PINNED - Where to find everything powerchair related

[soutthpaw]

This is a great US source for all kinds of weird and unusual surplus stuff and its pretty cheap for the most part... the have a free paper pr PDF catalog too.. not sure if they ship across the pond or not.
[/url]https://www.surpluscenter.com/[/url]

[Burgerman]

http://www.forwardmetals.co.uk/

Metals, cut to size, seems efficient and fast and reasonable prices.

[TwoTeasChris]

B&Q do a grabber in the gardening section that is quite good. Has a strong grip and hasn't managed to break like some others we've had. About £6 and marked as end-of-line at the Crawley store last time I looked.
Non-folding.
(I asked the woman at the checkout if it worked left-handed and she said she 'thinks so'. )

[Burgerman]

True. I bought one. I have several others that cost more. Its a bit long compared to the rest but ok. You need one in every room and in your van... Useful for all, not just the disabled.

[ex-Gooserider]

I've found grabbers to be of limited use to me - mostly its a pain because they are to long to carry around on the chair, so you have to put them someplace, which never seems to be the place where you need them, so you have to go get one, etc... Most of the time I don't bother as it's more hassle to get the grabber than it is to do something else to get the item...

What I have been carrying with me almost always is a telescopic magnetic stick that I have found at Harbor Freight for about $5 US, often on sale for less than that... Supposedly it will pick up as much as 15lbs, which is a great exaggeration unless you have everything just right, but it will get most tools up enough to grab them... I also find it's handy just as a stick to drag non-magnetic stuff to where it's easier to grab. The magnetic head is bigger than the shaft, so I sometimes use it as a hook to pull stuff down from shelves, etc...

It is limited, but at an overall length of only about 7" it is easy to carry around, so it's a good balance...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

so you have to go get one, etc...

One per busy room.
Magnet on stick too!

[Burgerman]

http://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457. ... nned_Cable

Where to get GOOD 10MM square tinned, quality cable. And other sizes.

[Burgerman]

http://www.ele-b2b.com/push-pull-connector-p-79.html

connectors, choice!

[Step]

been lookihng for wires! cool

Grabbers are nice but I can't use them. Quad hands.
I've got one of these in my backpack though:
http://telestik.com/index.php?fuseaction=ecom.ecom_item_detail&item_id=4
it's tiny and works great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A1-o-LBT3M

Here's a handy one for in the workshop as well for grabbing screws etc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AkmsTNLkY

[flagman1776]

I have a near copy of the telescoping lighted magnetic pickup tool... I bought at Ocean State Job Lot (local discount retailer) only paid a couple of bucks.
What I use the most, is a flexible mechanic's pickup which has a plunger control & 4 fingers which push out to grasp. I keep one in reach at my desk & another in my shop... would be better for my use if it didn't flex. I've thought of glueing or installing in a tube. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 15015241-2

I am able to stand & get myself into the car but, can't use my left hand to close the door & have a 30" dowel with a hardware hook installed to pull things. It rides on the passengers side of the console with the end up where I can reach it.

[ex-Gooserider]

I have, and don't use, one one of the combination unit Telestick reachers. It looks nice, but I found it rather unimpressive in actual practice.

1. The combo unit is VERY bulky because of the huge handle - much larger than is really needed to simply hold the two telescoping rods.

2. One pound is NOT very much - I quite routinely pick up (or try to) heavier items with my HF telescoping stick - it claims to be able to do 15lbs, but doesn't come close to that - at least not on most stuff. The Telestick rods seem rather flimsy, and I doubt if they actually could handle much more than a pound.

3. The cover for the "gecko pad" is very loose, and not attached - it should go on much more firmly and have a "leash" to prevent loss

4. The hooks are a nice idea, but they make it harder to store the unit compactly.

What might be a nice thing is if they had a single beefier telescoping stick with the ability to swap the heads on it...

------------

I've tried a fair number of different telescoping magnetic pickup sticks, and IMHO the HF unit seems to be the best compromise between size / strength / cost of the ones I've tried... I've occasionally thought about trying to add some sort of hook to it, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort - I already do pretty well just dragging things off shelves or raking them to where I can reach them with my hand just using the head of the stick, and that sort of forces me into a limit on how much force I can apply, keeps me from breaking the thing...

I haven't seen the lighted sticks but don't really see that much advantage to them (and if I need light, I always carry a little LED mini flash on my car key chain...) and wonder how much they give up in lifting strength, and how well they will deal with the metal dust and crap I always get on my stick.

I've also tried a couple variations on the "flexible claw" type grabbers, and found they didn't really offer enough capability to make me think they were worth carrying space in my bag...

However this is just me, and my personal preferences that are set in part by the details of my disability - others needs may vary, and I certainly suggest trying different tools and using the ones that work best for you...

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-Plastic-B ... 1124356712

Blanking plugs as used on push handles, caster bearings, seat frames, other tubes.

[Burgerman]

http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/pnamoti.html

Because I can ever remember it...

[Burgerman]

http://www.doncasterlaser.co.uk/

Laser cut parts. One off bits for armchair building of stuff!

[hettman1963]

Do you know where in the USA we could get a f55 frame or one that is made similiar to it?

[ex-Gooserider]

Do you know where in the USA we could get a f55 frame or one that is made similiar to it?

Frequently asked question... Short answer is you can't...

Longer answer is that the F55 is a UK only chair, so you can only get the frame from a UK source - and I don't know of any that will ship to the US, at least at an affordable cost.

Sunrise / Quickie does have the US model 626 / 646 / 636 series of chairs that are similar to the F55, but have some slight differences in the shape of the lower front crossmember - you would have to do a BM3 style mod and cut the frame, the BM2 style "over the frame" method won't fit. However a bigger issue is that the F55 frame is steel, while the 6x6 frames are aluminium, which makes welding a trickier question.

ex-Gooserider

[Seajays]

I bought a used one and had it sent to Canada. BM say's they are still available. Maybe he could recommend a dealer to buy one and you could send it over. I am starting a new build and will bend new one up as I found out my son has a 2" die.

[Burgerman]

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-cha ... /gel-cell/ GELL CHARGERS

READ!!! http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles ... s-agm.html

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/ CHARGERS

[stevembishop]

Hello Mr Burgerman, as far as you know can everything needed to build one of the BM3 wheel chairs be purchased in the US or do I need to shop in the UK??
Are all the instructions on the current web site under the BM3 build?? Are you from the UK?? I am from Hudson, MI, USA. I am very impressed by the site and chairs you have built.
I have primary progressive MS and we live on a 120 acre farm and want to still be able to get out and around the property and as you have noted, seems the
reviews I read about half are positive and half negative for all the current pre-made / ready built chairs out there. Is this really something a lay person can do in their home?
I am really looking forward to hearing from and working with you on this venture. What is the approx cost in US dollars to do this??
Thank you, Steve B

[Burgerman]

As far as is everything planned and described and has measurements and parts? No.

It is a chair like my other chairs, that are under permanent redesign / development and experiment and are custom built to suite my specific needs and requirements.

Its not a design as such, and never meant to be copied directly, or meant to be cloned (although some people have done so with varying degrees of success).
What you need, want and what knowledge and skills you have will determine if you can build something similar for your own purposes.
Yes some parts such as the frame need to be from the UK, (although I would use something local instead) most of the rest is from all over the world, like Chinese lithium cells for e.g.

Many people use various PARTS of what I do on their own chairs, Such as the tubeless tyres, or lithium batteries, or whatever.

Cost depends on what you know, who you know, and for e.g., how much you pay to get parts fabricated badly 6 times because they didn't get it right...

Mine cost about 2700 uk pounds. Say 4k dollars. Your mileage may vary ENORMOUSLY and depending on skills and knowledge you may never get a decent end result. Only you can know this. You are developing, designing, and problem fixing in ONE end user chair. So you better get it right first time.

Is this really something a lay person can do in their home?

I do. In the bedroom I sleep in. Only you can know this. Seriously though and not wishing to sound rude, I suspect not though if you need to ask this question. If you can look at that chair and say "I can build that" and know it, then yes you maybe could. Everyone is different.

[Lord Chatterley]

Steve,
Can you see the 8mm angle that BM uses to mount the motors to the battery box? To fix the motors to the angle requires the 4 holes in the angle be in the correct position relative to each other by less than .5 mm otherwise you will not be able to locate the bolts in the pre-drilled and tapped mounting holes in the motor.

Now, a bodger might try to get around the need for precision by drilling oversize holes in the angle in order to get the bolt through but then there will be a risk of toe-in or toe-out developing!

Now imagine that dilemma with every other measurement of the construction! Every hole and spacer square, in-line, of the correct dimension and true.

So, yes, you can make a BM3 with RNet cheaply and sell them at a profit. But if you want one that works use a local builder - you will probably want to customise it in any case.

LC

[Burgerman]

They need only be 1/4 plate welded on (save width) or 6mm.

Or 6mm angle.

I used 8 or 7 or whatever simply because it was cheap (I had some!)

[Es*]

I'm having difficulty getting steel angle (60 x 100, or 100 x 100 for cutting down) at 5 or 6mm, BM. Is the only downside to 7 or 8mm a few mm overall width? I can get 8mm easily, and 7 with a bit of faff - good, local, light engineering workshop. Any other reasons for particular depth of steel angle? Any suppliers you can recommend?

[Burgerman]

Yes its seriously heavy!

You mean sheet steel? 2mm is adequate in steel. 3mm in hard(ish) aluminium alloy

Or Angle? You only really need a bit of 6mm flat bar welding to the side that's drilled to take the motors. The twisting strength is provided by the bars/rose joints on mine. I used Angle as usual because
a) I had some.
b) I wanted to BOLT these on temporarily/initially to allow me to find correct exact C of G and height etc. Bolts later removed and they were welded. That adds about 12mm total width that's not required.

[Seajays]

Es* would help if we new where you are located.

[Es*]

In in the UK (East).

I'm also using rose joints. Yes, it's the steel angle for attaching the motors to the centre section, rather than the stuff for the actual centre section, that I'm after. I need to be abable to play about with positioning, too, so there is merit to the angle. Ive got somed prototypes and various ideas dor the seating, but until its together sufficiently to move it back-a-bit-forwards-a-bit-up-a-bit-down-a-bit Im not going ti know exactly where to position them. You mean weld the bar and have the motors attach directly? You clearly had some unusual stuff kicking round, BM - seems very hard to get in 6mm or thinner. Any other ideas for ways that give that flexibility? I'm wondering about mocking it up in a relatively cheap bit of thick steel (off cut from somemething else) and then welding it in thinner bar. On your work through you said 'I did it in 7mm but 5 or 6 would be better' - any reason other than saving width? Not some clash I'm missing?

[Es*]

Sorry -just retread - its super heavy as well as wider in thick steel... Well, it might have to do for first fix until I'm setting it for good.

[Burgerman]

OK.

I used 7mm because it was on my bench.

5mm or 6mm would be plenty strong.

But no real of angle at all. The flat part welded to the sides just makes the chair wider. (thickness x 2 = width addition) So in my case the 7mm means the chair is some 14mm wider than it could have been. Doesn't sound much, until you just clip the same doorway for the 20th time this week.

A FLAT plate, welded @ 90 degrees to the side has no need of the extra 5, 6 or 7mm (x2) and so lowers weight and also reduces width. This matters but its up to you.

[Lord Chatterley]

Or attach the angle upside down if you think a 90% plate might bend the box...

LC

[Burgerman]

You cant. Bolt holes will hit the upright part.