Materials and Equipment to Make a Homemade Inexpensive Squat Rack

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Squat rackMaterials Needed to Make Your Own Squat Rack

This project is pretty fast, easy, inexpensive and requires few materials, all available at a local Home depot, Lowe's or Ace Hardware store

Materials Needed:

  1. Two (2) 4 by 4's; 8 - 10 ft long.  The outdoor treated garden timbers worked well for me and only cost $5 each.  The lumber versions (also treated for ground contact) cost about $8 each. 8 ft long is perfect for most people.  If you are mutant tall (> 6'2") and want the chin-up bar, you will need the 10 ft size
  2. 6 L-brackets 5 inches on each side, with 5/16 inch screw holes  If you are only using it as a squat rack, you only need 2 L-brackets.  The additional 4 are to make it work also as a bench press and a chin-up bar. Each bracket costs about $3.
  3. Six 5-inch long, 5/16 " diameter hex bolts, with 12 matching washers and 2 matching 5/16" nuts. Total cost about $7.
  4. One 60 lb (or 80 lb) bag of high strength concrete mix for 2" or thicker applications (costs about $3 to $5)
  5. One 10-ft, 1-inch diameter plumbing pipe for the barbell
    to make the barbell. Current cost is $26 for 1 inch (inside diameter) 10 feet long plumbing pipe (NOT electrical conduit). You need the heavier plumbing pipe. They are shiny galvanized steel that look and feel nice.  
    Ask them (nicely) to cut it into 2 pieces, 7 ft and 3 ft long    . They have a pipe saw, and it will save you a lot of effort.
    Available at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace,

    6. NOTE: if you want to add the chin-up bar you will need a second pipe, but it needs only to be 6 feet long.

Tools needed

  1. Power drill - to drill the 5/16" holes through the 4x4's for the L-brackets
  2. 5/16" diameter drill bit - at least 5 inches long to go all the way through the 4x4's
  3. Hammer - to bend the end of one side of the L-brackets to keep the barbell from rolling off
  4. 2 Adjustable wrenches or 1 adjustable and 1 socket wrench with a 5/16" socket
  5. Shovel and / or post hole digger
  6. Level - if you haven't got one you can use a makeshift plumb line
  7. Plastic tub - in which to mix the concrete. The plastic oil change pan available at Walmart for less than $3 is the perfect size and shape to make all of the plates except for the 45lb plates.
  8. Saw - I used a cordless reciprocating saw with a wood blade.  It is only neededto cut a channel across the top of the 4x4's to hold the chin-up bar
    It is also available online for about the same price which saves you going into Wal-Mart.
  9. Plastic hand trowel -
    For mixing the concrete. go to the garden section and get the cheap hand trowel there. Any small plastic hand trowel will work as long as it is sturdy (because you will use it to mix the concrete and water).
    Or order online here.
     

 

Here are the simple steps to make an outdoor squat rack

Click on each link for additional photos and information. (coming tomorrow)

 

Steps

  1. Dig the post holes
  2. Mix the concrete and level the 4x4's
  3. Bend the brackets
  4. Attach the first bracket
  5. Determine level and attach the second bracket
  6. Cut grooves / channel for chin-up bar on top of each 4x4.
  7. Bolt down chin-up bar

 

Materials and Equipment