Where to go to get wheelchair welded?

boots_babe

Hi,

I seem to be posting a lot on behalf of my parents at the moment. My mum has a couple of wheelchairs, one which is comfortable and one which is not.

The one which is not comfortable, has custom made leg attachments - she needs to keep her one leg elevated at all times.

What she wants to do is to put the leg attachments onto her other, comfortable wheelchair. But the fittings are not the right size/shape.

It would need someone to make a new hole in the wheelchair to accommodate the leg fixings, and probably weld closed the existing hole.

The problem is I've no idea where you would possibly go to ask someone to do that. All I could think of was a (car) garage but that doesn't seem right!

Any ideas where they could go to get the work done? Thank you!

custardy

Assuming is aluminium,its not really car garage sort of welding.
I would look to local blacksmiths,specialist welders/fabricators/car restorers

hjd

Plenty of small engineering/metalwork companies around, some of which would be able to do it. Unfortunately company I work for is in Surrey so a bit far away, otherwise they would do it.

Owain_Moneysaver

Try contacting your local Remap group (there are two in Lancashire, if that's relevant).

If they can't help themselves they probably know someone who can.

boots_babe

Thanks Owain, that looks interesting. My parents live in the midlands but there seems to be a Remap only a few miles away so I've just passed the link across to them.

A.Penny.Saved

It might be worth her contacting her doctor. If the wheelchair she has it not suitable for her needs then they might be able to offer her a replacement for one which does fit her needs.

If she tells them that the one she has is uncomfortable then they might be able to offer her a better alternative which she finds more suitable. If you do not ask then you do not get!

With the wheelchair she has, a suitable clamp might do what she needs. There are many different tube clamps available of different size tubes. If you could find one that fits the tube size on the wheelchair and purchase a small amount of additional tube then you might be able to make something suitable.
This is something that a quick search turned up, there must be many other similar things to this, maybe in different sizes. Scaffolding is a bit too large but shops and possibly other areas could make similar things. Maybe search ebay to see what is available.
http://www.shopfittingwarehouse.co.uk/fixtures-and-fittings-c4/tubes-and-clamps-display-c5/clamps-c301/round-style-3-way-t-clamp-for-25-mm-diameter-tubes-p382
The link above is for a 25mm tube clamp which could be disassembled and reassembled around the wheelchair tubes if the tubes are 25mm. Then a small piece of aluminium tube might provide the extensions. If you put a lever in place of the allen keys that hold the fitting together then it would allow it to be released to swing out. A couple like that to provide strength and a locking collar to prevent the clamp from dropping might do it.

I would speak to her doctor first as it might avoid all this.