DIY Gym/Box Equipment: What have you built? What do you want to build? Show us your hardware.
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I'd love to see the prowler. I've considered one myself. Kinda worried about tearing up my (new) driveway though. The plastic-bottomed rogue ones look good but $$$$.0
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This is my start.
It's a Gold's Gym XR-5 which I think is a pretty low-end Walmart model for the impulse buyer. Even if this was new, I wouldn't trust my life with at at weights I presently lifting at. I got this beauty free of Craigslist with some 1" 25 lbs plates.
In the demo of it, a pile of dirt and what I can imagine as mouse and insects nests and rust fell out.
This is the prowler in which I am basing my build on. Its the Elitefts E "Old School" Prowler.
Once I dissambled it to this part, I could see what the main structure would be.
And there it is, the basic structure.
The push rails are what the long back cushion were mounted on. I had to drill another hole at the bottom of them -- with the drill press -- in order to mount them on the capital of the T. I may be able to slide the plates on these (1" plates?) or not. If not, I will attempt to drill a through the longer part extending out on the T and then mount a 2" pipe to slide Oly plates on.
I'm going to need three skis, so what I will do is take these "U Shaped" pieces and basically cut them in half and them cut them down again to get a size relative to the Elitefts model and for the size of my sled. I will only be able to push and pull in one direction, but that should be fine for now. I had thought about purchasing some used junk-yard snowmobile skis -- might have too -- if I can't get this plan to work.
The sled is in mockup form right now, nothing is bolted tight since I'm still in the skunkworks phase of this build. Also, I have to mount the eye-bolts in which I can attach a harness to.
Hopefully I will get some time to work on it this weekend, but I am receiving the rest of the materials to build out the loft in my garage (where all the storage crap will go) and to finish the raised platforms. My platforms are going up on 2"x4" -- I want them off the cold hard floor and muck when we park in the garage over the winter.0 -
Nice work. Be sure to post completed pictures. Funny how the bench press setup basically resembles a prowler right from the start.0
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I’ve gotten pretty serious into my training and instead of just merely lifting for aesthetics, powerlifting has now become a passion of mine. I live in a pretty remote area and with my limited amount of time that I can possibly train (I train at 430 am most weekdays) and the only gym being severely under equipped, I decided to build a garage gym. (They only have one barbell and one power rack that is a severe joke.)
Here’s the build over the weekend.
What I started with.
Then some sketching. I used Adobe Illustrator to get my thoughts down after measuring the space. Drawn in 0.25" to 1' scale.
Before I purchased the materials to build the platforms I purchased one horse stall mat and a Rouge Monster Lite 70" half-rack because of the ceiling height (88") and the platforms I was intending to build -- couldn't be to tall of a rack. Rouge had one of the few shorter ones and with the Westside hole spacing too, was an easy decision.
One materials buy.
Laying it out.
I used Simpson Strong Ties with 1" screws that I had leftover from another build from a few years ago. Went really quick.
Tic marks.
First and second plywood screwed down. My cordless drill ran out of juice, so I resorted to the 30+ year old drill my dad gave me to screw the plywood down.
I took a small detour before completing the 3 foot platform and installed this halogen lamp that I picked up a few weeks prior for $10 at a rummage sale. It has two settings and this cute little turtle hanging off the pull switch.
The cute turtle. What should I name him?
3 foot platform. I need to park one of the cars in the garage during the winter which is why I made this platform a bit smaller - I wanted to be confident that I could still pick it up off the floor. Also notice the oil/grease stain on the floor - there is no way I want to lift directly on that.
Both platforms together with horse stalls and birch "dry" fitted. Cutting the horse stall mats was pretty easy -- took about a half and hour for three cuts -- I've been cutting for years as a graphic designer. Trick is to score and cut through the "layers" with many passes and a very sharp blade and not in one single pass.
And here they are all finished. I still have a few minor details to complete on them, but they are lift ready. Haven't lifted on them yet, but hope too tomorrow.
You might have noticed that there is no glue used with the construction, this is because we intended to move out of this condo (whether we sell or not) by next fall and I don't want anything permanent. I can just unscrew it and move it. Also, I kept the 8 foot long and 1 foot wide pieces for my new space. These lifting decks will be reconfigured to work in my expected new basement without a platform. I will lay another layer of plywood below these sheets and stagger in the cut pieces so make a one thick floor-level solid platform.
All-in-all it took around or under 7 hours to complete.0 -
That's awesome. Looks like a great way to efficiently utilize the space while being prepared for the future. All in just a day's work too, not bad!0
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That's awesome. Looks like a great way to efficiently utilize the space while being prepared for the future. All in just a day's work too, not bad!
Thank you @DopItUp! I had to sneak it in though, three hours here, and an hour here. I have a rather robust family life on the weekend.0 -
BTW, I don't have anything new to add but I did finish up those wagon wheels I made.
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Also, I love your old drill. I have some just like that. Craftsman and Snap-On stuff, several decades old. They don't have a lot of balls but you could bludgeon several people (or zombies) to death with them no problem. I have stuff the dates back to WW2 (from my grandfather, who was a mechanic). Still works great.0
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Wow, those look great! I love the stenciling too, nice detail work!BTW, I don't have anything new to add but I did finish up those wagon wheels I made.
That old drill and I have done a lot of work together. It's a bit unruly, but a friend suggested I just replace the power cord on it which I am going to do.Also, I love your old drill. I have some just like that. Craftsman and Snap-On stuff, several decades old. They don't have a lot of balls but you could bludgeon several people (or zombies) to death with them no problem. I have stuff the dates back to WW2 (from my grandfather, who was a mechanic). Still works great.
I wish my father would have kept more of my grandfathers tools, all heavy duty Milwaukee tools, but sold most of it off over the years.0 -
I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
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nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
Nice C5R.0 -
Looks good but crowded.nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.0 -
It actually took me a google search to figure out what a C5R is... My kids like it though
nakedraygun wrote: »
Looks good but crowded.nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
Yeah, I mostly just cleared a space large enough for the platform and built it. It'll be a effort to clear/organize the rest of the garage over the next few weeks. I cleaned some of it up the other night between sets. If it wasn't for the impending snow (we get 10ft on average), I would have cleared more space by moving some stuff to the near half of the garage.0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »It actually took me a google search to figure out what a C5R is... My kids like it thoughnakedraygun wrote: »
Looks good but crowded.nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
Yeah, I mostly just cleared a space large enough for the platform and built it. It'll be a effort to clear/organize the rest of the garage over the next few weeks. I cleaned some of it up the other night between sets. If it wasn't for the impending snow (we get 10ft on average), I would have cleared more space by moving some stuff to the near half of the garage.
10 feet? Yeah you're going to need more room to train for sure... I imagine you'll be indoors a lot.
Totes are your best friend.0 -
nakedraygun wrote: »nordlead2005 wrote: »It actually took me a google search to figure out what a C5R is... My kids like it thoughnakedraygun wrote: »
Looks good but crowded.nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
Yeah, I mostly just cleared a space large enough for the platform and built it. It'll be a effort to clear/organize the rest of the garage over the next few weeks. I cleaned some of it up the other night between sets. If it wasn't for the impending snow (we get 10ft on average), I would have cleared more space by moving some stuff to the near half of the garage.
10 feet? Yeah you're going to need more room to train for sure... I imagine you'll be indoors a lot.
Totes are your best friend.
Or outdoors a lot. Sometimes clearing the driveway is an unpaid part time 2nd job. I often prefer to drive over it if it doesn't get too deep before a warmup (which we had none of last year). That combined with skiing every week and digging tunnels for the kids keeps you outside plenty
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Not nearly as ambitious as some of you, but this is my lap board for doing seated calf raises in my rack. I just put the bar on the rack safeties, then roll it onto this. I got padding and upholstery for it, but I will probably never get around to putting it on because it is surprisingly comfortable as is.0 -
Been awhile since I posted any updates, but I haven't added anything new since last year until tonight. Dumpster diving at work last fall I found this supermarket bag dispenser. Looked at it for a moment and figured I could make a chalk bucket from it. Tonight for $3 I found a bowl deep enough to finish the build.
It's pretty short, about two and half feet high, but I think for my needs it will be just fine.
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Nice work, that looks professional!0
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And now my attempt to 1-up with a project I did a month or two ago:
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I think you 1-million-and-dolphined me up @DopeItUp
That's amazing!
You could market and sell them. Did you have a pattern or did you reckon it?0 -
nakedraygun wrote: »I think you 1-million-and-dolphined me up @DopeItUp
That's amazing!
You could market and sell them. Did you have a pattern or did you reckon it?
Thanks. I spent an extensive amount of time on patterns but a lot of it was just grunt work trial-and-error, hammering, bending, grinding, torching, welding over and over. I'm sure I could sell them but not for anywhere near what it'd take to be worth it unfortunately. I have ballpark 100 hours into it, took me 3-4 months of nights and weekends.0 -
nakedraygun wrote: »I think you 1-million-and-dolphined me up @DopeItUp
That's amazing!
You could market and sell them. Did you have a pattern or did you reckon it?
Thanks. I spent an extensive amount of time on patterns but a lot of it was just grunt work trial-and-error, hammering, bending, grinding, torching, welding over and over. I'm sure I could sell them but not for anywhere near what it'd take to be worth it unfortunately. I have ballpark 100 hours into it, took me 3-4 months of nights and weekends.
Ouch. Two and half weeks is a long time. Prototyping always takes a long long time to perfect the actual product models. Still awesome job!0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »I recently broke 250lb on my deadlift and squat so I had to upgrade from the standard set I had from my youth to an Olympic set. I got a cheap rack and weights and built this platform and insert over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with it. My wife thought it was crazy that I spent ~$140 on it, but I told her it was much cheaper than buying one or repair the floor or replacing weights.
Would you mind sharing how you built your platform? Looks like it could work really well in my budding home gym:-)
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Added another bag of sandbox sand to this DIY sandbag, repacked, and gave it a toss in the Giant Robot Gym this morning. Much heavier! No idea how much it weighs, but it's not light. I sourced this duffel from goodwill for $4 - looking for other size duffel bags to create other weights.
Here's I am using it.
And some pictures of its construction. (Duffel bag, sandbox sand, contractor trash bags, duct tape.)
bag
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