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A Few Power Rack Questions

TGM

New member
I'm looking to buy a power rack, just want to make sure I don't buy something dodgy. I only have $400 to spend, I know, it's not much. I don't care about pulleys or anything like that.

So what should I look out for?

How much weight should it be able to handle? Is 200kg ok? Is 160kg too little?

SQUAT RACK / POWER RACK / SQUAT CAGE / POWER CAGE / GYM - eBay Benches, Strength Training, Exercise, Fitness, Sport. (end time 18-Jan-10 20:41:39 AEDST)

That one looks ok, but the 160kg rating puts me off.

Power Rack *200 KG RATING* Home Gym Fitness Equipment - eBay Multistation Gym Machines, Machines, Exercise, Fitness, Sport. (end time 13-Feb-10 15:36:43 AEDST)

Would something like that be any better?

And finally, where else should I look apart from eBay? I just missed out on an awesome rack rated to 400kg by $5 and am kinda fed up with bidding on stuff and getting sniped at the last second.
 
Pretty sure those you posted are the same rack, there seem to be lots of company's branding that rack as there own.

I would say that 200kg will be enough, unless you plan on doing exercises over that weight.
 
i bought the $500 one from gym direct. its pretty good. not as good as the $1000 one but does the job well. i would recommend it.
 
^ I would get that but $545 plus shipping is getting too close to $600.

Any reason why I shouldn't buy the $400 chinese rack?

Or alternatively, how much would it cost to get a rack welded up for me?

Thanks for the replies.
 
as gary said, if your going to work over 200kg...then you should know what to do. I"m looking at setting up a home gym myself
 
Contact Adrian at Gym direct and speak to him about your requirements, thats what I did.

He is The Hulk on here
 
^ I might do just that.

Might have to give the 200kg racks a miss. I'm not squatting that any time soon, but if I want to do rack pulls it might be a limiting factor.
 
^ I might do just that.

Might have to give the 200kg racks a miss. I'm not squatting that any time soon, but if I want to do rack pulls it might be a limiting factor.
And if that doesnt work out and you cant find one to suit for the money, maybe try building one. My first power rack cost me 70 bucks in scrap square tubular steel and a few hours of my time. I got the basic measurements off websites and from stores and changed them slightly to suit me. No way I could have killed it, and built for me, to suit me.
 
And if that doesnt work out and you cant find one to suit for the money, maybe try building one. My first power rack cost me 70 bucks in scrap square tubular steel and a few hours of my time. I got the basic measurements off websites and from stores and changed them slightly to suit me. No way I could have killed it, and built for me, to suit me.

A stupendous idea in my opinion, steel is crazy cheap these days (I bought 6 metres of 45mm square gauge for 20 bucks at christmas) and while I don't know what a welder charges (presuming one does not have the equipment and expertise to do it ones self) I'd almost bet you could get a rack as strong as (if not stronger than) the commercial quality ones for a fair bit cheaper going DIY.

On the front this thread on startingstrength.com is a bit of discussion on doing just that and even comes with a set of plans (AutoCAD files made into PDF's).

What more do you need? :)
 
One of the installers I work with is a boilermaker by trade.

I thought about having one made up.

Then I thought, by the time I bought the steel, had him make it, with racks, bars, weight pins, then had it all powdercoated, I probably wouldn't have saved that much. Plus, it was too much stuffing around.

Might be different if you were handy with a welder ;)
 
One of the installers I work with is a boilermaker by trade.

I thought about having one made up.

Then I thought, by the time I bought the steel, had him make it, with racks, bars, weight pins, then had it all powdercoated, I probably wouldn't have saved that much. Plus, it was too much stuffing around.

Might be different if you were handy with a welder ;)

Buying steel = cheaper than you'd probably expect

Racks = steel rod (see above 'steel is cheap' :))

Weight pins = perhaps more of a challenge depending on how you'd want to do it but it could be done cheap I'm sure (with a bit of creativity)

Powdercoating would probably put your price up a bit, but a can of spray paint is about 5 bucks from bunnings :)

Labour is the only variable that can't really be controlled cost-wise (though having made my own squat stands I can attest to the benefits of having a pro do it - just ask Powersports or Bluey on here how dodgy my amateur setup is heh)

You're spot on about the dick-around factor - it's very high, for some (e.g. me) this may be a drawcard for the DIY approach (satisfaction of a project complete and all that) but I can understand that for others it's a turn off.
 
Hi

I bought a Powertec rack with the Lat Pulldown attachment, Ironmaster Superbench and Ironmaster quick-loc dumbbells with the additional 20kg.
Also bars, weights, attachments etc.

If I had my time again I wouldn't have bothered with the Lat attachment and would prefer a wider bench for flat bench press (I'm a wide dude).

The quick-loc's are great - a bit spendy but real solid.

This gives me an idea - once I figure out how I might start a thread with some pics.

T
 
As someone who is handy with a welder and has built some gym equipment (squat rack and flat bench) i can say building a power rack is a lot harder than you might think to have it turn out decent.

yes the price of the steel needed to make it is cheaper and your not paying for labour but if the only way you have to make the holes for the racks is a drill be prepaird to spend a long time drilling these.

as for me i just bought a commercial power rack, also check out gymdirect i think all ausbb members get a discount there now so it should be cheaper.
 
^ Yeah I'm hoping to get something from gymdirect.

I've modified guitars, built a speaker cabinet, service my motorbike, but I don't think I'd be comfortable building something that has to support hundreds of kilos as my first welding project.

The other option is handing over plans and steel to a professional welder, but that could get expensive, will take ages, and I have no idea how to find a welder anyway.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
The other option is handing over plans and steel to a professional welder, but that could get expensive, will take ages, and I have no idea how to find a welder anyway.

Too right.

Seriously though mate, you can buy the commercial grade rack from gym direct for $1200ish.

Unless you are really hard up for cash it's not worth the stuffing around.
 
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If you are time rich, cash poor, or both, and a creative / handy person, sure, you could have a go and make your own.
You also feel a sense of satisfaction when you have finished the job.

I did this when I was a bit younger and had all the steel fabrication equipment available to me at work at the time.
I only drilled the safety support holes in a few places to suit myself only, like for squats, flat bench and incline bench.
It was still a lot of holes though !!! both sides of each post for 4 posts.

Wouldn't do it again, but it was a good learning experience.
I'd only make my own now if I needed a custom design which couldn't be purchased at a reasonable price.

Commercial grade rack from Gymdirect with the 10% discount would be $1125.
 
I ended up buying this rack from Gym Direct.

Adrian gave me a great price, if anyone else is after a rack look into buying one through them.

Can't wait till it arrives. :D

EDIT:

Too right.

Seriously though mate, you can buy the commercial grade rack from gym direct for $1200ish.

Unless you are really hard up for cash it's not worth the stuffing around.

That is a sweet rack, but is twice my price range and won't fit in the house either. I'd love one when I can get a proper garage gym going though.
 
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