A client got tangled up with a curb while out and about with their power wheelchair. The result was the bent front spindle fork in picture above. While still on the chair, the alignment issue is pretty obvious.

The problem—one that we encounter a LOT—is that repair parts are ridiculously expensive or, as was the case with this online catalog power chair, evidently unavailable.

This is where our strategy of recycling used mobility equipment comes into play. We were able to source from our stock a pair of forks from a donated-and-torn-down manual wheelchair that exactly fit the caster bearing diameter, axle bolt size (both metric hardware) and bearing “stack height” of the client’s chair.

This allowed us to bolt on a solution to a problem that otherwise defied repair, while saving the client money by using parts that were literally free. The final result didn’t include the little red springs (arguably pretty much just for show in the original design) but they were mechanically perfect. In fact, there’s a good chance that the replacement forks are stronger than the ones they replaced. Maybe we headed off the next break.