how to make parallel bars??

[Newguy]

Does anyone know of a relatively cheap (prolly not more than $100) way to make or buy outdoor parallel bars (Not parraletes)

I am not talking about the cheesy playground ones, but ones where I can actually do Moy swings as well as support swings.

Thanks the newguy who is working on getting his own personal gym

[Joshua Naterman]

Dude, if you can make them outside that will be mega cheap! Well, a bit cheaper anyways.

Buy one 10 foot stick of 1.25" RMC (Rigid Metal Conduit) and cut it in half. Now buy four 4"x6"x8' treated wood pieces. At this point you will have spent around 80 bucks I think? Now you just need a few bags of concrete for extra security. Dig a 2.5 foot hole and drop the wood down. Now dump the concrete in, keeping the post as upright as possible. I will suggest using some kind of level and measuring device to make things as even as possible. Now just pour a gallon or two of water into the hole and once it soaks down backfill to make the hole even. Do this for all four holes, making sure you have the right distance between the bars. Let those sit for a week or so to make sure the cement is hardened. If you are digging into clay or well-packed soil you can just backfill the hole , making sure to tamp the dirt with a sledge hammer or tamp rod if you have one every few inches. This packs the dirt tight so that your uprights won't wobble. All that is left is to strap your two pipes to the wood! Buy a 4 pack of 1.25" steel straps with a hole on each side, 4 1" washers and 4 lag bolts. Make sure the washers fit the lag bolts perfectly. Now lag those in and you're set! If you're worried about bar rotation you can just drill a hole through one side of the strap and metal pipe, then put a nut and bolt in there. That will hold it tight. You'll only need that on one side.

For modular indoor bars, the only thing I would do different is to make two wooden bases, which involves more wood and a good bit of sawing, along with metal fasteners. This drives up cost, and you have to put 4 nuts and bolts instead of 2 in order to keep the bars from sliding or rotating, but it is a very stable set up. It will probably cost 130 or so, as opposed to around 100 even or slightly less for the in-the-ground version.