Fabricating A Rip Rack.

[Big Lench]

So I've wanted to get a power rack for some time but after looking around i couldn't really find anything i liked apart from this one. But its pretty big and would take a up tons of room.

Bodycraft F430 Power Rack at Powerhouse Fitness

And for that price i figured i could get one fabricated. Strong as hell and built to last a lifetime of whatever you could throw at it.

Starting Strength: Resources: Equipment

That is what i would be looking to get made. although i would need to make it a bit lower to fit it in the garage.

Now i know jack all about metalwork and welding etc. so any wisdom would be appreciated. From what i gathered it should be made from C4 hot rolled A36 channel steel which is 5.4 pounds per foot. and the pins are 1 1/4 inch cold rolled steel rods.

(heres the quote 'C4-5.4 is A36 C channel, 4" in depth x 1.58" width x .18" thickness at 5.4 lbs/ft. It is hot rolled. This is what you want to use.')

It would total just under 15m of the channel and then just under 3m of the 1 1/4" rods.

Does anyone have any experience with metal work or welding who would know an approximate cost of the metal and then how much a welder would want to weld it all together? And also if it would be feasible to get some scrap metal and use that instead to cut the cost down a bit?

Any thoughts and help would be great.

[Waterfield]

I've heard of people constructing them from scaffolding, probably easier to find and set up?

[aq3of8]

I had one fabbed out of channel steel, didn't like the end result. If you ever get one made, supervise every step and make sure you and the fab have the same idea in mind. Also jt from atlasstones.co.uk does custom equipment, I think the ballpark figure for the rack made to spec and delivered would probably be £300.
I'm cutting up and scrapping my current rack as its way too heavy to move through the house alone. Now I'm waiting untill the time is right to buy a strengthshop commercial rack, I literally missed the last one he had on special for £799 by like 30 seconds!

[SeanC]

I considered building one myself but changed my mind due to the amount of hours I would have to put in to make it good enough quality. I could knock something together in a couple of hours but to get a good like a commercially available rack would take considerably longer. Also one you would buy will have been tested to specific weights so offers piece of mind that it won't fail. The resale value will also be low.

If you really want to do it. Look at what's available and draw up a detailed design. Take it to some local fabricators and get them to price it up for you and look over the design to make sure its suitable for your use. I would imagine it will end up costing more than shop bought if you can't do any work yourself.

[badly_dubbed]

I just bought one, it doesnt seem utterly enormous to be fair - bodymax CF475 - only £280 too

[Big Lench]

The starting strength link that i posted up has the full detailed plans for it with all the measurements etc. so i was planning to send that to whoever i can find near me and see what quote they give me. So long as it's made from the type of channel i described it will be able to withstand pretty much anything.

The fact that it is shallower than the other commercial racks about is a bonus too as it means the pins are shorter and stronger and can withstand much more punishment as well as taking up a lot less room. tbh im not really sure why the majority of racks you can buy are so deep as it just reduces the stress the pins can take and there isn't really any need for them to be so deep as pretty much all the exercises that you need a cage for call for a vertical bar path anyway lol.

[Mart001]

have you searched the SS forums, I think some UK res's have used the plans, they quoted around £400 with some small variations.