614 chapter 66
Tools needed for making wheelchairs
Ideas for setting up a workshop for disabled workers are discussed in Chapter 57 and
p. 603 of Chapter 64. How you equip your workshop for making wheelchairs will depend
on (1) how much money you have (or can borrow) to do it, (2) the kinds of chairs you hope
to build (metal or wood), (3) the skills, physical and mental abilities, learning potential,
and responsibility (regarding safety) of the workers, (4) the availability of electricity and
power tools, (5) how many persons will be working, and (6) how many chairs you hope to
produce.
Here we list the basic equipment you will need for making the 6 wheelchairs described
in this chapter. Many choices are possible. More specialized parts of the work can be done
by outside craftspersons. For example, in a wheelchair production center in Belize, axles
must be machine tooled on a metal lathe. Local machine shops cooperate by doing this
free.
CODE
AN – Absolutely necessary
N – A big help, but you
might do without it
(N) – Necessary only for axles
? – Depends on model
wood
chair
re-bar
and
woven
plastic
TYPE OF CHAIR
square metal
tubes with
wood seat and
back
wheelchair
with lying
board
plywood
TOOLS REQUIRED
bench vise
N AN
N
AN (N)
tubing bender
AN
welding (brazing) equipment
(N) AN
N
AN (N)
metal saw
(N) AN
AN
AN (N)
wood saw
AN
AN AN
hammer
AN AN
AN
AN AN
wrench (set or adjustable)
N N
AN
AN N
metal file and/or grinder
(N) AN
AN
AN (N)
screwdriver
AN AN
AN
AN AN
sewing equipment (hand or machine)
?
N?
drill (hand or electric)
N ?
AN
AN N
drill bits for metal
AN
AN
drill bits for wood
AN
AN
AN
spoke wrench
? ?
N
N ?
bicycle pump
? ?
?
? ?
center punch
N N
N
N N
tape measure
N N
N
N N
carpenter’s square
N N
N
N N
round
metal
tube
AN
AN
AN
AN
AN
AN
AN
AN
N?
AN
AN
N
?
N
N
N
Terms for metal tube or bar used
to build wheelchairs
• Thin-wall refers to thin steel tubing
often used for electrical wiring work
and sometimes for lightweight metal
furniture.
• Thick-wall refers to heavy weight
pipe such as the one used in
plumbing.
• Re-bar refers to solid metal rod,
usually used to reinforce cement.
Jigs or guides for more exact welding
For making the metal tube chairs and the welded wheel mounts
and handrims of any of the chairs, your work will be easier and
more exact if you make or purchase certain ‘jigs’ or guides to
hold parts in the right place while you weld them. For example,
to weld the front caster fork you can make a ‘jig’ like this. Details
on ‘jigs’ and other techniques for making
different wheelchair parts are well described
in Ralf Hotchkiss’s book Independence
Through Mobility (see reference on p. 604).
We strongly recommend it to any group
planning to make wheelchairs.
Notes on measurements
For some of the wheelchair
designs in this chapter, we give the
measurements for a standard child’s
or adult’s model. Be sure to adapt
the measurements to the size and
needs of the particular child.
In many countries inches (“) are used for measurements of
certain things, and centimeters (cm.) for others. We therefore
also use both. Centimeters is abbreviated cm. and inches is
abbreviated “. Two inches is written 2”. 1” equals 2.54 cm.
You can use the scale on the edge of this page (and on the
inside back cover) to change inches to cm.
Disabled village Children