The 'No Excuses Homemade Equipment Crew'

[CliveWarren]

I built this cambered squat bar for a friend after he used the one I built for myself. He has a private gym that he'll be using it in.

I like this one best. I thought I liked the tubular one better than the solid bar, but this looks like the best compromise between the two. I imagine the thick tube to be more comfortable on my back, and the rotating barbell sleeves look less diy.

[cmarti063]

Saw a very clever barbell rack posted on another forum, thought I'd share.

[OhSoFocus]

Been a while, I've missed this thread. Glad to see everyone in here doing it up! Here's a TrapBar I made last week.

Sorry, not sure how to embed on iPhone.

[irongrandpa]

Been a while, I've missed this thread. Glad to see everyone in here doing it up! Here's a TrapBar I made last week.

Sorry, not sure how to embed on iPhone.

Good to see you posting again. That bar looks like a beast! How much does it weigh?

[ProtienandIron]

Pics embedded for ohsofocus




Good to see you back mate. Great work as always.

[OhSoFocus]

Thanks guys! 48.5lbs. I'm going to balance it with some micros before paint. Make it an even 50lbs

[irongrandpa]

I recently added this "Prowler" type sled to the list of homemade equipment I've built. I've only got to use it a few times, but it seems to work well pushing or pulling. I ordered a harness and pull strap to use with it, I'm looking forward to adding this into my workouts.

[murraynt]

I use my mag drill for large holes.
Built a 'table' so the steel is thick enough for it to stick.
Clamp the upright to the welding table and line up the mag drill using the pilot pin, literally 10-15 seconds later I have a 2" hole in 5mm steel.

Picked one up for around £100 deliverd .. one of the best tools ive ever purchased.

Heya owasM.

I've been planning on building a squat rack out of unistrut, it will be very similar to the one you have posted earlier. Looking back now, is there anything you would change/advise?

Thanks.

[maswol]

does anyone think that i might be able to wrap my hands, kinda like boxers, as oppose to using lifting straps

[Stasher1]

does anyone think that i might be able to wrap my hands, kinda like boxers, as oppose to using lifting straps

Straps and wraps are two completely different things. Wrapping your hands and wrists like a boxer will add support, but it'll also interfere with your grip.

If you're going to do something, do it right...but I think it's even more important to understand why you're doing it.

[KBKB]

does anyone think that i might be able to wrap my hands, kinda like boxers, as oppose to using lifting straps

Are you looking for hand protection? Or are you attempting to lift more than you can grip?

[MonkeyT]

Made a platform last week.

2 sheets of 18mm Plywood laid and fixed (screwed only) on top of one another. I decided to put a solid wood top on instead of using rubber on the sides, much like the competition platforms. I used a 20mm solid oak plank as the top layer - total platform thickness is 56mm.

I surrounded the platform in white pvc angle, just for aesthetics really and to help protect the edging of the platform when I´m dragging my jerk blocks on - I was going to use white powder coated aluminium angle, but couldn't find any quick on delivery already in white (might upgrade to Alu later if the PVC doesn't hold up - I used plastic angle on a previous version of the platform and they held up fine ). On each corner is a galvanized Unistrut corner bracket which blends in quite well after I painted them white.

I´m restricted by space so I custom sized it to the maximum I could - 2265 x 1550

[KBKB]

Made a platform last week.

2 sheets of 18mm Plywood laid and fixed (screwed only) on top of one another. I decided to put a solid wood top on instead of using rubber on the sides, much like the competition platforms. I used a 20mm solid oak plank as the top layer - total platform thickness is 56mm.

I surrounded the platform in white pvc angle, just for aesthetics really and to help protect the edging of the platform when I´m dragging my jerk blocks on - I was going to use white powder coated aluminium angle, but couldn't find any quick on delivery already in white (might upgrade to Alu later if the PVC doesn't hold up - I used plastic angle on a previous version of the platform and they held up fine ). On each corner is a galvanized Unistrut corner bracket which blends in quite well after I painted them white.

I´m restricted by space so I custom sized it to the maximum I could - 2265 x 1550

Nice! (Repped.)

[Biedec7048]

In! I have a homemade squat stand in my "dungeon"

Will post pics as soon as I'm able

[Biedec7048]

Here's me in my homemade half cage.

[Skidmarx]

Today I made a new calf block out of some scrap steel and some old handles from a bbq grille lol

[GoodToGo2]

Dunno if this qualifies as home made but whatever.

After years of tolerating my "curling in the squat rack" gym, I finally got the time to plan my own home gym. Since my ceiling is not more than 87", I had to make a smaller power rack than commercial norms. Also, rack had to be completely bolt type since I live in an apartment building and can't take it in one giant piece. I based the power rack off the rogue RML 690 and Rogue Monster 6. It is 7 gauge (4 mm thick), 3 x 3" posts, 1 inch hardware, pipe and pin safeties. Spacing between holes is also 1". Spacing from hole center to hole center is 2-1/4". Given the weight and cross links, no need to bolt it down.

Since I work in a factory, I paid the workers to fabricate it for me. I cant weld if my life depended on it! As you can see, they did a great job making the rack. The corners are held by 3" x 3" L angle and bolts. One side of the L angle is welded to the post to ensure everything is square when doing final assembly. They did grinding on the corners to make sure nothing sticks out and everything lines up well.

This is obviously not the finished product since I have to send it off for powder coating. Thinking of all black with red crossposts.

Attachment 8136281
Attachment 8136291

[louie0939]

damn....spent the weekend going through this whole thread and am super impressed by some of these DIYs! kudos to the creativity and skills.

[g8rlaw]

This thread is filled with some talented people. I don't have any talent, but I did have a go at some of the easier DIY projects.

http://imgur.com/a/wWDRr

Mini pipe DL jack
Rack mounted landmine from PVC pipe
8x8 Lifting platform
Bumper plate rack
Chalk bowl

[dieselmike]

That's some pretty damn good work for a guy to claim to have no talent.

Suggestion. Turn the U part of your jack 180 deg so the center of gravity is over the arm. Will make the lever more efficient.

Also turn the foot "T" another 90 deg to make the base more stable. And if wobbly then add short nipples & end caps to the T's that make contact with the floor for a wider base.

[g8rlaw]

That's some pretty damn good work for a guy to claim to have no talent.

Suggestion. Turn the U part of your jack 180 deg so the center of gravity is over the arm. Will make the lever more efficient.

Also turn the foot "T" another 90 deg to make the base more stable. And if wobbly then add short nipples & end caps to the T's that make contact with the floor for a wider base.

Thanks for the advice. I haven't even tested the DL jack yet, so I'll make sure to re-position and tighten for better leverage. I'll probably need some duct tape to protect the bar as well.

As for talent, I am just lucky to have found this place as a resource. Just following the step-by-step instructions for some of the simple DIY projects make me look better than I am.

[dieselmike]

Thanks for the advice. I haven't even tested the DL jack yet, so I'll make sure to re-position and tighten for better leverage. I'll probably need some duct tape to protect the bar as well.

You will quickly see that without that extra foot base, the jack will tilt as you load more plate on. As for the duct tape (I used electric tape), it only last so long. The knurl on the bar eats thru that tape after first few times. It worked great for me, but I eventually upgraded as you can see because of the abuse to the bar.

[g8rlaw]

You will quickly see that without that extra foot base, the jack will tilt as you load more plate on. As for the duct tape (I used electric tape), it only last so long. The knurl on the bar eats thru that tape after first few times. It worked great for me, but I eventually upgraded as you can see because of the abuse to the bar.

I'll make the base wider to avoid potential lateral movement. Is that pipe insulation wrapped in electrical tape? I'll look into good, durable ways to protect the bar.

[dieselmike]

I'll make the base wider to avoid potential lateral movement. Is that pipe insulation wrapped in electrical tape? I'll look into good, durable ways to protect the bar.

Exactly.

It protected the bar great on the vertical parts. But a loaded barbell was just too much for where it sat on the horizontal part. Knurl just ate it up. I'm sure there are better materials out there. But I switched to the UHMW lined Rogue Jack before I researched it any further.

As Mech6 if they make a tubular UHMW or something along those line. If anyone knows, he will.

[irongrandpa]

I recently built this weight tree for my bumper plates. The steel is all 2"x4" tubing and welded. Height is 66", and the base is 26"x26". I even had enough endcaps for all the open tube ends. My original plan was to use solid 1" stock for the weight pins, but I had these bolt on plate storage pieces in my collection of misc. stuff and used them as they're spaced for bumper plates. Used silver hammered finish Rustoleum paint. It's heavy, doesn't wobble and clears up floor space from what I did have.



Here it is with plates. The bumper plates are Pendley Classic Elite plates that I'm very happy with.



I have no idea why the first picture is sideways.

[weisgarb]

I recently built this weight tree for my bumper plates....

Looks nice, and a clever reuse of the bolt-on weight storage.

[darren.dugan]

I made a deadlift jack last weekend out of leftover 2x3 11g steel.

[FoolsErrand]

I like repurposing things. Always finding a way to put the stuff I find at Goodwill, The Salvation Army, and thrift stores to good use. In another posting I mentioned my landlord gave me some old pig-iron cylinder weights. They’re clearly labeled 4 lbs. and 6.5 lbs.



I gave some of these to a friend who has a wrestling dummy. He put one in each arm and two in each leg. It worked really well and thought I’d like to do the same. But today I had a better idea. I saw what I later found out to be a baby carrier backpack. (I had no clue such a thing even existed.) Then I remembered I saw a kid’s bean bag chair at a thrift store. And the gears started turning.



I stuffed the chair into the backpack. I then put two 4 and one 6.5 on each side and in the back for a total of 43.5 lbs.. It works great as a weighted backpack when doing steps. I threw it against a brick wall like a slam ball. Turned it upside down and hit and kicked it like a punching bag. Bearhugged it and threw it down for some ground-and-pound. Works great.



Weights (Free) + Backpack ($6) + Chair ($10) = $16

As opposed to buying a 40 lb....

Weight Vest - $40
Slam Ball - $85
Punching Bag - $50
Wrestling Dummy - $90
You could even have a friend hold it as a kickboxing pad.

If you want to make one of these yourself...

Weights - This is a no brainer. Use whatever extras you have. Or get those dirt cheap metal discs you normally wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Backpack - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009RNXNA
(Note: No idea what max weight is. So don’t go crazy.)

Bean Bag - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQT7ALE/

[EbolaMonkey]

I've been really sick for the past month, and haven't been able to work out at all.
I'm finally feeling a little normal so I got out in the shop to at least build something.

My rack is an old parabody 814. It serves it's purpose well, but I would like more attachments.
I was using my rack mount weight pins to hold my curl bar on the side, but I got tired of pulling my 45's and 35's off just to do standing curls.

These are my new side mount bar holders. I didn't have 2 1/2" square tube so they are 3' angle iron, cut down, and welded together. The tubing is all 3/4" black pipe.

Because they don't run through the frame I wouldn't use them for a 400# load, but for what I'll use them for they'll never see more than 150#.

Obviously need to be painted still. I tried to stay close to the original equipment dimensions and even made the square end stops. I honestly think mine might look better once painted.

[valiopeshev]

Where is that? Are all the benches preset with weight? I like the chains...nobody is gonna steal that. lol

Kiev, Ukraine

You Tube - "Outdoor Gym In Kiev, Ukraine"