Crack Machine

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Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Nov 17, 2005 - 07:10pm PT

Very Cool!

Bryce Breslin

climber

Oakland, California

Nov 17, 2005 - 07:24pm PT

What's your setup at the base? How much play do you get in the whole system when thrashing up? Could you estimate +/- total cost?

Cool stuff - caught my attention.

Fingerlocks

Trad climber

where the climbin's good

Nov 17, 2005 - 07:31pm PT

Gary,

Very cool.

So do you want to do Blind Faith next year?

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Nov 17, 2005 - 07:42pm PT

The crack machine is very solid, in terms of sway there is none (at least nothing perceptable). The only problem I have is that I can flex the pannel if my foot is in the "center" of the framing where there are no 2x4 support... but I figure that makes me use the outside more, which is good.

It does feel like you've been working offwidth out doors... John the gym climber was utterly wrecked last week in three laps (he thought we would do one, but I felt really frisky... and he couldn't say no).

Gary is da man!

Gary Carpenter

climber

SF Bay Area

Topic Author's Reply - Nov 17, 2005 - 11:48pm PT

Scruffy: Can’t really make a corner but by adjusting the bolts you could make it flare some. Haven’t tried it yet but it should work. Just adjust the front bolt longer than the rear.

Bryce: It’s just sitting on a couple of 4”x4 . The stability comes from: (1) bolting the right side to the retaining wall and to the first floor rafter and (2) two guy wires with turnbuckles that are anchored to the retaining wall soldier beams (you can see one in the first photo). Total cost about $200 maybe a little more. About the cost of a good rope.

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Nov 18, 2005 - 12:42am PT

Gary,

Just go bouldering at Parking Lot rock at Castle Rock State Park. The offwidth between the uphill side boulder and the main formation make an offwidth.

Send it!!

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

one pass away from the big ditch

Nov 18, 2005 - 01:07am PT

"I thought about building a "home gym" also... then remembered where I live................ "

Name dropper.

Don't let go

Trad climber

Yorba Linda, CA

Apr 1, 2006 - 10:51pm PT

I am working on building a climbing wall. Can I get some beta on what type of plywood to use. I know it should be 3/4 inch but what type of plywood? I want to use it out doors (it is designed to be portable,) and I don't know what paint to use to protect it. Do I need paint? What kind? Are the oil based paints too slippery? I saw sand that can be added to paint to add texture. Any thoughts on getting texture short of buying Metolius' textured paint?

btw, inexpensive is good but not necessary.

Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Apr 2, 2006 - 01:30am PT

Concrete sticks like magic to untreated lumber. You could use some fine sand and mason mix (cement and coarse sand) to hand-swab whatever contour you wanted. It has to cure for a week, or so. After it cures, you can wash it down with weak vinegar water to neutralize the pH. Or just let the rain do it.

Melissa

Gym climber

berkeley, ca

Apr 3, 2006 - 11:13am PT

How well have your outdoor home walls/crack machines stood up to the elements?

Gary Carpenter

climber

SF Bay Area

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 3, 2006 - 02:53pm PT

Melissa:

Good question and one that I am in the process of evaluating right now whether I like it or not (rain, rain and more rain). I built the crack machine using ½-inch OSB sheathing. I used this because it had a rougher finish than plywood, was readily available, reportedly was a bit more water resistant than sheathing grade plywood, and was inexpensive (no comments Ed). The surface has some roughness and gives it better friction but it does wear noticeably with use. I painted it with a deck paint (one coat). After the first series of rains (December) I noted some swelling indicating that the sheathing was sucking up water. Seemed to be OK after it dried out. I gave it another coat of paint to try to seal it up and give it a little more friction (slip resistant additive in the paint).
It looks OK but we really haven’t had a dry Wednesday (OW night for the Livermore crew) in the last month to try it out.

I would think that 2”x12” and other dimensional lumber would hold up well. Exterior grade plywood should also work well as it uses waterproof glue that keeps it from delaminating when wet. I suppose if you really wanted the best you could use Marine grade plywood.

I’ll keep you posted.

Gary

Zander

Trad climber

Berkeley

Apr 3, 2006 - 03:24pm PT

OSB is a lousy material. I have installed miles of the stuff and will do so in the future. However, if you support the edges and some in the middle it will work. The edges will pick up moisture and swell so seal the edges with caulk. Just put a big bead down and then spread it with your finger. Then seal everything with elastomeric paint. Get caulk that will bond with the paint. Ask your supplier. CDX plywood sealed as above will work better than OSB IMHO.
Zander

Gary Carpenter

climber

SF Bay Area

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 3, 2006 - 03:58pm PT

Zander:

Sounds like good advice. As you can tell from the photos the edges are all supported with 2"x4"'s and there are internediate 2x4's at 4-foot intervals. That seems adequate so far but I haven't had Eric on it yet. I'll try some caulk if the OSB survives the rains.

I started building it with some materials I had lying around more as a prototype just to see if my idea would work. It worked and what started out as an experiment turned into a 16-foot off width.

I'm sure I'll have to replace the OSB sooner or later. It will depend on how much use it gets and how long my wife can put up with the eyesore.

Gary

pazreal

Trad climber

Truckee, CA

Apr 3, 2006 - 05:51pm PT

If any one else is looking for a crack machine, we are moving out of our house in Truckee in a few weeks and need to get rid of ours. PM if interested or for pics. It is about 16ft tall and full expandble with foot kibs on the front face and all bolted down to a hinged based platform. Could be real nice for someone.

Cheers,
Arthur

Gary Carpenter

climber

SF Bay Area

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 29, 2012 - 01:30pm PT

Bump for Chris & Guillermo. These guys were doing laps on Ahab Saturday!!

Brokedownclimber

Trad climber

Douglas, WY

Apr 29, 2012 - 06:56pm PT

I saw a surface finish for decks that appears to have an abrasive texture at Home Despot. Any comment on this stuff?

Jonnnyyyzzz

Trad climber

San Diego,CA

Apr 29, 2012 - 08:30pm PT

I've built some of these for local gyms. http://cracksystems.com/index.html They are really good cracks and can be changed around. I been thinking of ways to make a simple system that will work for home walls. I think I have it figured out. I sell the full sized towers so please let me know if anyone thinks there gym needs or would like one. If your a real handy person you could figure out how to build something like this on a smaller scale for your home wall.