'If you can't reach your toes' nail clipper

Last weekend (Aug 25th - 27th) we built our first prototype of our new design.

The project materials were pretty simple:

Sheet plywood, 4' of 1/4" thick aluminum rod, 1' of 1" diameter 1/8" thick aluminum tube, 1/3' of 1/2" diameter wooden dowel, hockey tape, a pair of nail clippers, a shaving mirror, some nails, glue, pipe clamps, nuts and bolts, and fishing line.

We used wood working power tools to cut the base, drills holes in it, and jigsaw the slots in it. Then we nailed/glue it together. 

The nail clipper holder had couple machining tasks. The 1/2" thick was was cut in half, and two holes were drilled in it. The tube was cut in half as well, a 1/2" diameter hole drilled though it and a slot cut down the length. The rod was bolted to the side of  the base, the tube slid down the rod and could clamp the nail clippers using the pipe clamp. By wrapping the top handle of the nail clippers in hockey tape, we made it round and fit snugly in the tube, and when it was clamped, it wasn't going anywhere.

The shaving mirror just needed  a hole in the side of the base to be slotted in. 

The last touch was to weave about 9 threads of fishing line into a thick and sturdy rope, which was attached to the bottom of the nail clippers on one end, and knotted through a hold in the wooden dowel on the other end. This made a nice sturdy handle to pull for making the clippers clip!

The first design attempt was to modify a grabbing tool to hold nail clippers. 

(E.g. https://www.amazon.com/Duro-Med-Aluminum-Reacher-Magnetic-Tip/dp/B0009STNME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407545592&sr=8-1&keywords=Aluminum+Reacher+with+Magnetic+Tip)

Several problems were found trying this:

1. Vision:

Positioning the clippers is difficult without having a close eye on what you're doing.

2. Hand steadiness and clipper position:

Moving the clippers into place using the long gripper can be challenging for anyone who doesn't have a very strong and steady arm. An adjustable system which lets you put the clipper right where you need it and then hold it rigidly in place would be preferable.

3. Clipping force:

Toenails growth is affect by medical conditions age, which can make them very thick and hard. They require a surprising amount of force to cut, so that can be difficult to transfer through a gripper system.

The outcome was that we needed a more robust, safe and repeatable design.