has anyone built there own power rack?? i was thinking of building one. has anyone ever seen or heard of a power rack made of wood?? i am only going to use max of 400lbs. for now? any thoughts?
I’d get a bit paranoid with something homemade once it was dealing with a weight that could kill me if it failed…
That said, if you keep it somewhat simple and use suitable materials I’m sure you could do it.
[quote]goldman812 wrote:
has anyone built there own power rack?? i was thinking of building one. has anyone ever seen or heard of a power rack made of wood?? i am only going to use max of 400lbs. for now? any thoughts?[/quote]
Pressure-treated 4x4’s and 3x3 angle iron would suffice. I’d use strips of cutting board material (look in the phonebook under wholesale plastics or similar material for bar contact areas and 3 1/2" lag bolts to hold it together.
If you measure and cut and plan, you can also add a 1" to 2" chin-up bar by using a wood boring bit and a 4’ section of pipe.
[quote]vroom wrote:
I’d get a bit paranoid with something homemade once it was dealing with a weight that could kill me if it failed…
That said, if you keep it somewhat simple and use suitable materials I’m sure you could do it.[/quote]
I would feel more comfortable with something I built myself than something made by someone else.
If you know a thing or two about metal/stress and welding, im sure you could build a kick ass rack for less than $200.00
Just to throw out there, I bought a perfectly good used body-solid squat rack and full set of weights for $100 off craigslist. There are bargains there and on ebay if you’re diligent and patient.
Craigslist is the way to go. I also got a body-solid rack and almost 400 lbs of weights, bar, and bench for under $400. Plus, my rack was Warwick Stevenson’s, which means nothing to me but BMX riders might think it’s cool.
I trained with a guy who built his own rack. Truth is, it was pretty solid, about as solid as any of the midrange racks sold online. Of course this guy learned to weld when he about 11 years old and had been working as a deck and patio contractor for the past decade so he knew a lot about the engineering and metalworking needed to create a strong rack.
As long as you have a good plan sketched out ahead of time and you’re using quality materials, go for it. there are a few spec sheets floating around online on some of the other boards
The center piece of my home gym is a “home made” rack. It is 8’6" tall, 40 inches deep, 48 inches wide, constructed out of 2"X3" 11 guage steele with 1 1/2" cold rolled steeled catch bars and chin bar.
I looked at a picture in a catalog, sketched the rack and the demensions, ordered the steele, and welded it up. I primed and painted it with a brush, in blue Ford heavy duty tractor paint.
I can power and hang clean in it,
bench, deadlift, push press, military press, and chin in it.
Sometimes I go nuts and do curls in it.
Mike
I can do
My uncle has a nice home gym in his basement. He lives in the back woods country area of VA. where they are no stranger to home made products.
The stuff he has is functional and sturdy, all made by some local guy that has a torch and knowledge of welding.
In my opinion the stuff is great. My uncle is a power lifter and if memory serves me correctly, last I checked he was benching over 500 Lbs.
The stuff he has is similar to the stuff at this site.
Used a pair of sawhorses for safety, and a bunch of 2x4s for a squat level and bench level. Solid as a rock.
Then a couple weeks later I got a used one for free off of craigs list.
[quote]goldman812 wrote:
has anyone built there own power rack?? i was thinking of building one. has anyone ever seen or heard of a power rack made of wood?? i am only going to use max of 400lbs. for now? any thoughts?[/quote]
I looked at duplicating the Powertec rack, but, the material would have cost me more than the cost of buying one let alone the hours of fabricating.
[quote]Axel44 wrote:
goldman812 wrote:
has anyone built there own power rack?? i was thinking of building one. has anyone ever seen or heard of a power rack made of wood?? i am only going to use max of 400lbs. for now? any thoughts?
I looked at duplicating the Powertec rack, but, the material would have cost me more than the cost of buying one let alone the hours of fabricating.[/quote]
Been through the exact same process myself. Not even worth it as the material was more than the rack would be new with shipping. I even priced out wood to build one with 4X4’s and angle Iron like previously mentioned. It was still close to the price of a new one, and I had a lot of work to do. That was just materials.
Jillybop is right too, you can get them used dirt cheap.
[url]http://bigfitness.com/bosopopora.html[/url]
This one is the one I have and for $399.00 shipping included it is hard to beat it.
Good luck with what ever you choose!!