Started by Anthony Michalski, January 1, 2018 · 7 Replies · 4,928 Views
Hello fellow athletes,
I whipped this up over the weekend with only $180 worth of material from Lowe's and about 7 hours of work. This includes trial and error as I am not a building expert. But I do make workout things for myself to save money. The stall bar rungs are 1" metal conduit. The dip bars are 1 and 1/4" metal conduit. The dip bars can detach to save space.
Regards,
Tony
Nice work here! i like it.
wow, beautiful!!!!
Good job Anthony! Looks really cool!
Anthony
Please do not think this is being negative about your project - I've just become acutely aware about safety through the Facebook group "Safety in Aerial Arts"; the group has members who are professional riggers and who explain the various forces involved in aerial (and sometimes gymnastic) equipment. There are a few things on my own stall bars that I will now not do (and will no longer do) as a result. Even hanging rings off the trusses in my garage has risks, which I wasn't aware of.
Anyway, from your photo, some questions:
1. How are the uprights attached to the wall? I see angle plates with what are possibly??? nails. Given that the rear wall looks like a composite timber, I am concerned that there is insufficient anchorage - the nails may pull out if you exert sufficient force parallel to the floor.
2. The legs of the stall bars do not appear to reach the floor, so there will also be a shear component (directly down) across the fixings any time you are on the stall bars. Any movement on the stall bars (swinging legs from side to side, for example) will increase this shear; it can be several times bodyweight, even with small movements.
3. How is the timber for the offset bar attached to the uprights? The normal bars are supported directly through the uprights - and then ideally via the upright on the floor - but the offset is supported through its fixings. As the force downwards (off the bar) is a few inches away from the fixings, this amplifies the force the fixings have to deal with. In some of the side lever progressions, movement of your body will amplify these forces even more. It's hard to see from the photo how the offsets are attached, but at the least I would add some bracing from the end of the offsets down to the uprights.
Again, I write this with a desire to not worry about something coming loose, and you falling and getting injured. Some of the GB progressions involve being upside down on the stall bars, and this is where the stability of the entire structure is absolutely critical.
Thank you, everyone!
Mr. Murray,
Your concern is much appreciated.
The two 1 by 6s in the back are screwed into the uprights with 3.5 inch screws. The cross boards are in turn screwed into the studs behind the plywood with 3.5 by 1/4" lag screws. The angle plates are also screwed in with 2" long screws. The uprights do not rest on the floor, but about 1/4 is resting on the concrete that juts out, just below the plywood. I have attached close up photos of the top offset bar. I was thinking of adding one angle plate to each side. My other concern was the 1" conduit bars. If I could do it again, I would use 1 and 1/4. I could also augment the bottoms of the uprights with more lumber reaching the floor. I did my first workout on the rig, which was a core and upper body session this morning with no issues. Let me know if you have more suggestions and I
will check out that group in Facebook as well.
Thanks for the additional photos Anthony.
I'd still add some more support to the offset boards.
What keeps the horizontal conduit sections from pulling out?
I agree with the diameter of the horizontals. I use 35 mm timber (about 1.4") and find it comfortable to hold (metal would get too cold in my garage). 1" is 25 mm...too small for my hands.
The biggest issue with my bars is that I used Tasmanian Oak dowels for the horizontals. Unfortunately, I found out that Tasmanian Oak is actually a type of eucalypt and not as strong or resistant to bending as actual oak. So they bend a bit. I inspect the ends of the dowels each time I use the bars to make sure they haven't shifted.
Nick,
I will do that. I used 3.5" screws in the backs of the uprights through each pole on both sides. I am #178 and 66", so it works for me as far as stability. These bars bend a bit, but flex back.
That is interesting! I wouldn't have known about that. I appreciate the feedback. All in all, it is tremendous to have a set. I have been slowly working the prep exercises for 2 years and i am glad to have some stall bars finally. I am sure you are enjoying yours!