DIY WOB standards

[Alan H]

I thought I put this here, but maybe not.

You can set up your own WOB standards for not too many $$. Here's how I did it.

Materials:

1.) two, 2-inch galvanized pipe sections, 6 -10 feet long. You can also use black iron pipe. Personally, I found 6 foot sections of fence post pipe, the stuff used for chain link fence, in some of the local junk heaps. However, 10-foot sections of threaded, galvanized pipe or black iron pipe cost about $15 each. I would NOT use metal electrical conduit even though it's cheap. It's not strong enough.

2.) two, 3-inch sections of black ABS plumbing pipe. This stuff is cheap, just a few dollars. Get the size that will just sleeve over the galvanized or black-iron pipe.

3.) One length of ABS or PVC pipe for a crossbar. 5-6-7 feet, you pick. One-inch stuff will bend, two-inch is rigid enough to stay straight.

4.) 50 feet of cheap rope.

5.) two little pulleys that you'll thread the rope through. Get a couple of feet of string, too.

6.) two gluing clamps like this:



7.) four, three-foot long contracters stakes. These are metal stakes about as big around as your forefinger, and 2 to 4 feet long. Alternatively, buy a 60 lb bag of quickcrete and make a round form that will hold half the bag. Stick a foot-long piece of steel pipe into it, when you pour it, that will just hold the galvanized pipe you bought in 1.) above.. Basically, you're making one of those concrete gizmos that sits underneath a patio umbrella.

Like this:


You're going to make them without the fancy set-screw, and pretty handles etc. etc. unless you want to. Cast a wide base for stability and maybe throw some wire mesh into it for extra strength. 30 pounds is plenty as long as the base is 2 - 2.5 feet in diameter.

Or heck, catch some patio umbrella bases on sale and use them.


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How to set them up:

Decide how far apart you want your uprights to be. This will be a couple of inches longer than the piece of PVC or ABS that you've selected for your crossbar. Go pound the contracters stakes deep into the ground, in pairs, just that distance apart. Leave about a foot of stake sticking up. Put the stakes absolutely right next to each other; two stakes touching each other, then 6 feet away or whatever, two more stakes touching each other. Pound them in absolutely straight up and down. If you didn't buy the stakes, but made the concrete bases instead, then just plop them down at the appropriate distance apart.

Now, pick up the galvanized pipe and shove it down over the contracters stakes. OR...drop it into the concrete base that you made.....or into the umbrella bases that you bought if you were lazy.

Now, drill a small hole into the very top of each of the long pieces of black ABS pipe. Use a small piece of cord or string to attach the little pulleys to the top of the ABS...one pulley on each of the two pieces.

Thread the cheap rope through one pulley, through the piece of ABS or PVC that you want to use for a crossbar, and through the other pulley.

Now, you and a buddy lift the two pieces of ABS and drop them over the upright galvanized steel posts you've just set up. Sleeve the ABS right over the top of the pipe. If you're using 10 foot pipe, you'll need a ladder for sure.

You can move the ABS pipe up and down the galvanized pipe to whatever height you want, and set it in place by putting the gluing clamp on the galvanized pipe. The ABS rests on the gluing clamp. Now use the rope to adjust the crossbar.

By using a 6 foot galvanized fence pipe and a 10 foot piece of ABS, I could get a pretty steady upright that put the crossbar at 15 feet. That made for a foot overlap where the ABS sleeved over the pipe. Since I'll never in a million years throw WOB at 15 feet I'd usually move the ABS down so it had 2 feet of overlap with the galvanized pipe and then lower the crossbar with the rope to 13 feet. The whole system was rock-steady at 13 feet.

You can tie off the rope to the clamps. Now, go throw. Knock yourself out.

With a 10 foot section of galv pipe inside, and a 10 foot piece of ABS you could pretty easily stretch this up to 18 feet, though it might be a little rocky up there. The ABS does flex a little bit, moreso if it's a seriously hot day. However, it's really cheap and there you go.

Anyway, when you start throwing WOB at 18 feet, let me know...