DIY Wheelchair Wheel Covers or Spoke Guards

Welcome to our instructable!

In this instructable, we will show you how to create DIY wheelchair covers or "spoke guards". The idea began as a nursing home project - specifically, an art project to spread joy. Our goal is to share and inspire others to do something like this. Consider this idea yours!

First, there are companies out there that will create and customize wheelchair covers/guards for you. The cost was far too great for a project like ours (25 individuals = 50 wheels). As a result, we have tried our best to come up with a DIY alternative that costs less.

Take a glance and try this for people within your own community!

Supplies

1/16 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. plastic panel (a single sheet produces eight cover/guards)

12 inch compass (Harbor Freight)

Smaller compass (optional)

Scissors

Spray Can Grip (optional)

Spray Paint for Plastic

Clear Spray Enamel (Gloss)

2 in x 1 7/8 in Exhaust Adapter (Autozone, etc)

Sandpaper

Wood Block (x2)

Zip Ties

Step 1: Purchase Plastic Panels

The key to our project was really the material used to make the wheels. The big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, etc) carry this plastic sheeting. We were looking for something easy to buy, durable, large in size, and relatively inexpensive.

We were able to get eight 20-inch cover/guards from a single sheet.

Step 2: Marking and Cutting Your Cover/Guard

This step will require a compass large enough to make a circle with a radius of 10 inches. Harbor Freight sells a large 12-inch compass, but you can do this with a homemade alternative (Trammels, for instance). I kept a smaller compass handy to help draw the smaller 1 7/8 inch center circle. While not necessary, it kept me from having to adjust and re-adjust the larger compass.

The steps are:

Set your larger compass or trammels to 10 inches. You can use a ruler to help you set this length. This radius will give you a 20-inch diameter cover/guard.
Once set, use the larger compass to draw your cover/guard circles onto the plastic sheeting. Make sure the pointed end opposite the pencil makes a good dent in the plastic so you can find it again with the smaller compass in the next step.
Next, use the smaller compass to draw the 1 7/8 inch center circle. This circle will be punched out later. The resulting hole with fit over the bearing housing in wheel's center.

Now you will need to just cut the circles out. I did this with scissors. There is a sweet spot with a sharp pair of scissors that will allow you to push the scissors forward, cutting the plastic without squeezing the handles over and over again. I find if you tug on the edges while pushing the scissors forward, it goes even smoother and faster. This part is not fun and does take time. Our suggestion is to just take your time with this step and get it right. Others may find alternative methods quicker and easier (circle cutting jigs + jigsaw, bandsaw, tablesaw, etc.).

Step 3: Cutting Out the Center Hole

This step can be accomplished in many ways.

I bought a 2 x 1 7/8 inch exhaust adapter from AutoZone for a few dollars and sharpened the outer edge of the 1 7/8 inch end using a metal file.

Essentially, we used the sharpened edge of the adapter like a "cookie cutter".

First, we placed a piece of wood beneath the plastic cover/guard to protect the adapter's sharp edge from being dulled or damaged.
Next, we placed the adapter's sharpened edge over the 1 7/8 inch center circle on the cover/guard.
Finally, we placed a block of wood on top of the adapter and hammered on this block of wood until the adapter cut clean through the plastic leaving a nice center hole.

This does take some practice, so we recommend you experiment on pieces of plastic cutoffs before trying it on any cover/guards.

Alternatively, if all else fails you can cut these holes out with scissors.

Or, use your imagination to come up with an even better way...

Step 4: Drilling Holes for Zip Ties (or Attach With Velcro)

This step can be done before or after painting.

You will need to drill two holes per wheelchair spoke. One hole where you will put the zip tie through the cover/guard and another hole where you will bring the zip tie around then through to cinch it.

Once you figure out what arrangement of holes will work for your group (we bought a used wheelchair wheel from a thrift store and marked the hole positions with a marker) you can stack several together, drill through them at once, and speed up the process.

**No Drilling Alternative**

Instead of drilling holes and securing with zip ties, you could use sticky-back Velcro to attach your cover/guards to your wheelchair.

The process might go something like this:

First place a strip of Velcro (sticky-back down) on the back of your cover/guard. Then take another piece of Velcro and go around one spoke. Once around, press the piece ends onto the strip mounted on the backside of your cover/guard.
We think a minimum of three Velcro attachment points per wheel would be enough to keep the cover/guard from falling off. Velcro comes in different "strengths" so use your judgement here, too.

Step 5: Spray Paint Background

We spray painted a solid background color on each cover/guard.

Make sure to read the can - the spray paint needs to be suitable for plastics.

Every spray paint aisle has a "spray handle". I found this cheap tool helped my fingers tremendously from getting tired.

**Important - If you stack and store, we would advise you stack them with sheets of wax paper in between from the moment you apply paint until the final clear coat is applied. This will prevent the newly painted cover/guards from sticking together (i.e. the paint from peeling away).

Step 6: Transfer Your Design

Next, we transferred a design onto the cover/guard. First, we printed the design on a transparency and then used an old school projector to draw the design onto the cover/guard with a sharpie marker.

If you do not have a projector, you can place a piece of picture frame glass on top of the design and trace it with a fine tip marker. You can then use a flashlight in a dark room to project the image onto the plastic wheel. This may take some experimenting as not all flashlights will work well. Alternative ideas and methods can be found by searching Google. Do what you can to get the outline of your design onto the cover/guard.

Step 7: Paint and Color Your Design

We used acrylic paint and paint brushes to add color to the designs. We found outlining in black made the design "pop". This part of the process is perfect for a group.

Host a party and invite others to participate.

You should be able to get this knocked out in a Saturday. Bring food and drinks to entice others to join your cause!