Stall Bars; Wood or Steel rungs?

 I like gripping a steel rung, but interested in other opinions?

If you like the feel of steel then go with that. It's much less likely to break.

Metal is stronger, wood has much better grip.

I like the oval wooden rungs, they're gentler on the feet during pike hangs.

yes and how cold will steel rungs get in the winter time. I would suggest  wood  1 5/8 in. I used 1 1/4 and I hope they don't break . Even the oak rungs feel flimsy.

I totally agree on the cold in winter aspect. Personally I like wood for that and the overall feel, and even the flex, but it is more likely to break.

I used 1" EMT conduit, and it works great.

outside gym need steel. with carpet tape or something similar is even better. i hear about tape they use in ice climbing for axes. better grip and softer surface.

inside gym wood like ash or oak its best. i have spruce with straight grains and with no knots

Mark, no problem with the 1" EMT since you built it?   Has stayed strong? How wide is your span?  Do you like the 1"?  I was thinking 1.25".

what's the weight cut off for wooden/steel stall bars? I've read that adults should use steel, but I'll be working out in my basement in MA. It'll be cold in the winter!

I'm 147 lbs right now. 

Is that heavy enough to need the steel?

Thanks!
 

I'm 175 lbs, 79 kg, and my wooden stall bar hold up fine, although with quite a bit of unnerving creaks. They get especially unnerving when upside down...

I am 170-175 lb and managed to break a rung on my homemade stall bars (1 3/8 in dowels). That was a pine or cedar dowel, which I had in there for comparison with the other, poplar dowels. Poplar flexes noticeably for me but hasn't broken yet. 

I broke it doing deep inverted pike stretch which puts a lot of strain on the bars. Most other exercises stress them far less. 

I didn't end up falling on my butt or head, the remains of the bar were still attached and enough to keep me off the floor.

Especially if you buy stall bars, you will not need steel at your light weight.

7 hours ago, Sarah Dahlinger said:

what's the weight cut off for wooden/steel stall bars? I've read that adults should use steel, but I'll be working out in my basement in MA. It'll be cold in the winter!

I'm 147 lbs right now. 

Is that heavy enough to need the steel?

 

Thanks!
 

depends on the wood or steel. I made my bars, I was going to use Oak but cost meant I went with steel tubing. it is much cheaper for me to get steel than hardwood. I got steel tubing that had 2mm wall thickness, it was supposed to be 2.5mm but they stuffed it up when they cut it, so I got a discount. the difference was at my 80kg the steel bar with 2mm thick walls had a 1mm flex or something. so imperceptible. My engineering friend gave me details on the flex of the steel. made for an easy choice, price and sturdiness. they were a pain to put together though and the steel can get cold in winter

my personal preference is going with steel. from my experience, steel makes you tougher so when you transfer to wood or get a chance to train with wood, you'll body will smile because its much more softer/easier.

i agree that it is easier to grip the wood and also steel makes it super hard for your feet.

On ‎28‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 2:40 AM, Leo Trinidad said:

my personal preference is going with steel. from my experience, steel makes you tougher so when you transfer to wood or get a chance to train with wood, you'll body will smile because its much more softer/easier.

i agree that it is easier to grip the wood and also steel makes it super hard for your feet.

And you don't need to worry much about steel getting cold where you are, do you :-). I'm getting steel bars I ordered from a company on AliBaba installed in my garden. At 90 kg I wouldn't risk trying my luck with wood.

2 hours ago, Petri Widsten said:

And you don't need to worry much about steel getting cold where you are, do you :-). I'm getting steel bars I ordered from a company on AliBaba installed in my garden. At 90 kg I wouldn't risk trying my luck with wood.

the problem with steel is when you put it outside and it gets wet, its so slippery and then when its hot you wont be able to use it

10 minutes ago, Leo Trinidad said:

the problem with steel is when you put it outside and it gets wet, its so slippery and then when its hot you wont be able to use it

I don't train in strong sunlight but water from a garden hose should cool it if it's hot in summer and then you just wipe dry the bar you grab. But you're right of course, it's not always good to train on it outside.

nice @Petri Widsten if i am given a chance i would put mine inside the room hahaha

So would I but the walls of my house or garage are not made of a suitable material. 

@Mark Weaver @Jared Birbeck @Leo Trinidad  I am looking to build a set of stall bars with metal tubing.  How did you guys build yours?  Do you have any pictures?  I was thinking of using the pipe holders and screwing them into 2x8's or something like that.  I don't have a drill press so I was trying to avoid drilling through my uprights.  I am also not sure as to how to prevent the metal pipes from spinning once they are attached to the uprights.  Any tips on how you guys built your is appreciated!

When I bought the steel it came in 6m lengths and they cut it to length for me for free. the uprights on mine were structural pine and I measured and drilled out holes using a suitable size spade bit. Pretty sure it was 1-2mm wider than the steel width but still a reasonably tight fit.

I  glued the steel in place, so glue and liquid nails in the holes before inserting the steel, lining all the rungs up was a bit of a pain and I needed a mallet to whack the uprights towards each other. a bit of rope to lash it all together while the glue dried.

I attached the bars to my house outside using dynabolts into the bricks. rock solid. I found the plans on here but can't recall where.  I have them as a pdf. will see if I have a pic.

Hi @Stefan Borovina, I think have a picture in instagram but not sure if its clear though. My bars are made of galvanized pipes welded together. 

The torque on the bars is substantial in some exercises, notably the inverted stretches. I strongly doubt that glueing will hold up in the long run. I was training on a set of bars that had the rungs glued plus screws in line with the rungs, and those rungs eventually started spinning (even the top bar; the most solid-feeling grip (the one that causes the calluses on the top of your palm, lol) also generates a lot of torque, especially in leg raises and such). So when I made mine, I glued the rungs in and also used longer screws going through the upright, then the rung, and into the upright on the other side of the rung hole. 

Those rungs haven't spun on me yet, but as mentioned above I have managed to break rungs with inverted pike/straddle stretches, so I understand the desire for steel rungs. I recently broke a second, poplar rung in addition to the pine one. Probably fatigue of the wood over time since it was always that same rung. I will probably replace those rungs at some point, but since I chose to mount the bars with the screw heads facing the wall for aesthetics, I have to take the whole setup off the wall to do so, which I am avoiding out of laziness. I will look into getting another type of wood for the replacement rungs, birch or oak. Drawback is that those are not normally available in stock at your neighborhood hardware store. 

Long story short, I'd suggest you also use screws perpendicular to the rungs to prevent them from spinning...

One another note, I don't think you will want to use what you called "pipe holders" aka floor flanges. Those will cost you more than the pipe itself. 

Sounds to me like the wood rungs don't hold up to wear and tear. That's enough of a rationale for me to get steel bars--even with the temp issues and difficulty of the grip. Would just mean the steel bars would develop more grit than the wooden ones.