bdubs85 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Hey, I'm in the process of building an outside gym. Next project is stall bars. Since it's outdoors do you think pvc would be a decent replacement for dowels?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Dano Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 PVC isn't strong enough to handle the stress of stall bar exercises. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Plas Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I use these PVC garden fence poles and they are very strong: https://www.gamma.be/nl/assortiment/paal-bekarond-p-pvc-38mm-150cm-groen/p/B374738 They are made of PVC and have metal "wires" running along the inside of the pole to reinforce them. I have 2m poles and there is absolutely no problem with doing pullovers over them (for reference: I weigh 80kg). Although I don't have stallbars, I wouldn't doubt to use these poles as stallbar dowels. And since they are garden poles, they are designed to be used outside, so it would be perfect for what you're trying to achieve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Johnson Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think a PVC pseudo-stallbar setup is possible, but you probably can't make the entire thing out of 1.5" PVC. Consider this structure, made out of 3" PVC. This thing was absolutely rock solid because of the large-diameter PVC, but I couldn't grab and hang from such a wide bar. Observe the t-joints in this picture that connect the crossbars; if you go to Home Depot or Lowes you'll find t-joints that are 3" but have a 1.5" T mounted at a right angle. So, you could make an overall structure like in the picture made out of 3" PVC, use the 3" to 1.5" joints and end up with 1.5" bars to actually hang on. If 1.5" PVC crossbars flex too much you could insert dowels to strengthen them. You can also incorporate drain plugs so you can fill the bottom portion with water or sand to make it more stable, yet be able to drain it so you can move it around. I posted elsewhere here my stallbar project. I've already got a good system, but the idea of making a set out of PVC is interesting because PVC is so cheap, so easy to cut, waterproof, and portable too. If you do, make sure to use PVC cement to maximize stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Burnham Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'm with cole on this one. Plus pvc gets broken down by uv and gradually weakens. Best not to test it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David McManamon Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Well I don't exactly want to recommend that you use a nice rainforest hardwood without reading the Wikipedia entry on Mahogany or similar but if your budget permits you can still use wood outdoors, you just have to spend more - for example:http://woodworker.com/14x36-mahogany-dowel-mssu-203-019.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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