Introduction: Detachable Toilet Seat

Introduction

Learn how to make a foldable toilet. We made this especially for a young lady in a wheelchair. On the basis of a lot of travel anecdotes and the humour she told the team about the challenge of traveling in a wheelchair entails. In the desert, jungle or a village in the middle of nowhere there are no wheelchair accessible toilets.

Therefore, we jointly developed a unique toilet seat. This product enables her anywhere to visit the smallest room. To make it easy to carry or hang to her wheelchair, the bathroom light should be foldable and compact. An additional function shower seat would be its great value. The toilet seat is composed of a toilet seat to size with a soft waterproof coating. The removable legs are retractable so the length is adjustable depending on the context in which she used the toilet. The correct height facilitates transfer between the wheelchair and the toilet. The toilet can be easily stowed in a backpack on her wheelchair.

Materials

  • Adjustable tubes (for example broomsticks)
  • Magnets
  • Metal pieces (tube and plate)
  • Glue (Tec7 or superglue)
  • Grey varnish paint spray
  • 4 pieces of furniture feet
  • Mats (for example gym or yoga pads)
  • Waterproof textile
  • Thread

Tools

  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Masking tape
  • Sandpaper
  • Hammer
  • Double-sided tape
  • Needle
  • Clips

Machines

  • Welding equipment
  • Grinding wheel (Dremel)
  • Hacksaw
  • Sewing machine

Step 1: Tube for Metal Piece

First, we will prepare the metal pieces that will be implemented in the seating fiberglass mold, like we explained in our other instructable Hand lay-up toilet seat. To get started, saw off 4 metal tubes at an angle of about 11° and a length of at least 50mm (the most important is to make sure that all the angles and measures you use are the same and equal in the 4 pieces of the tube).

Note: The diameter of the tube will depend on the dimension of the tubes you will use for the legs, so make sure that the metal tubes fits perfectly inside the leg tubes (broomsticks, in our case, as you will see)

Step 2: Plate for Metal Piece

For the metal plate, saw it out with a dimension of about 40 mm x 40 mm.

Note: you don’t need a plate with holes (the less holes the better), but make sure you use metal that is weldable. For more information about weldability visit this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weldability

Step 3: Welding

Weld the 2 cutted metal pieces together. To make sure that you are welding it with the correct angle you can cut a piece of wood with the same angle and place the tube in the right place with it. For the welding process we used the welding equipment available in our workshop. When the welding has hardened and it’s cold, sand it and save it to incorporate to the seating (as we have explained before).

Note: while welding make sure you use the required safety gear, for more information visit this link:

https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/welding/ppe.html

Step 4: Cut Legs

Cut the legs (broomsticks) in the right dimensions. In our case, the legs had an adjustable height, because our client wanted this way and the dimensions were settled in function of her desires and necessities, but you can do it with normal tubes and use the more convenient dimensions for you.

Step 5: Slit in Each Leg

Now, to start with the connection between the legs and the seating, which will be through the metal pieces added in the seating, grinde a slit in each leg using a Dremel or grinding wheel. Make sure that the slit is at the same distance as the height of the metal tubes that were cutted before.

Step 6: Metal Piece for Connection

Cut 4 metal plates. In our case the size of them was about 10 mm x 40 mm, but this will be based on the diameter of the tube you are using as the legs.

Step 7: Welding

Weld the plates inside the slits (with the same equipment and precautionary measures we used before) and grind off the outer parts until the surface it’s smooth, once the welding is hard and cold.

Step 8: Painting

Paint the legs, covering the places that we want to maintain previously with masking tape. We used a gray vanished painting, but you can use the colour that you prefer.

Step 9: Furniture Feet

When the paint is dry, remove all the masking tape and put a furniture feet in the end of each leg with pressure. The dimension of this will go, again, in function of the tube diameter that you are using. The legs are completely ready.

Step 10: Magnets

Now it's time to take the fiberglass seating that we made previously Hand lay-up toilet seat and finish it for the final product.

Glue with Superglue the magnet inside four metal pieces, which would be already incorporated in the seating, adding previously a piece of wood in the inside of the tube, so the magnet won’t go dipper. Make sure that the magnet that you buy fits perfectly inside the metal tubes. Be careful with this step, because the magnets are very strong and it’s difficult to place it in the right place. You can help yourself with a hammer.

Step 11: Reinforce Metal Pieces

In this point, we realized that there was a little bit of looseness between the legs and the metal pieces, so the seating wasn’t enough stable. To fix this, we added some fiberglass with resin around the metal tubes, covering it completely, and when it was dry we sand it with the sandpaper. If your legs fits perfectly with the metal pieces, you can go to the next step.

You can see the process of working with the fiberglass in our Instructable Hand lay-up toilet seat.

Step 12: Place the Mats

To cover the seating and make it smooth and comfortable, cut 6 layers of the mat with the shape of the toilet and fix it with each other and to the toilet with double-sided tape. Add also mat pieces in the corners for a better and safer grip (so we will avoid the rough borders) and fix it with the same tape.

Step 13: Waterproof Textile

Cut the necessary waterproof textile to cover all the seat.

Step 14: Seating Cover

Sew it with the right shape, so it will fit perfectly with the seat (you can sew it manually or with a sewing machine).

Step 15: Seating Cover

Once it is sewed, we fixed the tissue to the toilet with clips, so it’s easy to remove it and clean, but you can fix it permanently with waterproof glue or double-sided tape.

Step 16: Final Assembly

Insert the legs in the metal pieces of the seating, and thanks to the magnets this won’t disjoin, but at the same time it’s easy to separate. NOW YOUR PRODUCT IS READY!!