Single-Handed Toilet Paper Holder

This was designed for a stroke patient who lost use of one arm, and had limited mobility of the remaining arm and hand, making it difficult for her to tear off a piece of toilet paper.  It has a large lever that allows the roll to spin freely when down, but clamps the roll when the lever is up.  The holder has been in use for over two years.

Being an add-on modification to the existing “side-load” holder, the design was more complex than would be necessary for a full custom design, but it was a good exercise.  The base metal holder is made by Delta (Model# LHT50-BN).  I discovered that different brands of toilet paper are not necessarily the same width (even if the same width is listed on the package); as a result, I have included multiple-thickness pressure plates for the left and right sides.  You can find the combination that works best, and even stack multiple plates if necessary for very narrow rolls.  For the right side, make sure the flat side of the pressure plate is facing the roll.

The lever assembly is a single piece (print-in-place) model with two small break-away posts that need to be removed after printing.  Both the lever assembly and the end block snap onto the metal bar, and the top clip of the lever assembly secured in place by the bar lock.  The bar lock simply pushes into place (as shown in the close-up photo), but if it comes loose over time due to lever operation apply a drop of thin CA glue to keep it firmly attached to the lever assembly.  The spring block compresses very slightly, and has built-in stops to prevent over-compression; its purpose is to provide a small amount of tension to prevent the cam on the lever from slipping.

Printing Notes:

PLA works well for all of the pieces except the spring block; it needs to withstand repeated flexing, so use PETG (PolyMax PLA will also work, and lasts much longer than regular PLA, but not as long as PETG).  In any event print a spare spring block, as it will wear out eventually (should last at least a year).

I didn’t use any supports, but it might be useful under the arches of the spring block to minimize the potential need for clean-up.

Assembly:

1. Slide the lever assembly over the bar and snap into place.
2. Secure the top clip of the lever assembly with the bar lock.
3. Slide the spring block over the bar and onto the lever assembly.  Make sure it slides freely on the lever assembly; if not, it might be necessary to clean up some bridging filament under the arches.
4. Slide the left pressure plate(s) over the bar.
5. Snap the end block onto the bar.  Make sure it is all the way to the right, under the “button” on the end of the bar.

The parts assembled above remain in place, and do not need to be removed for loading/unloading a roll.  If the spring block needs to be replaced or the thickness of the left pressure plate needs to be adjusted, pop of the end block, replace the desired parts, and snap the end block back onto the bar.

Loading the Roll and Adjustment:

1. Slide the roll of paper over the end block.
2. Add the right pressure plate(s).  The flat side of the pressure plate faces the roll, and the side with the center depression faces the end block.  With the lever in the down (released) position, the right pressure plate should be able to move (but without too much play), and the edge of the center depression should ride on the end block.
3. If you are trying a new brand of paper, or have adjusted the thickness of the pressure plate(s), operate the lever a couple times and adjust the thickness of the pressure plates as necessary because many brands of paper compress when first used in the holder.  Once the correct combination of pressure plates is found for a particular brand of paper, it isn’t necessary to perform this step even if the right-side plate seems tight when a new roll is put on.