Post by Ben on May 10, 2009 17:56:55 GMT
Ok, so this is another project to make useful gym equipment out of the sorts of junk you either already have lying around, or can get easily enough, at little cost.
The first set of bars I made were very easy and were strong enough for maybe 6 months. They proved themselves to be perfectly strong, until the day I tried one-handed handstands on them, at which point one of the bars snapped.
The first pair of bars (Well, they *were* a pair)
So after this happened, I decided to remake them, ensuring that they wouldn't break. I had recently disposed of my old bed, and was being pestered to get rid of it... I thought I'd do two jobs by recycling the bars that were previously used as bed posts.
You probably won't just have some bed posts lying about, so you'll have to get creative and find some bar shaped objects of your own... Or just go to a DIY shop and buy some wooden bars, but that sort of defeats the purpose of this project.
To make the following equipment, I used:
1 x Shipping pallet
2x Bar shaped 'things'
1x Claw hammer
1x Screwdriver
1x Wood saw
1x Old, annoyingly rubbish, electric drill
Some screws and nails
Random pieces of wood
Okay, so I took a pallet that had been lying around for a while and removed some slats using the claw hammer. This allows your legs to sit below the level of the bars - Which you'll need to do L sits and other such movements.
Here's a photo of the pallet in question:
I sifted through the pile of rubbish by the side of my shed and found the bars I needed.
The process of bolting the bars to the pallet was unexciting, involving: drilling holes through the bars, swearing and several cups of tea.
So, Blue Peter style: Here's one I made earlier:
Picture 1:
Picture 2:
Picture 3:
The whole process took about an hour and a half, without really planning anything before starting. You'll notice that it looks like a bit of a bodge job, but the goal was to make gymnastic equipment at minimal cost.
The bars work very well, although the bars are very thick which makes it harder to grip them... Which is not a bad thing since you are forced to improve your grip. You may want to bare this in mind when you make one yourself.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and perhaps you'll go on to make your own equipment, inspired by what you've seen.
Thank you for reading - I'll add to this when I get time and inspiration to make something new.
The first set of bars I made were very easy and were strong enough for maybe 6 months. They proved themselves to be perfectly strong, until the day I tried one-handed handstands on them, at which point one of the bars snapped.
The first pair of bars (Well, they *were* a pair)
So after this happened, I decided to remake them, ensuring that they wouldn't break. I had recently disposed of my old bed, and was being pestered to get rid of it... I thought I'd do two jobs by recycling the bars that were previously used as bed posts.
You probably won't just have some bed posts lying about, so you'll have to get creative and find some bar shaped objects of your own... Or just go to a DIY shop and buy some wooden bars, but that sort of defeats the purpose of this project.
To make the following equipment, I used:
1 x Shipping pallet
2x Bar shaped 'things'
1x Claw hammer
1x Screwdriver
1x Wood saw
1x Old, annoyingly rubbish, electric drill
Some screws and nails
Random pieces of wood
Okay, so I took a pallet that had been lying around for a while and removed some slats using the claw hammer. This allows your legs to sit below the level of the bars - Which you'll need to do L sits and other such movements.
Here's a photo of the pallet in question:
I sifted through the pile of rubbish by the side of my shed and found the bars I needed.
The process of bolting the bars to the pallet was unexciting, involving: drilling holes through the bars, swearing and several cups of tea.
So, Blue Peter style: Here's one I made earlier:
Picture 1:
Picture 2:
Picture 3:
The whole process took about an hour and a half, without really planning anything before starting. You'll notice that it looks like a bit of a bodge job, but the goal was to make gymnastic equipment at minimal cost.
The bars work very well, although the bars are very thick which makes it harder to grip them... Which is not a bad thing since you are forced to improve your grip. You may want to bare this in mind when you make one yourself.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and perhaps you'll go on to make your own equipment, inspired by what you've seen.
Thank you for reading - I'll add to this when I get time and inspiration to make something new.