rope ladder /paralettes specs help

[thematrixiam]

hey guys.

I'm looking to build my own rope ladder and am curious what you think the diameter should be.

I read that someone used 1 3/8' diameter on his stall bars. does that sound about right?

what about for a set of paralettes?

[Joshua Naterman]

What? Rope ladder? Just use whatever rope will hold you, anything over 1/2" thick will easily hold your weight times 3 or 4 but make sure by checking safe working loads and doing whatever will work with your hands and your budget.

Paralletes work well with 1.5" PVC. It is about 2" on the outside and that tends to work well for pretty much everyone and is very sturdy.

[thematrixiam]

Thanks Slizzardman

to help with clarification,

the rope ladder I'll be making is not 100% rope. the handles/steps are going do be wooden dowels. the rest is rope.

the rope ladder(handles/steps) and the paralettes I'm planning on making out of wood. My dad has a lathe so I can create my own dowels. I'll probably make my own dip station while I'm at it.

[EastWind]

I understand that you want to make your own version of USA (Universal Strength Apparatus)? That's really cool!

I'm currently using climber ropes to hold weights around the waist, I can't remember if it's 8 or 10 mm, it's been some time since I got it. So, maybe these ropes are a solution, they are very resistent.

Please do post some pictures and details while you're building it (or after), I'm interested. I am just wondering how would you fix the wooden dowels to the ropes...

Good luck with the project!

[thematrixiam]

hey deodatus,

yes I'm making a rope ladder setup similar to the USA ones.

Then I'm going to make a wider one that I can set up at an angle (maybe around degree), and use for stability/balance training.

[Joshua Naterman]

Ah, right on! Post pics when it's done, that will be cool!

[thematrixiam]

any one actually know the dimensions of the USA ladder?

The one I'm working on is going to be:

the rungs/dowles 1 1/2" ish (it takes practice to make these dowels)diameter and 1' long.

I'm going to separate them by about 10" and do 5 on each. so it's about 4 feet between the top rung and the bottom rung. I came by that number based on my arm length x 2. I want to be able to grab it at the lowest possible position, and the highest possible position. After watching some of the videos, I may go and make it even longer, to the ground, so that I can use the lower rungs for foot holds etc.

do u guys know what the actual width of the rungs are? And the distance between rungs?

[thematrixiam]

I am just wondering how would you fix the wooden dowels to the ropes...

By looking at the site is says that the rungs rotate. that means the rope would have to physically go through the middle of the dowel , or I'd have to buy some swivels or something to screw into the ends. I plan on making this as cheap as possible. And I don't really think it'll make that big of a difference if mine don't spin. I'll probably just drill a hole in each side an inch in and run the rope through that way. Then twine up the ends and seal it so I don't get any splits.

[thematrixiam]

coming along alright so far.

getting better at lathing the dowels. It's a little hard to find the right pieces of wood for the size I want. I had one that I thought would work, but it was either too bent, or I put it on the lathe wrong, because it ended up way too small at the end. I had another piece from yesterday crack on me. I'll probably do some extra ones just to be on the safe side.

[EastWind]

One solution would be to make a hole in each side of the dowel, pass the rope, then make a single knot underneath, that will prevent the support from falling down along the rope. Well, it depends on the width of the rope, but if you're using climbing ropes, I think the knot will be big and strong enough to support the dowels and your weight. Whatever the solution is, make a test after you fix the first dowel.

[thematrixiam]

Hey, update

Finished most if not all my dowels. Bought some rope. it's boating rope. Good for 1500lbs. I think that'll hold me. I checked out a climbing store but there selection was bad and way more pricey. I got 40 ft for about 8 bucks. It's about 6mm (1/4 inch) diameter rope.

[Nicholas Sortino]

One thing to keep in mind with rope is that knots reduce the tensile strength of the line, sometimes significantly. Depends of the type of knot. You will probably be fine, as long as you are not putting some serious weight or G's on it though. Also, keep in mind some line stretch quite a bit, while others don't at all. Just make sure you account for it either way, i suppose. What kinda line did you get?

[thematrixiam]

off hand, not sure what kind of rope it is. It's load capacity was the highest I could find, after checking out the hardware store and then the climbing store, which is 1500lbs, so I think I should be okay, even with the knots. It's woven, with inner and outer cores. And it has no stretch that I can tell.

[Nicholas Sortino]

I'm sure it will be fine too. It was just general information really. One thing to consider though if you are cutting the rope. Wrap a couple loops of duct tape around each spot before you cut it, leave the tape on, and then burn the end closed. This is the best way to prevent fraying of your line. Or use a hot knife to cut it, but I would still advise the duct tape and double checking to make sure it is fully cauterized.

[thematrixiam]

I've got it cut, drilled, knotted, and hung.

Not sure if I like how it's set up right now. I may move it later. Debating if I should varnish it. My father, it's his shop I'm doing this in, recommended I wrap the ends with then varnish over the wrap to help prevent splits.

One thing that is a pain with this. It's heavy. It's all done with ash. I did a couple basic holds to see how it was. It'll definately work on my stabilizers, I'm all over the place on it. But I kept getting wacked in the head with these massive rungs. Also when I was doing inverted pull ups the excess rungs kept hitting the sides of my arms. Or the rope and the rungs would wrap tightly around my arms and dig in. Not sure if these problems are the same with doing USA workouts or ring work outs.

Here are the pics.

simple knot on the bottom does the job just fine

no knot on the top

right now it's just set up using some screw links

[thematrixiam]

I'm definately getting used to them. the heavy wood isn't really an issue anymore. It'd only be a pain if I tried to move it. Right now it's out side on a tree. That's the only downfall. No where to put it come the cold weather.