Best material for Stall Bar

[Joseph Boffi]

Hey guys,

Buying a stall bar wall for my new facility. Do you recommend a metal or a wood wall? If wood what kind I have seen pine, oak and eucalyptus to name a few. Be detailed in your reasons please.

Thanks

[Keilani Gutierrez]

I used pine since I was not installing them in my permanent residence and also I've never done a wood project of this magnitude. I kept it fairly simple due to my budget. 15 rungs(originally got 13 but i miscalculated and bought the extra two just need to drill the last holes. (the frame shows more signs than the dowels, i havent seen a dowel delaminate yet)

 

I couldn't help you on quality of wood since that's an area i have no expertise in but the pine has been holding up fine to the rain(the area where the stall bars are sometimes gets rained sideways and the wood of the frame only looks slightly affected from the weather. if it were getting rained on directly would be something else entirely i think.) the pine doesn't bend much under my weight (cut them at 36 inches, so installed they're somewhere at 32?inches and i weight 160lbs.) 

 

as for stretching on it, getting inverted, HLL, etc, I've never had an "oops" moment where I thought I was going to rip it out of the wall(concrete with 2 screws per anchor thing, i forget what type of screws they were but they were all 1-1/2 inches) 

 

for my permanent resident, i can see myself doing it exactly as is and maybe doing some sanding and doing something to the wood to make it look nicer(on the frame, the dowels are fine as is) 

 

I'd use wood for the way it feels on your grip, especially if you start getting sweaty(which at 84 degrees F and 63-80% humidity, is real nice when you're doing 5 sets of some mobility or exercise that won't risk your nogging because of sweaty palms)

[Joshua Slocum]

If it's a public facility, I would consider metal. Stall bars are fine for most people, but I've heard of larger individuals (200lbs +) occasionally having trouble with breaking wooden bars. 

[Cole Dano]

In a public facility, if you do go with wood, make sure the rungs are laminate, it makes the wood considerably stronger.

 

With metal make sure the frame is built as a unit, some are shipped in two halves, with the bars being split in the middle from top to bottom. The joint in the middle isn't usually straight, and  tends to loosen over time.

[David McManamon]

Look up the ratings for the wood you choose.  I did a very quick search for Hickory and found http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/shagbark-hickory/

 

You can easily find tables showing typical ratings for hardwood.  I prefer the feel of wood to metal so I would go with Hickory or similarly rated wood.

[Jeremy Huston]

I was at a gymnastics facility this weekend and scoped out their stall bars and was really surprised they had 1 1/2" Sch 40 PVC rungs with wood uprights.  The PVC was wrapped with athletic tape and covered in chalk.  They put a screw through the wood and PVC to keep it from rotating.  

 

I grabbed the bars and it felt very secure with plenty friction to keep from slipping, even when sweaty.  They don't allow adults on the equipment, so I couldn't put my full weight on it to see if it flexed.

 

When I get around to building my set, I think I will use Sch 80 PVC.  It's stronger than regular PVC, cheaper than wood, and cuts easily with a hack saw.