mANVIL Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 After graduating this december i just got my first (not-retail) job. So now that i finally have a decent steady income i'm looking to get a good power rack so i can safely squat and perform lockouts at home. I'm not trying to drop a ton of money but something probably in the 200-400$ range if i can. I looked some up on the internet but i don't know any reliable brands (as i want this thing to last me forever and not break under heavy deadlift lockouts) and everything seemed to differ greatly in price. I don't need all those extra crap accessories (although something to perform chinups and maybe dips would be nice). Aside from finding a welder and having one made anyone know of any good power racks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 sigals gym equipment, 412.331 2288 serious gym equipment good price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Keep us posted on what you get, I'm looking at racks for the future. Some people have had good luck with the NYBB racks, I like their 3x3 one(by the looks of the web site), good weight and thick, but i'm not sure how it is in life. Its like $450 or something plus shipping though. Sarden's look good, I think they have to be bolted down. http://www.sarden.com/powerrack.htm of course there's http://www.elitefts.com but that might be out of your price range. Some people just get a bodysolid or a powertech, but the BS ones feel like you just push them over in the sporting goods stores. Maybe if you bolt them and kind of tweek them here and there they work well? I like the thought of a kind of independant welder guy like sigals but without a web page you just can't see what you're getting. Maybe they can send you some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMunger Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 I picked up a Parabody rack. It's a nice looking stable unit, runs around $400. It's got multiple racks on it, so you can work inside or out of the cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 ask -whomever you are considering a purchase from-what gauge steel the square tubing is.Some of the racks are pretty flimsy.I went to an equipment trade show in Chicago and was suprised at the crap they pass off as 'heavy duty'. 11 'gauge' steel is usually strong enough...but can be bent and damaged by the big boys. If you are really going to hit some heavy partials or deadlift lockouts i'd get the 7 gauge steel cage/rack.One of the power cages at the gym is of this thickness.It's bullet proof.The weight of the rack itself -at that thickness-is comforting.Its almost an imovable object. I suppose shipping costs would be prohibitive... If Cmunger says the Parabody is tough enough i'd go with that....he MIGHT know something about steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mANVIL Posted January 29, 2004 Author Share Posted January 29, 2004 Thanks for the advice guys, CMunger is this the rack you got: http://www.parabody.com/product/product.as.../pb_weights.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Walker Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Here is my cage: Deltech I got it cheaper than what it is selling for now-I think when I got it I paid $250 and that was with shipping. It has withstood 1000 pound quarter squats and 700+ pound rack pulls-some of witch have been dropped without the pins bending. Good solid cage-but not for the super tall! Rick Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 That looks like an awsome cage Rick! Especially for that kind of money. Its fairly heavy (205lbs) so it won't get shaken up too much, but your testimonial seals it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davekline Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 The guys over at PDA use a New York Barbell power rack for their "Skunkworks" projects. They are designing some interesting stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 (edited) I have a Powertec rack that I just sold. The only thing I didn't like about it was the height. I'm 6' 2" tall and do a lot of overhead work - a standard 7' tall rack just didn't suit my needs. That said, the Powertec rack held up fine for what I can lift, whick I'm sure is nothing like what some of you guys put a rack through. My Powertec rack is made of what I assume is 12 ga. as it measures .99". It's also not quite as big as 2 1/2" square tubing so it could be something metric I suppose. The new rack I'm building is made of 2 1/2" square tube - 11 ga. I'm sure 11 ga. will hold anything my body can. It's a fairly standard construction except it's 8' tall inside. It's 28" deep inside, 49 1/2" wide outside, 2 sets of padded J hooks, 2 sets of 1" pins with schedule 80 PVC sleeves to protect the knurling on the bar and the bottom side braces are drilled every 3" for an adjustable band peg set up for squats, pulls etc. There is an adjustable chinup rack and there will be a set of dip racks as soon as I figure out exactly how I want to build them. Hole's are 2" on center. The side cross members will be welded for strength, and the cross members at the top front and back will be bolted on with 1/2" bolts through inner and outer 1/4" plates with short slots to adjust for a less than perfectly level floor. It will have a bolted on bottom rear across piece (set 12" to the rear) so it won't have to be bolted to the floor. The legs will be set (welded) on 1/4" thick plates 6" x 12" oriented towards the outside for stability. Just for information, here's some ga. info. 12 ga. = .0986 11 ga. = .1136 3/16" = .1875 7 ga. = .1793 6 ga. = .1943 I pulled two ga. charts off the internet - they are both different so if things measure a little different, I'm sorry. To be honest, I could probably have bought something like it for not much more money (plus the huge shipping bill), but I really enjoy building all my own stuff and this way I get exactly what I want. Getting all the holes drilled cost the most money. The weak link on a dropped weight in a rack is usually the pins, not the uprights of the rack. The strongest method is the pipe and sleeve where you use a metal pipe over your pins which spreads the stress over a much longer and stronger area - normally this is a combination of a 1/2" pin and a larger pipe but a pipe over 1" becomes pretty bombproof if you need that kind of strength (I don't). Right now it's a big pile of cut and drilled steel in my building, Saturday, a friend and I are welding it up. Sunday I'll start grinding, filing, washing. priming etc to get it ready to paint. Should be done in a couple weeks at the outside. The pin and pipe set up also offers a little shock absorbsion for the bar but if you drop a bar loaded up for pin pulls or quater squats very far, it's probably going to bend the bar anyway. Edited February 25, 2004 by climber511 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqeezeMasterFlash Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 I was talking to Warren Tetting yesterday and he makes power racks, not sure the price though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsolympic Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 we have alot of different racks at, www.bsolympicgym.com. just redid the whole site, check it out. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Browne Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 Scott, Your website shows that you carry the York solid cast DBs. There are members here looking for these to cut for Blobs.......... Can you verify that you do carry these? http://www.bsolympicgym.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davekline Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 Climber, you should definitely check out some of the stuff over at PDA. They might be able to give you a few tips, and vise-versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsolympic Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 zcor, Sorry York has quit making these and we have nothing left in stock, they were supposed to be taken down, I am working with a couple companies to try and make the york style block weights, will let you know when I get more details, also if anybody was wondering the thick handle dumbells are priced by the pair. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Browne Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 zcor, Sorry York has quit making these and we have nothing left in stock, they were supposed to be taken down, I am working with a couple companies to try and make the york style block weights, will let you know when I get more details, also if anybody was wondering the thick handle dumbells are priced by the pair. Yes I know, unfortunate too about York.... Just checking to see if you had any stock left. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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