Wanted to turn my R3 into a half rack with weight storage on the back, but Rogue was quoting me over $600 with shipping for their weight storage pegs. deadwoodgregg gave me the idea of trying to make the pins myself, so I went out to the hardware store today and got what I needed to put together 8 pins.
Final cost at the end of the day was $60 and I have materials left over.
All I did was buy some 5/8" threaded rod, some nuts and washers, and a couple lengths of 1.25" PVC pipe.
I inserted the rod through the side holes in the rack, threw a washer on both sides, threw a few nuts down the length of the rod to distribute the load, then capped it with another nut and washer. It's not the prettiest solution, but it doesn't look bad and saved me $550, so I'm okay with it.
Here's a pin with 270 pounds loaded on it. Seemed pretty damn stable but I kept it to 180 or less on each pin just to be safe.
Here's the finished product. A pair of pins at chest height for easy access to some 45s, a smaller pin at the top for the change plates, a pin in the middle for 25/35 (never use the 35s really, so I didn't give them their own pin), and another pin on the bottom for the rest of the 45s.
Looks great! How stable is the rack with the top cross member mounted on the rear?
Thanks dude! It's super stable, I'm not even remotely concerned about it anymore. It does have a bit of side to side play if you really shake on it, but it's the same with the R3 at my other gym that has the cross member across the top.
I'll still grab another cross member for the front eventually, but I'll probably get the neutral grip one Black Widow makes, more for the extra options rather than to add stability to the rack.
are you still able to squat in there?
I think i would move all the 45s down to the bottom peggs.
It surprises me how many people refuse to buy equipment from Elitefts because its too expensive but they will buy equipment from their competitors, then continue to go on EFS website regulary to educate themselves for FREE
I always lifted outside the cage, so it's not a big deal to me. The only thing I ever did inside was bench, and I'm gonna get a pair of the safety spotter arms to throw outside the rack so I can bench safely out there.
I'm a half rack guy, I haven't squatted in a rack more than 2 times in the 3 years I've been training. I walk out pretty far and like to feel out in the open, not distracted by spotter arms I might hit or uprights 6" away from me. Dunno, just how I like it I guess!
If you subtract the cost of the S-2 from the R-3, the weight storage cost you around $300 plus the cost of the parts from Home depot.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50¢ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25¢.
Hi Forbidden, I didnt know you bought an R3? Is this new, did you get it from GarageIron?
Yeah Rogue is crazy selling plate storage for 600$++ when the EFTS 2x2 storage option style is $245 including the 7ft square tubes and plate posts. Rogue doesnt need to sell you a billion holes to hold a few plates, way too expensive.
Very cool looking rack, your basement style ceiling is the exact same as mine, hahah. I see you put the dual-bars at the back...are you making room for a GarageIron/BlackWidow swiss-pullup-bar up front?
If you subtract the cost of the S-2 from the R-3, the weight storage cost you around $300 plus the cost of the parts from Home depot.
Hmmmm... Let's not think about it that way, haha...
Originally Posted by Accutron
Hi Forbidden, I didnt know you bought an R3? Is this new, did you get it from GarageIron?
Yeah Rogue is crazy selling plate storage for 600$++ when the EFTS 2x2 storage option style is $245 including the 7ft square tubes and plate posts. Rogue doesnt need to sell you a billion holes to hold a few plates, way too expensive.
Very cool looking rack, your basement style ceiling is the exact same as mine, hahah. I see you put the dual-bars at the back...are you making room for a GarageIron/BlackWidow swiss-pullup-bar up front?
Yeah I just got it, bought it from GarageIron. Did some measurements and figured out it was actually possible to fit it in my basement, so I figured I might as well pick it up and save a couple hundred bucks since I was planning to get something this spring/summer anyways.
The price Rogue gave me didn't even include uprights, just the pins. They are like $40 each, plus $200 shipping. To be fair, I inquired about it and they said the shipping was ridiculous and if I gave them a call they could give me a better shipping quote, but still, $320 for 8 pins is not worth it vs. what I ended up making. Even if the ones that support the 45s bend or give out, I can still just buy a couple of the nice ones from Rogue to replace those and keep using my DIY ones for the smaller plates. Don't think these are gonna be a problem though, they are holding up really well.
The only reason I put the pull-up bars on the back is because they actually won't fit across the top. It's so damn close but the fat bar just can't make it across one of the floor joists. I'm gonna get the Black Widow multi grip bar for the front at some point, but I'm not in a hurry, it's rock solid the way it's set up now, no issues.
I always lifted outside the cage, so it's not a big deal to me. The only thing I ever did inside was bench, and I'm gonna get a pair of the safety spotter arms to throw outside the rack so I can bench safely out there.
I'm a half rack guy, I haven't squatted in a rack more than 2 times in the 3 years I've been training. I walk out pretty far and like to feel out in the open, not distracted by spotter arms I might hit or uprights 6" away from me. Dunno, just how I like it I guess!
So you now own the most expensive and elaborate plate tree in the world?
No brain, no gain.
You can't out-train bad nutrition.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
So you now own the most expensive and elaborate plate tree in the world?
? It's a half rack, not a plate tree...
Originally I wanted this...
But can't really get Legend stuff in Canada. The R3 with weight storage on the back takes up less space and has the benefit of being a rack in the situations where I might want to do stuff that needs to be done inside of it, and the weight storage can easily be removed if I ever just want to use it as a rack again. Not the case with a squat stand or regular half rack.
Worth it to me anyways, if you're not into it that's no big deal...
The set-up you have is very similar to the Legend you posted, but even better as you noted. With the money saved you could easily buy some front extended spotter arms, plus you have the option to return it to a full-rack at anytime.
The set-up you have is very similar to the Legend you posted, but even better as you noted. With the money saved you could easily buy some front extended spotter arms, plus you have the option to return it to a full-rack at anytime.
These are only 175$ Canadian from Rogue...
Yeah I've got a $50 gift card too, so I'll be grabbing a pair of those in the near future and then be pretty much good to go!
Rogue R3 (used) + DIY Weight Storage, takes up least amount of space, can be converted back to full rack: $810 delivered
I don't see how I'm really doing anything crazy here.
Nah man dont worry you got an awesome price for that rack. Experienced lifters know what they want and dont have to ask for advice. If its the set-up you want, its what you want.
Plus you still have a full rack anyways so its even a half rack...
Hmmmm... Let's not think about it that way, haha...
Lol! It is a nice rack/half rack/squat stand and like others have said, you have more versatility than regular squat stands or a half rack since you can go back to using it as a rack.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50¢ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25¢.
What has he done different than the other dozens of half racks?
It's a power rack, but with the modification made, it can't be used as such; there's no room left inside the rack to lift a barbell and plates.
No brain, no gain.
You can't out-train bad nutrition.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
It's a power rack, but with the modification made, it can't be used as such; there's no room left inside the rack to lift a barbell and plates.
I think that was the whole point. He didn't want a power rack, he wanted a half rack. He just made one from a R3 in a cost effective way.
Should he decide to expand back into a full rack with plate storage, he can with 2 uprights and 4 cross members, or if his situation changes, he could just remove everything, put the plates on a tree and use it as a full rack.
I don't see that flexibility in any other half racks.
Last edited by GarageIron; 01-06-2013 at 09:10 PM.
The set-up you have is very similar to the Legend you posted, but even better as you noted. With the money saved you could easily buy some front extended spotter arms, plus you have the option to return it to a full-rack at anytime.
These are only 175$ Canadian from Rogue...
I wonder if the rogue half rack spotter arms can be used like the sorinex ones. Add utility pins to those holes and u've got pulling stands.
I always lifted outside the cage, so it's not a big deal to me. The only thing I ever did inside was bench, and I'm gonna get a pair of the safety spotter arms to throw outside the rack so I can bench safely out there.
I'm a half rack guy, I haven't squatted in a rack more than 2 times in the 3 years I've been training. I walk out pretty far and like to feel out in the open, not distracted by spotter arms I might hit or uprights 6" away from me. Dunno, just how I like it I guess!
Just how I like it as well. It feels good to have some freedom in how far to walk out, which for me (right or wrong) outweighs any potential risk of missing a lift and not being able to dump the bar. Benching is a diferent matter, but as already mentioned, outside spotter arms will deal with that.
Really nice idea to make a "Transformer" half rack / full rack. A flexible, cost and space efficient solution.
I'm a half rack guy, I haven't squatted in a rack more than 2 times in the 3 years I've been training. I walk out pretty far and like to feel out in the open, not distracted by spotter arms I might hit or uprights 6" away from me. Dunno, just how I like it I guess!
Inside my power rack, I only do barbell bench press and heavy dumbbell press. I don't like the feeling of having a structure above me when doing squats and military press. I am more of a squat rack guy.
They are like $40 each, plus $200 shipping. To be fair, I inquired about it and they said the shipping was ridiculous and if I gave them a call they could give me a better shipping quote, but still, $320 for 8 pins is not worth it vs. .
That shipping quote does seem odd.
I just ordered a Box Squat platform from them...and shipping was $90.
Keep in mind that the shipping also includes any brokerage fees and the Canadian taxes...but the Squat Box was about the same price (actually about $340 so a bit more) so the brokerage fee and taxes would be similiar. My guess is that the squat box is heavier and more expensive to deliver...so odd that the delivery fee for the pegs would be more than double (I would expect it to be less t han $90)
I just ordered a Box Squat platform from them...and shipping was $90.
Keep in mind that the shipping also includes any brokerage fees and the Canadian taxes...but the Squat Box was about the same price (actually about $340 so a bit more) so the brokerage fee and taxes would be similiar. My guess is that the squat box is heavier and more expensive to deliver...so odd that the delivery fee for the pegs would be more than double (I would expect it to be less t han $90)
Did you order it from the Rogue Canada site?
Yeah the quote was through Rogue Canada. I'm guessing it's just a system issue with shipping consolidation, it's probably like $18 for each pin or something and they just add it all together rather than piling it into one box. They aren't light but they definitely should be more like $50 to ship at most. Either way I'm satisfied with this solution. I don't expect any of these pins to fail on me, so unless one does, I should be good to go.
I ordered the Safety Spotter Arms today, looking forward to getting them and finally completing this beast! Then I just need to replace my Northern Lights flat bench... I was pretty happy with it when I got it to replace my old crappy Marcy bench, but it's only like 38" long and 10.5" wide which isn't enough anymore for a bigger guy like me. It's the right height at least, so I can get by with it, but I'd really like something with a 12" pad that's at least 42-44" long.
Yeah the quote was through Rogue Canada. I'm guessing it's just a system issue with shipping consolidation, it's probably like $18 for each pin or something and they just add it all together rather than piling it into one box. They aren't light but they definitely should be more like $50 to ship at most. Either way I'm satisfied with this solution. I don't expect any of these pins to fail on me, so unless one does, I should be good to go.
I ordered the Safety Spotter Arms today, looking forward to getting them and finally completing this beast! Then I just need to replace my Northern Lights flat bench... I was pretty happy with it when I got it to replace my old crappy Marcy bench, but it's only like 38" long and 10.5" wide which isn't enough anymore for a bigger guy like me. It's the right height at least, so I can get by with it, but I'd really like something with a 12" pad that's at least 42-44" long.
Didn't see this before but yeah, bolted down! After using a bolted down rack I could never go back, feels so bullet proof!
I got the Rogue Spotter Arms today, so the sacrilege is complete
Real men squat outside the rack
Rack setup looks great. Also, if you moved the 45's off the middle pegs you could still use the inside of the rack anytime you wanted. True 1/2 racks don't have that option.
-!!!---!!!- No Excuses Homemade Equipment Crew #6 -!!!---!!!-
Didn't see this before but yeah, bolted down! After using a bolted down rack I could never go back, feels so bullet proof!
I got the Rogue Spotter Arms today, so the sacrilege is complete
Real men squat outside the rack
lookin' good. just curious, could you add the spotter pins to the back (instead of the side) of the back uprights, and do you think it would tip if the rack wasn't bolted?
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