The DIY Thread

[augeleven]

Just whipped up some wooden “hooks” so I can ezcurl in my rack. Simple and I already had the wood lying around.

[Wilhelm]

Very nice.

[broseph]

@augeleven Simple, cheap, effective. I love it.

[TimK]

This is my dumbbell station. The weight trees are 6' 4x4 posts. I used 4ft lengths of 2x4 between them and the wall to space them out and allow them to clear the trim along the floor, and also allow access to the ethernet port which is right in line with one of them. The end of the post is resting on the floor carrying most of the weight, with 4 lag screws on each post holding it to the stud, basically just keeping it from falling over. I drilled holes in the posts and hammered 12" lengths of black iron pipe into them to hold the weights (I did that before bolting it to the wall).

The table is admittedly sloppy and half assed but gets the job done. I started with some storage shelving but it was ridiculously flimsy for what I was doing with it, so I just started haphazardly reinforcing it with plywood, 2x4's and scrap pieces of 4x4 that I had left over. In the end I might as well have just built the whole thing from scratch because the metal parts aren't adding any structural support, although I guess they tie it together a bit cosmetically. I used leftover pieces from of stall mats for the top surface. In the end it works as a comfortable platform for changing dumbbell weights without having to bend over or crawl around on the floor.

[ithryn]

Oh that's pretty cool Tim. My standard dumbbell plates are just laying around. Table looks good actually.

[alek]

I made a pair of those homemade farmer's handles that @AlanThrall showed in this video.



Here's a short video of me testing them out this morning. They got the job done, but I'm going to have to tweak where I link the pieces of chain together. You can see that the weight in my right hand gets wobbly after the turn. It was worse the first time I tried. Overall, I'm happy and will continue to use them--my forearms were on fire after just 3 trips. Definitely recommend.



Specs:
Two ~40" lengths of chain (about a meter for you weirdos)
Four quick links: the kind that screw open and closed. The ones I bought are rated for 880 pounds. (~400kg)
Two ~6" lengths of 2" pvc.

Together, they weight almost exactly 5 pounds.

I had one length of chain and the pvc lying about the shed. Overall, if you had to buy everything, it should cost less than $40 easily.

[ape288]

Why not build real handles? (Skip to like 2:30 or so to see the implements) I can't remember how much this cost me because I used a few assorted bolts and whatnot, but 4x4's are cheap as hell, PVC is cheap as hell, hardware is cheap as hell. Literally the only thing that costs anything for these implements is the plumbing pipe, but they're still substantially cheaper to DIY than buying "real" implements and the feel of them is honestly just as good. I've gone up to 275lbs per handle so far, no problem at all. All you need to build them is a good drill, a large bit to drill out the 4x4 so you can slide the pipe through it, a mallet, some wrenches, etc.

[mouse]

Why not build real handles? (Skip to like 2:30 or so to see the implements) I can't remember how much this cost me because I used a few assorted bolts and whatnot, but 4x4's are cheap as hell, PVC is cheap as hell, hardware is cheap as hell. Literally the only thing that costs anything for these implements is the plumbing pipe, but they're still substantially cheaper to DIY than buying "real" implements and the feel of them is honestly just as good. I've gone up to 275lbs per handle so far, no problem at all. All you need to build them is a good drill, a large bit to drill out the 4x4 so you can slide the pipe through it, a mallet, some wrenches, etc.

This is what I did. Except I used a 6x6 and my handles are 1.5" ID because grip gainz (or torture). Believe it or not they ended up weighing almost exactly 45lbs each so plate math is super easy...

[damufunman]

@ape288 Nice! How did you attach the steel pipes? Are they just pressed in, or do you have a flange on the bottom?

[ape288]

This is what I did. Except I used a 6x6 and my handles are 1.5" ID because grip gainz (or torture). Believe it or not they ended up weighing almost exactly 45lbs each so plate math is super easy...

Haha I wouldn't be able to hold on to jack shit that way. I think I used like a 3/4" pipe which has an outside diameter of about 1". Mine are basically the exact same diameter as a regular barbell.

[ape288]

@ape288 Nice! How did you attach the steel pipes? Are they just pressed in, or do you have a flange on the bottom?

I avoided flanges because they're a bit pricey and since I would have needed 4 it would have driven up the cost of the whole project. I drilled all the way through the 4x4 so the pipe is actually coming out through the bottom, then I slid a large washer onto the underside of each segment of pipe and screwed a cap onto the bottom of them. It has worked out well so far.

[augeleven]

broseph has a thread where he made 4x4 farmers walk handles and used cinder blocks as weights. Which is cool if you don't feel like lugging your plates from the basement to outside. Which itself would be a good workout, I guess...

[damufunman]

@ape288 Nice! How did you attach the steel pipes? Are they just pressed in, or do you have a flange on the bottom?

I avoided flanges because they're a bit pricey and since I would have needed 4 it would have driven up the cost of the whole project. I drilled all the way through the 4x4 so the pipe is actually coming out through the bottom, then I slid a large washer onto the underside of each segment of pipe and screwed a cap onto the bottom of them. It has worked out well so far.

OK, so basically a DIY flange. Meta. Thanks.

[ithryn]

This looks interesting. https://forums.t-nation.com/t/diy-no-dr ... les/214010



Do the 4x4s or 6x6s bang into your legs much? I imagine 2" pipe would be better for that but maybe it's a non-issue.

[mouse]

This looks interesting. https://forums.t-nation.com/t/diy-no-dr ... les/214010



Do the 4x4s or 6x6s bang into your legs much? I imagine 2" pipe would be better for that but maybe it's a non-issue.

I've never noticed any banging... they might rub or something but I wear knee sleeves usually so again... never noticed...

[broseph]

Copypasta from the original thread:

I made these today for $70, including the "weights," all purchased from Home Depot.

4x4 posts cut to 6' with 6" handle posts. 3/4" steel pipe for handles. Everything is secured together with 5/16" threaded rods. They load up to 242lbs each using cinder blocks. The threaded rod connections are what make this cheap and solid, an idea I stole from an old DIY crossfit forum post.





Loaded up with cinder blocks:


I wanted something I could keep in the garage and didn't want to transfer weight plates from the basement gym to outside all the time. The handles each weight 32lbs, and these particular blocks were 35lbs each. So the downside is they are only loadable by 70lb increments unless you wanted to get some half-blocks.

I've never used farmer's handles before, and 242 was way too much-


172 was more manageable-


You can see the blocks don't slide around at all simply due to friction. If you wanted to get fancy you could notch out the posts to guarantee no cinder block movement.

[bobmen10000]

Copypasta from the original thread:

I made these today for $70, including the "weights," all purchased from Home Depot.


I've never used farmer's handles before, and 242 was way too much-

242 is likely a very competitive lift for most strongman weight classes (not counting SHW/National contests.) Good job picking it up and the DIY is impressive too.

[mouse]

Copypasta from the original thread:

I made these today for $70, including the "weights," all purchased from Home Depot.


I've never used farmer's handles before, and 242 was way too much-

242 is likely a very competitive lift for most strongman weight classes (not counting SHW/National contests.) Good job picking it up and the DIY is impressive too.

Depends on the weight class. Based on a comp coming up at the end of July that I was thinking of doing (decided against it) 242 is ballpark where the middleweight guys would be (198/220) for 60 ft. The meet I'm talking about has 250lbs for the MW, and 270 for the HW guys (242/275). Not crapping on it at all, most I loaded mine to was 225/hand just for a static hold...

While not technically "DIY" since I'm not doing it myself I should have myself a fancy new log this weekend barring any unscheduled births. Finally got with a fabricator out by Buffalo and pulled the trigger on a 12.75"/140lb log that I will dub the "Log Ness Monster"... pics this weekend perhaps...

[BassPlayer]

These are a few DIY items I have added to my home gym. The blocks are cut from rubber a floor mat, and can stack up to about 5" tall on each side. The Bench is welded 11ga steel tube. The DL wedge is some scrap wood I quickly ran through a band saw.

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[Cody]

Good job on the bench, @BassPlayer! You should weld up a full deadlift jack.