Source for U-joints or swivel feet

I'm building a seat mover style simulator and I'm ready to design the joint that the seat will pivot on. It looks like most people use either a u-joint or some sort of swivel machine foot. Is one better than the other and does anyone know a good source for either. I've looked at used u-joints on ebay but it looks like most of them have splines and I'm not sure how I'd mount those. Also, does anyone know what the official name for the swivel machine foot I'm referring to is?

Thanks!

Matt

You mean universal joint? Also constant velocity joints could be used, either of them does not cost much and are readily available in any autopart shops. You could even source some for free from repair shops.

Hello, a tailshaft from a rear wheel driven car and cut it down to size would be good. It will give you left to right and back and forth movement without any twisting. You would need a welder to fabricate your own plates to go on the end of the tailshaft pieces, with the universal joint in the middle.
If you have a local auto parts wrecking yard nearby, that would be a good place to start. No specific model, just CHEAP.
Also a ball joint would work well, but you would need to stop the swivel - twisting, thats if you are building a 2DOF. Once again, second hand and cheap is the goal.
Heres a photo of under my seat mover with the cut down tail shaft.

( I raised the height with a block of wood as the shaft was too short - change of plan in the project )

I havent got that far in my build yet but i have scouted out what i think will work..... At a local tractor supply store.I thought of using a smaller drive line ujiont setup used on PTO shafts for small equipment attachments.


Something like this......
http://www.tractorsupply.com/pto-shafts/

If you are in the United States, www.mcmaster.com stocks them

Also, try these as a base : http://www.mcmaster.com/?m=true#bolt-do ... ts/=etjvss

This is selling in Ebay for around ten UK pounds plus postage.

I have used this for approx two years now I think and no squeaks or problem.

Thanks for the information! I bought one from McMaster and I'm hoping to attach it to my seat this weekend. I figured the top of my seat would be about 8-10 above the base of the rig but now I'm not sure where to put the u-joint vertically. Is it better to keep it closer to the seat or the base. I was thinking closest to the seat but I've seen some setups where it's down towards the base with an extension that connects to the seat. Any advice?

Thanks!

Matt

Any where should do, the closer to the bottom of the seat will help overall balance. Also you need to mount the pivot point at the centre of gravity. For a seat mover, about center of the seat, for a frex, about 120mm forward center point of the seat.