Homemade stirrups

Hi Everyone,

A long time ago (like 7yrs ago) I remember a link on an old board describing how to make your own Stirrups (using drainpipe sections and so forth). Can anyone remember this - does anyone have the text?

I'd love to make my own stirrups/exam chair.

DrPee.

I'm also anxious to see if anyone can help with this. My partner and I have been trying to solve this little problem for a while now. We need to find a way to fabricate stirrups as well. They should be lightweight, transportable (it would be great if they would break down into pieces that would fit into the foot locker) and attach to a table with C-clamps.

He's an engineer and is darned handy, but this one has us a little stumped.

Any ideas?

Play On!

LadyDoc

If you have some engineering and design skills, as well as basic metalworking tools, here are a couple of places to seek inspiration.

First I would suggest finding a good Marine Chandler who supplies stainless steel yacht railing and stanchion components. Most use 25mm or 1" inch tubing. Thick wall versions of the tubing need to be bent using a hydraulic press, so they would easily provide sufficient support for an application such as an exam table. Most Euro-style Gyn chairs may be built using these components with stainless tubing. Although one would need a hydraulic conduit bender (most places like Home Depot or Lowe's rent them), you could assemble a tubular framed Gyn table using little more than a hacksaw and Allen wrenches without any welding required. Although the finished product would be of very high quality, quality does cost somewhat so it's not a low budget project.

Secondly I would check the website for Lee Valley Tools in Ontario, Canada. If you follow the links to woodworking; jigs and fixture parts, you will find a wide selection of knobs and other hardware for use with threaded parts, as well as a number of high quality adjustable metal track systems. Elsewhere on the website you will also find other useful hardware such as Accu-Glide drawer slides. Lee Valley sell extensively by mail-order and the package is always marked as "tools and hardware".

If you want to learn fiberglass fabrication skills you can consult any boat repair or fiberglass DIY publication for a basic guide. A pair of knee crutches could be easily fabricated with a starter kit on the back porch one sunny afternoon. You could mold the fiberglass around a plywood core used for attachment of the metal swivel, and then finish it with a pour-over finish such as that used for Decoupage craft projects (colored with fiberglass Gel Coat pigment). The result will be near the same as a professional version.

Slings (like for a broken arm) are cheap and readily available and they make a decent thigh support when hung from an upright, i.e. like a shepard's hook. Not as nice as shiny chrome plated stirrups, but then again very functional and you can have your patient in most acceptable position for under $50. And I am sure I once saw a real medical version of this set-up.

What great ideas, Doctors! Thanks for the tips! I will have to have my personal play Doc look into the matter.

Lady Teddy

Been meaning to play with fiberglass molding myself... might be a good chance to spread the fun with members of this board : )

To `ladydocsin` . . . i`m an engr as well as medfet. I have thought about ti for a while and it finally hit me, although I have`t built them yet. find a couple a sheet-music stands at a garage sale. they`re height adjustable and collapsible. remove the sheet music holder at the top. now you have an attachment point for a split-in-half PVC drainage pipe(6-8 in dia). still haven`t figured out a good attachment method, but the idea is sound. cover the PVC with anything comfortable (adult diapers?). now you have knee rests, portable, space as you like, with your rear hanging off the bed. the you canstore them under the bed, in the closet or wherever. little space required. an idea. perhaps a patent?

Ive seen stirrups for sale in ebay but theyre pricey and making your own can be hard if you dont have the necessary skill....plus trying to explaining to anyone else what your looking for can be to say the least embarasing ie a fabricator.lol

My partner and I were lucky enough to get an old medical examination table for like $230 on ebay. It was near our local area and we had the opportunity to pick it up ourselves. Before that however, we were able to use a small upright table and I was able to rig leg harnesses from our basement ceiling. She was quite comfortable in those but she says the table gives her a more realistic experience since it not all that comfortable.

Hi , I have made my own exam table and stirrups , I used a portable massage table which I bought on ebay for very small money , the stirrups were the hard parts , they do be on ebay at times but are very expensive , so i decided to make them instead , I bought a 6inche 30 degree plastic sewer bend I cut it along the middleand ended up with two perfect knee stirrups , I cut a fluffy towel and sewed it on to the plastic so it would be comfortable for my patients as there knees would be in them for a while , I got 1inche tubing at a hardwear store and i screwed them on to 2 legs of the table , I used press hinges to attack the stirrups to the tubing , it has worked perfect since

I have a MidMark 104 Exam table that I will sell for $150.00. It has pull out stirrups and the catch pan. Contact me directly for information. Springfield, IL

Dan

I bought a used portable folding massage table on ebay for cheap money. It was in good shape, no tears on the vinyl top. I used to be a welder and fabricator by trade, and I have a hobby shop in my garage, i.e. a portable mig welder, and all the tools I need. So I made removable stirrups out of some 1/16 inch thick 1 inch square tubing, and flat bar for the portion where the feet go. I bent the flat bar into a u shape, welded 1/2 inch round bar across the top of the u, then welded them to the square tubing. I attached 1 1/4 inch square tubing, six inches long, to the table legs to slide the stirrups into, so they can be easily installed and removed as needed. I made sure to make the stirrups so the angle that determines how wide apart my wife's feet are, as well as the height her feet are at, closely mimic the stirrups on the exam table at our doctor's office. I spray painted the stirrups black, and slid some thick old wool socks over the footrests for my wife's comfort.

We don't have exam table paper, so we improvised. My wife took an old white sheet, cut and sewed it so it is like a giant pillow case, that fits the whole top of the table. She sewed some velcro on the corners, and glued the opposing velcro on the corners of the exam table, so the sheet stays put during a play exam. Before an exam, we stuff several of those plastic shopping bags that are banned in several cities into the open end, spreading them evenly so the bags provide full coverage of the table. The open end is at the head end of the table instead of the stirrup end. We find that the sound closely resembles the sound of the real exam table paper crinkling at the doctor's office. And of course the sheet is washed between exam sessions. We use a pillow to elevate mine or my wife's head during an exam like at the real doctor's office.

My wife and I love examining each other on that table! It sure is more realistic than when we used to use the bed. And for us, realistic exams are the most arousing. As an added bonus, the table height is perfect for having sex while my wife is laying down on the table with her feet firmly planted in the stirrups......