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Power Chair Modifications Make Moving Inside Home Easier
FARM SHOW contributor Tony Bunniss faced a conundrum a few years back when his wife underwent foot surgery that left her temporarily incapable of walking.
A used Power Chair improved her mobility, but unexpected design limitations led to frustration and damage. They found that the chair worked perfectly when mo
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Power Chair Modifications Make Moving Inside Home Easier FARM HOME Miscellaneous FARM SHOW contributor Tony Bunniss faced a conundrum a few years back when his wife underwent foot surgery that left her temporarily incapable of walking A used Power Chair improved her mobility but unexpected design limitations led to frustration and damage They found that the chair worked perfectly when moving forward but was challenging to navigate in reverse As a result the home’s woodwork and door trim started to take a beating from unintended collisions The problem was in the chair’s design “The rear axle was wider than the rest of it and when you backed up the casters would reverse and the axles in the wheels were just long bolts that stuck out ” says Bunniss “In forward they both faced inward but in reverse when you can’t see too well anyway they both stuck out and tore the door trim up ” Bunniss’ solution was to build a new narrower rear axle that wouldn’t stick out in either direction This made it more manageable to maneuver the chair without harming his woodwork “The axle is made of a scrap piece of 2-in square by 1/4-in wall tubing ” he explains “It didn’t need to be that heavy but that was what was sticking out of my scrap pile ” The chair’s caster mounts came from another piece of scrap tubing and the caps on the top were made from a solid bar of nylon Bunniss further modified the chair by removing the armrests to give it a smaller profile “I also bought some cheap carpet floor mats for cars cut them up and wrapped the housings on the casters ” he explains “I just glued them on with rubber cement Now even if the casters do hit something they do no damage ” This simple fix made it possible for his wife to easily move around their home without concern about causing damage Those interested in learning more to replicate the design at home can contact Bunniss directly for further details Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tony Bunniss Webster Minn glennlee1964@gofast am
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