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My DIY stall bars bend a lot.


Micah Maxon
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Micah Maxon

IMG_4868.thumb.JPG.1791159a4e7a367fcb96ecaa6ac9258f.JPGSo I made my own DIY stall bars for my garage.  My bars are 4ft wide and 8ft tall.  I used 1 3/8 birch dowel and white pine 2x6 beams. When ever I step on one or hang from one they bend quite a. It.  I weight 200 lbs and 6 ft tall.   I was told the birch would be strong enough for me. But I am very nervous about it.  The only reason I can come up with that it. Bends that much is that I don't have them seated far enough in the beams.  Would that cause them to bend? Any and all help is much appreciated

 

IMG_4869.JPG

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Everett Carroll

Hey Micah,

Be careful! If it feels sketchy, it probably is. I've seen dowels break and it ain't pretty. Can you send in some photos?

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Micah Maxon

Thanks coach. I'll add some pics. Later. I did however make some more modifications to the stall bars and they feel so much stronger.  The bend is very minimal now.  So the first version I had the dowels inserted only about halfway through the 2x6 and then screwed from the outside straight into the dowel. That's when there was lots of bending.  I then took it apart and drilled the holes all the way out. Slidding the dowel all the way through the 2x6 like ladder rungs. I then screwed through the 2x6 and dowel. Using the screw kinda like a cotter pin.  So now when I hang from them there is little bend. Feels so much stronger. Thanks for your warning though.  

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Nick Murray

4' wide (is this from the inside support to support) is a little wider than many of the stall bars I've seen here (Australia). Mine are 900 mm (just under 3') wide.

| |<---------4'---------->| |
| |==============| | <-b
| |  ^          ^             | |
     1         2

Do the bars go all the way through the supports (to the point b in the "drawing" above)? If you have only recessed the support, then the more the bar bends, the more likely it is the bar will pop out of the recess, even if you have a screw holding the bar (so it doesn't rotate).

Usually (and this may be obvious) the bar will bend most when you hold or load it in the middle ("2" in the drawing above). If you hold them at point "1" (towards the ends), they shouldn't bend as much.

If you have any spare dowels, make up a single "stall bar" by recessing the ends into a couple of spare blocks of wood. Support the ends on a couple of bricks, and (hanging firmly on to something else) stand on the single rod. Video how much it bends, and how high or hard you need to bounce up and down before the bar breaks or before the end pops out. This should give you some idea about how robust your stall bars are. Again, make sure you're hanging on to something before you try this!

 

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Nick Murray

Ah, ok. Ignore my comment!!!!

Please still send some photos - it's nice to see how different people build their bars!

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Douglas Wadle

Sorry, man, but 4 ft wide is too wide for 1-3/8" wood dowels.  I wouldn't go over 3 ft.  Since you've put in the time to make some nice stall bars I would just remove one side, cut off a foot, and then put back on.  Better safe than sorry.   A broken dowel could cause a pretty nasty shoulder (or even neck) injury.  Wouldn't be pretty.  Good luck!

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Mike Inglis

 I agree with Douglas.  Rogue makes 42" wood stall bars. But they use 1-1/2" diameter hard maple which of course will flex less than 48" of 1-3/8" birch. I am building mine with 1-1/2"but using ash and my width is 36" only. 

The birch wood species you have chosen is a good one - if a break ever does happen birch doesn't snap but will crack and splinter before it completely fails. So with that built-in warning system chances are very low that you'll injure yourself even with a dowel failure. 

Your approach to "pin" the dowels at each end sounds good as long as the pinning holds up. I don't think it's worth reducing the width now anymore unless there's a failure.  

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Suzanna McGee

When I was ordering mine, I wanted them wider too, because I am 6 feet. But they said they don't make them wider because the wood strength would be compromised. Mine are 36 inches, as all the other ones.  Maybe you could have some kind of "support" in the center of the pin, only on the ones you stand or hang regularly… Pin it to the wall, or together with the neighbors. It should help some… 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Micah Maxon

Thank you everyone for your feed back and suggestions. It was exactly the info I needed. I will be making. Modifications to it at some point but for now due to budget I will be keeping it as is. I am mostly using it for stretching anyways so my movements will be slow and controlled. 

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