My new Homemade wooden power rack

[gargoyle]

I could not afford a new power rack and no used ones were to be found in my area. I got looking around and found this.

http://www.home-gym-bodybuilding.com/ho ... -rack.html



That seems right up my alley and price range.

I took this morning and built it - with a few modifications to suit me. Here;s my first thoughts and a basic review for any other interested.

Overall, it seems to be a good design. I expanded the center section just a little (about 6"), but turned out 3" would have been better to allow room for my feet at that end. It's not too bad though.

Although not in as orderly place as the one above, here's mine.



I added a pair of 45's at the top plus a tie to keep it all secure. I didn't have a way to attach it to a ceiling or rafter.



The plans call for 3/4" water pipe. I used non-food grade steel pipe at about 1/2 the price. The plans don't really say much about fitting. I grabbed a couple of each and will experiment and determine which I like better. 45 angle or joint.



There does seem to be a minor design flaw, or I have an odd Olympic style bar. As built, the bar doesn't lay flush.



I probably should have measured and verified, but I really that basic would have been covered. As it turns out, if the rack were more narrow to allow it to be flush, my bench would not have fit in. So in this case it was a trade off.

A couple construction notes. Whereas a 1 1/8" wood bore bit does make a perfect size hole for the 3/4" pipe, it makes a bugger of a hole if you have to ALIGN two or four (for the pull up bar) in a row. Out of 28 sets, I had 2 or three align. The rest I had to waggle until the holes were large enough. 1 1/4" would have been nicer.

Noting the 4 holes for the pull up bar, I added an interior support so there was more supporting the bar. It made threading that bar a real bitch. Actually had to get the jib saw out to get the last hole to work.

What else? I am sure there is something, and maybe if I recall it, I will post it. So far so good. I have done a dozen chin ups on it and it doesn't think about moving.

Oh, that was it. OHP. Again, due to the narrow profile of this design, without the lock on weight guard (see the photos above), the weights are in the way of the top outside brace and you can't OHP. Or at least not with out putting the whole thing too tall to make good use of the pull up bar.

Overall, a narrower profile and a different bench would be a better setup, but for 4 hours work and about $80, I can't really complain.

[lovestolift]

Looks pretty good.

Have you thought about taking a router to the edge of the supports where the bar rests? You could take a bit off each side, so it looks like this:

_|

The inner collars would sit in the grooves. Hopefully my little illustration makes sense to you. I can't think of a better way to show it.

[gargoyle]

Hey, nice idea. I had not considered that. I understand what you mean. I have a router. Might even have the proper bit. Worst case, I have a hell of a nice touch with my circular saw. Thanks. I just wonder how/why it got designed that way.

[lovestolift]

Yeah, it is strange. It would be fine if the collar sat either fully on, or fully off of it. Just not one of both. I know that would drive me crazy, I'd have to fix it.

Now that I look at the top picture it looks like it was designed for a long standard bar. It wouldn't have the same collars on the inside, so no need to have the proper dimensions.

[gargoyle]

Yes, I see that now. Live and learn. I didn't know there were different bars like that.

[muddy]

Cool stuff - what are you using for the spotting rods? I didn't see that mentioned explicitly in the link to the full plans.

[gargoyle]

3/4" ID black steel pipe. 5 feet. Meant for non-potable water and gas applications and about 1/2 the price of food grade water pipe.

[lovestolift]

Check out this. He's built the same rack as you have. I like the ingenious use of floor flanges instead of 45's or 90's. You could even set some up on the outside for OHP.

I have been thinking of building something like these "Pillars of poverty." Since I use a homemade squat stand, I have no where to drop the bar if I need to. I workout in my 8th floor apartment so I can't dump the bar on the ground, the neighbors won't like it. What do you think? I'd be interested in any ideas you may have to improve them. I may make them adjustable so that I can use them for benching as well. I'd just have to fit one pipe into another and put a pin to hold it at the desired height.

[gargoyle]

Purely aesthetics, but I like the braces better. But he did extend the base a little, and I like that. I thought I should have done that, but so far, swinging on the thing like a monkey, it's plenty stable.

As for the flanges, yeah, look great, and I even checked them out, but they were like $7.00 a piece. Not monster expensive, but if the $1.50 45 does the trick....

What is that lifting set up inside the Pillars? Never seen that before. I think those would work nice.

[lovestolift]

The bar that is on the pillars is a trap bar. It's meant to do shrugs with but many people use it for deadlifts too. It allows your back to stay more upright so it essentially turns it into a hybrid squat/deadlift.

[oggynosh]

excellent work, just what I need ...

[trackrock]

wow very nice! good job!

[techjunkie]

i think i will invest on getting me mate to make this for me he a joiner and then buy him a few beer for his trouble and maybe get him to change the plans a bit to make them better thanks

[oggynosh]

DOes any of u have a Squat Stand diagram???

[lovestolift]

Here is one idea:http://www.casualhacker.net/blog/2008/04/homemade-squat-stands/