose I could do that later.

Now an idea would be to put an L bracket on the cupholder insert, so you could mount the hinge at the exact same place as it currently is, then hard-mounting the cupholder insert into the center console (to the bottom for instance). Those holes you put there could easily be covered up with the rubber mat later if you decide to remove it. You'd just have to cut up an old mouse pad to create a new rubber pad if you don't want holes drilled in your current one. And replacing the cupholder insert of course. In fact that idea sounds pretty good right now. I'll take a look at it closer... hopefully I have time today.

I commute to work for a long time each day so a lot of my time is spent in the car. Where I live up north, I don't have a garage, tools, etc. So the only time I can work on anything like this is down south near my work and family, which has the garage and tools, and after work at that. Just in case you were wondering why I am somewhat rushing this (the supplies for this already sat in my trunk for two weeks D: )

[Target70]

Originally Posted by Bigbadvoodooguru

That's true, which is why I didn't really want to mount to the cupholder.
Your method might work, but unless that bracket 1) didn't flex and 2) wasn't very thick, you'd have issues with the cupholder insert sitting flat, and it wouldn't be able to fit in the rear position at all. That, and the two mounting bolts under the rubber mat are positioned near the center. So you'd essentially be creating a sideways U shape (including the armrest), which isn't conducive to a stable bracket. I suppose you could double side tape it down to the back to be stable enough.

I am considering redoing the wrapping on the armrest because I want to put red stitching on it, and actually take the time to sew it in the right shape. But I suppose I could do that later.

Now an idea would be to put an L bracket on the cupholder insert, so you could mount the hinge at the exact same place as it currently is, then hard-mounting the cupholder insert into the center console (to the bottom for instance). Those holes you put there could easily be covered up with the rubber mat later if you decide to remove it. You'd just have to cut up an old mouse pad to create a new rubber pad if you don't want holes drilled in your current one. And replacing the cupholder insert of course. In fact that idea sounds pretty good right now. I'll take a look at it closer... hopefully I have time today.

I commute to work for a long time each day so a lot of my time is spent in the car. Where I live up north, I don't have a garage, tools, etc. So the only time I can work on anything like this is down south near my work and family, which has the garage and tools, and after work at that. Just in case you were wondering why I am somewhat rushing this (the supplies for this already sat in my trunk for two weeks D: )

Yeah, I didn't think about it interfering with the cupholder. I took mine out because it was always in the way. But a quick tip, the mousepad is a good idea, but If you have an empty console like I do, the stock rubber pad is really slick so my phone, glasses, etc.. slide and bang around all the time and it was driving me crazy. So I made my own non slip pad. You might be able to buy a good non slip pad, but I had left over stuff for free, so I just glued some shelf mat to some posterboard, traced out the shape of the original mat, and cut to fit. You can get both in black because the shelf mat has holes in it so you see the backer you glued it to, but even with brown and tan like I have, I don't think it looks too bad.

[vividracing]

super rad!!!!!!

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

So to follow up, I was looking for mounting solutions and found one that works quite well. Zero drilling into the car, both cupholders preserved.
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
















Things left to do: Mount the aforementioned magnet, which I now have, and mount a couple slanted rubber alignment pegs to the front underside of the armrest. When closed it will center the armrest over the opening, and remove any side-side play on the armrest. As it is now, there is barely any, but like any lever it will move side-side if you push on it. There is zero wobble or instability, or even a tendency for the armrest to move or pull out of the console despite not being hard-mounted to the vehicle. The alignment pegs on the cupholder insert + console box are pretty tight.

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

Hmm noticed the pictures stopped loading. I'll try to reupload when I get a chance.
Been a week since installed, and it is rock solid

[USN.Spence]

Wow, I really like the second one you made, I will definitely be doing this in the near future! Thank you for the write up!

[USN.Spence]

What are the dimensions on the bent metal, for the lazy?

[JoeMartin]

It's a neat idea and all... But I'd rather put the top on roller bearings with magnets as starts/stoppers. I may do it with a write up if people are interested.

[Bigbadvoodooguru]

Sorry I don't have measurements on the metal piece. It's not really that hard to measure/eyeball because that cupholder piece is removeable. So you can trial and error it (I got it on the first try).

I think more than actually telling you how to do it, it was meant to be an idea of what's possible. I hadn't seen anything like what I did yet, so I posted it.

Also everything is holding up great
Now that I have an armrest, not sure how/why it wasn't there to begin with. Makes it MUCH more enjoyable to drive long distances.