The 'No Excuses Homemade Equipment Crew'

[cmarti063]

Lol, probably more than just a few. Once I knew what I was doing, it took me about 7 hours to drill all the holes on four uprights on a Bridgeport mill. Are you using a drill, or a hole saw? I can't speak for hole saws but, with a drill, the bigger the drill, the slower the rpm. I did 3/4" holes on my rack and kept my rpm around 300.

He said with a drill press. Will be infinitely easier/quicker than with a power drill.

[darren.dugan]

He said with a drill press. Will be infinitely easier/quicker than with a power drill.

??? Not sure if srs

You might want to google "bridgeport mill"

[JonathanCSmith]

Blown away by the amazing work everyone has put in on their home made equipment, and reconditioned equipment.

[cmarti063]

??? Not sure if srs

You might want to google "bridgeport mill"

Somehow missed that in your post... I feel retarded, and apologize if you felt slighted. Mah bad.

[owasM]

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.

[jcrous]

Lol, probably more than just a few. Once I knew what I was doing, it took me about 7 hours to drill all the holes on four uprights on a Bridgeport mill. Are you using a drill, or a hole saw? I can't speak for hole saws but, with a drill, the bigger the drill, the slower the rpm. I did 3/4" holes on my rack and kept my rpm around 300.

I am going to use a drill. Slow revolutions and a proper cutting fluid. If the drill bit is kept sharp and well lubricated, it will not be a problem.


This was recommended to me:
1/8" is 11 gauge, which is the standard thickness for most quality power racks. Stick with 3" tubing and 5/8" hardware. Those specs will stand up to the strongest lifters in the world, for what it's worth. Check out the Rogue Monster Light series for design ideas. I recommend copying the RML-690. You can make the weight storage shorter and use 30" depth instead of 43" depth to save some steel.

I will basically follow this design, but the 5/8 hardware will be a little thicker: more like 11/16 (16.8 mm). But I will add a safety pin of the same thickness at the bottom. Therefore the safety beam will not rest on two 5/8 pins but four of them. Strong enough for several time more than I will be able to lift.

The drill press in the pictures in the above posts are good enough with a 17mm drill, even 20mm. A slong as the tip is sharp, the speed slow and the bit lubricated. I have drilled 16mm through 20mm thick steel without a problem in the past, so a 3mm (1/8) wall rhickness wil be easy.

[djslik916]

My DIY land mine and row attachment. All of this for under $20. You can use any cable handle you want, I saw this idea somewhere else on these boards so can't take credit.

-2 inch ABS pipe 17 inches long
-1 1/2 inch ABS pipe 12 inches long
-1/4 inch bolt 6 inches long with washers and nuts
-Husky Velcro strap hangar 300 lbs rated
-2 inch ABS pipe 2 inch spacer for strap hangar

[darren.dugan]

I am going to use a drill. Slow revolutions and a proper cutting fluid. If the drill bit is kept sharp and well lubricated, it will not be a problem.


This was recommended to me:
1/8" is 11 gauge, which is the standard thickness for most quality power racks. Stick with 3" tubing and 5/8" hardware. Those specs will stand up to the strongest lifters in the world, for what it's worth. Check out the Rogue Monster Light series for design ideas. I recommend copying the RML-690. You can make the weight storage shorter and use 30" depth instead of 43" depth to save some steel.

I will basically follow this design, but the 5/8 hardware will be a little thicker: more like 11/16 (16.8 mm). But I will add a safety pin of the same thickness at the bottom. Therefore the safety beam will not rest on two 5/8 pins but four of them. Strong enough for several time more than I will be able to lift.

The drill press in the pictures in the above posts are good enough with a 17mm drill, even 20mm. A slong as the tip is sharp, the speed slow and the bit lubricated. I have drilled 16mm through 20mm thick steel without a problem in the past, so a 3mm (1/8) wall rhickness wil be easy.

I'd also recommend going slightly bigger than whatever size bolts you are using. This way, if something isn't perfectly lined up or if something warps from heat due to welding, the bolts will still go. Like when I used 5/8" bolts, I made my holes 41/64" and it gave me just the right amount of wiggle rooms for such things.

[owasM]

Another quick flat bench ,
Welded end caps make things look soo much better.

[Skidmarx]

Nice job on the bench

[CliveWarren]

So I think I'm finally going to take up welding. A cow-orker and I have been discussing this. I'm not sure if we'll go partners on a welder, or get our own units. Obviously, we're looking at MIG and flux-core. I'm not sure if he can get 220V in his shed, I don't have 220V in my attached garage, but I'm pretty sure I can with very little expense. Are the 120V welders good for 11 gauge tubing and typical bodybuilding projects?

Any recommendations?

[RemainDieHard]

So I think I'm finally going to take up welding. A cow-orker and I have been discussing this. I'm not sure if we'll go partners on a welder, or get our own units. Obviously, we're looking at MIG and flux-core. I'm not sure if he can get 220V in his shed, I don't have 220V in my attached garage, but I'm pretty sure I can with very little expense. Are the 120V welders good for 11 gauge tubing and typical bodybuilding projects?

Any recommendations?

I've had the HF 90 amp flux core welder, and now a Hobard handler 120V. Let me tell you, even with flux core, the weld quality difference is night and day. The Hobart was the only 120V welder rated up to 1/4" inch. The 11 guage is roughly 1/8 inch so it's fine with that welder. I did some 1/8 with the HF welder and the penetration was fine too but the bead was not nearly as smooth.

[daniel327]

Any recommendations?

Like most things, you really get what you pay for with welders.

I've got a 250Amp Unimig multi-function machine (MIG-TIG-MMA). It can weld anything that I'll ever assemble in my shed.

[CropDusterMan]

I have owned several Miller Welders over the years, and I highly recommend Miller. Go Blue. Just recently sold my MillerMatic 185
to a guy who then took it to Mexico!

I have a Miller 211 AutoSet, which is a 120/220 Combo Mig unit, but I recommend you go with Gas, not Flux Core...
welds will be better, and gas is very easy, just don't weld in a windy environment. The 211 "AutoSet" is a great unit
for those new to welding, because it has a setting in which you tell it the thickness of the material you're welding, and it'll
control power and wire speed for you. I never really used the feature 'cause I've welded for years, but it is so accurate, I'm
actually using it more now...I've welded 20 gauge sheet metal all the way up to 3/16th's in a single pass, and no issues. I
weld stainless and aluminum with it too, but to do aluminum, I have a dedicated gun and feed and run 045 wire and
use ESAB tips. For most welding with steel, 030 wire is fine, which is what most machines are set up for.

Another thing is the 220 issue...welding is extremely limited with 110 power, and despite the claims
of machine makers, these machines can't weld crap on 110. Installing a 50Amp breaker, wire and plug is very easy, but
if you are not handy, might be best left to a pro. You can use a drier plug with the correct end fitted to the welder,
but generally they are only 30amps, and the breaker won't last long. If you are a beginner, get a thickness guage, a simple little
tool to measure wall thickness, then you know your settings, and with the Autoset, you're good to go...I do recommend
you use thicker tubing though, much easier to learn on.



One last thing, if you are new to welding, go on youtube and look up Welding Tips and Tricks...it's a Master Welder named Jody who
teaches tricks and techniques, he is amazing. I have learned some very advanced aluminum welding technique from him, the guy
is awesome, even a dummy like me can learn it!

[cmarti063]

Nice write-up, Crop Duster. On spread.

[Skidmarx]

You can use 120v welders for building gym equipment. I built my rack and many other pieces over the years. Get a lincoln or miller if you can afford it. Don't even waste your money on a harbor freight POS. Oh yeah, definitely run a gas setup. Flux core works but not as good and leaves a lot of spatter that will need to be cleaned up.

[owasM]

conans wheel ..

[Nickicole88]

I am so jealous after looking through some of the pages ITT! Two small kids mean I do all my workouts at home and with the crappiest bench.
I'm very lucky to have a metal fabricator in the house though...

I never imagined...

Interesting...

Christmas is coming and homemade presents are just the best haw haw!

[owasM]

Added a viking press attachment to it

[RALC]

great !

[darren.dugan]

One of the two monster weight trees I'm making for my home gym today:

[darren.dugan]

...aaaaaaaand installed. Number two is all done, just letting the welds cool before I paint:

[judgecrandall]

Very nice, I especially like the middle pegs for the 25s. The more the merrier .

[rwil23]

...aaaaaaaand installed. Number two is all done, just letting the welds cool before I paint:

Awesome, Darren. Love that I've found this forum with all of these ideas/people making their own gear. Some stuff is stupid expensive to buy retail!

[darren.dugan]

All homemade cept for the bar and bench

[CropDusterMan]

Nice looking set-up Darren.

[jessica693254]

i am planning a gym at home,from where should i start

[CropDusterMan]

C'mon jessica, that's like walking into a car dealership and saying I need to buy a "vehicle".

What kind of vehicle? What color,? What do you need it for? Is it to drive to work? Do you need a truck? Do you need a larger truck? Are you looking for good gas mileage?
Are you towing a trailer?

Ultimately, if you want some advice, think about your fitness goals, list them and then share them so we can better help you...
Do you live in an apartment or have a basement? etc.etc. Do you want a multigym or do you want yo use freeweights?
Have you worked out before? Have you seen what your local gym has to offer?

[jcrous]

I'd also recommend going slightly bigger than whatever size bolts you are using. This way, if something isn't perfectly lined up or if something warps from heat due to welding, the bolts will still go. Like when I used 5/8" bolts, I made my holes 41/64" and it gave me just the right amount of wiggle rooms for such things.

I have started drilling the holes for the upright posts. There are 44 holes per side of each post, Giving me 352 holes, each to be drilled. 5mm, 8mm, 11mm, 13mm and 17mm, giving me 1760 drills.

I have done 440 this afternoon. It is not so slow as I have thought it would be.

I went to a sports supplier the other day to buy another elastic band for my leg and there for the first time I saw a Power Cage on display. The price is more for that with a few weight plates, than what I will pay for my whole cage, with all the attachments and plates and the previous all in one home gym machine included. And my homemade one will have double the wall thickness in all my tubes.

[owasM]

I have started drilling the holes for the upright posts. There are 44 holes per side of each post, Giving me 352 holes, each to be drilled. 5mm, 8mm, 11mm, 13mm and 17mm, giving me 1760 drills.

I have done 440 this afternoon. It is not so slow as I have thought it would be.

I went to a sports supplier the other day to buy another elastic band for my leg and there for the first time I saw a Power Cage on display. The price is more for that with a few weight plates, than what I will pay for my whole cage, with all the attachments and plates and the previous all in one home gym machine included. And my homemade one will have double the wall thickness in all my tubes.

Are the 8/11 jumps really necessary? My cheapo drill press easily drills from a 5mm hole to 13mm with a decent bit.
Mag drill makes this so much quicker though, go straight to the 17mm and it cuts through 5mm in about 10 seconds. (I still hate doing it this way, cant imagine having to do all the pilots first lol)