The DIY Thread

[broseph]

The Garage Gym thread is mostly full set ups and ongoing discussion about racks and bars. I thought a thread dedicated to DIY gear and equipment hacks might be nice.

I'll kick it off with a cable pulley system I made for my Rogue rack using hardware from the local store. Everything I used was rated for at least a 400lb working load.
Here's a video of it in use-


It consists of a steel cable through 2 pulleys that connect/disconnect from the rack using chain and carabiners.


Here's some pictures of the plate holder:



It's 1/2" threaded steel pipe with a floor flange on the bottom and an end cap on the top. I drilled the cap to accommodate an eye bolt. I put a length of 1-1/2" PVC pipe over the steel pipe to keep the plates from wobbling (it's a perfect fit for olympic plate holes). I sprayed Great Stuff expanding foam between the steel and PVC for a super firm fit (you can see some foam spilled out on the bottom).

and the handle-


-which is 3/4" pipe with 2 reducer couplings and a 1/2" nipple in the middle. You could probably just buy a handle attachment made for lifting for a similar price.

The only real problem is swinging weights... If the load starts swinging, each pull adds to the swings and it can get ugly. Letting the weights touch down at the bottom, or just rowing with control (like my video) fixes the issue.

[broseph]

Grossly over engineered collapsible EZ bar rack



From collapsed and neatly put away-


It unfolds and rests in joist holders-


Hinge under the legs-


I've loaded this thing up with a lot of weight and it holds very well. The bar just rests in jig-sawed notches in the wood.

[broseph]

Pin Protectors

Just a stupid easy hack for protecting pins when doing rack pulls, pin squats, etc.

2 inch PVC pipe fits perfectly over the pipe-pins used in Rogue and Titan (confirmed by @damufunman) racks.





It's a very cheap way to protect your bars and pins when doing these types of movements.

[TimK]

I'm glad someone finally made a Do Yourself It thread.

[broseph]

I'm glad someone finally made a Do Yourself It thread.

[ithryn]

Nice jobs. I should make a pulley.

[jake]

Good stuff broseph.

I made a pull up bar out of pipe, elbows, and flanges that i fastened through a lam beam. I've weighed as much as 290 and it held up fine.

Had a tractor tire that i screwed pipe handles to so I could do farmers with it.

I've been considering a dipping station that folds out, but the titan one is pretty cheap.

[broseph]

Good stuff broseph.

I made a pull up bar out of pipe, elbows, and flanges that i fastened through a lam beam. I've weighed as much as 290 and it held up fine.

Had a tractor tire that i screwed pipe handles to so I could do farmers with it.

I've been considering a dipping station that folds out, but the titan one is pretty cheap.

Yeah, I don't think floor flanges are actually used for plumbing applications, just DYI- which is why they're always out of stock at Home Depot.

I used them for all my bar and plate holders too. A little pricey, but simple, effective, and aesthetic.

[LexAnderson]

This can be applied to other cameras than just a GoPro!

Also if you have a GoPro and want to get rid of that "fisheye" effect, just switch the view to "linear", you're welcome!

[RobD]

Homemade plate tree

plate tree 2.jpg

[broseph]

Homemade plate tree

plate tree 2.jpg

I’m especially impressed with your ability to defy gravity!

[Wilhelm]

Homemade plate tree

plate tree 2.jpg

The drawing of you is especially wonderful. +++

[RobD]

Quite often our youngest two (boy - 6 and girl 9) will hang out downstairs while I workout. Didn't realize she drew this one day until I opened a drawer and saw it. I thought it was cute so decided to keep it. Although I don't recall ever curling 185!

[Wilhelm]

Spare spring clips plus copper wire = 1/2 lb fractionals.
Gonna use these along with my 1 1/4lb plates in my 2 count paused bench progression.

[iamsmu]

Spare spring clips plus copper wire = 1/2 lb fractionals.
Gonna use these along with my 1 1/4lb plates in my 2 count paused bench progression.

Good idea.

I have that scale. It stopped working properly after a few years. I had to remove the batteries to get it to work every time I used it. I just replaced it with one that everyone thinks must have cost much more since it's all shiny and shit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HN ... UTF8&psc=1

[augeleven]

I haven't been benching lately, so I forgot I made my bench.
I found instructions on teh webz.

*

[augeleven]

@Wilhelm , that's great! I've been googling around looking for a DIY 1.25 plate idea that I can make from scraps in the basement, but in reality, I'm probably just gonna tie the standard 1.25 db plates I have to the bar.

[Wilhelm]

@Wilhelm , that's great! I've been googling around looking for a DIY 1.25 plate idea that I can make from scraps in the basement, but in reality, I'm probably just gonna tie the standard 1.25 db plates I have to the bar.

I love having scraps in the basement!
The giant washers i used to add 1 lb to my 45lb...Errr...44lb plate were in the stuff that was here when we bought the house.

I looked around a lot and finally found a guy in New York that had the 1 1/4s for 18.50 on eBay
That was almost a year ago though.
I think i made these .75lb. I used some superheavy insulated wire that had i think 5 thick copper wires inside. It coiled really nicely. I used the digital scale to get the weight.
I'm not using them now, but the fact that they fit behind the collars was a plus. I hid the tape so it would look better in the pic. Vanity. Speaking of which, i can barely stand to post a pre platform pic. lol



iirc, I've seen the site with the plans for your bench. The guy basically buiilt his whole gym DIY.

[Jay870]

I haven't been benching lately, so I forgot I made my bench.
I found instructions on teh webz.

I damn near built that thing when Titan was out of stock on their flat bench for like 4 months. Looks pretty bomb proof but also kind of looks heavy and like it would be a bastard to move?

[augeleven]

It' pretty heavy - but I'm lifting the weights for a reason I guess. I covet a FID bench, but I'm cheap. really cheap.