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lostcauseclimber
Oct 7, 2004, 3:22 AM
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Registered: Apr 19, 2004
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i am in the process of building my own climbing wall at my house. the routes will be over 20 feet long so i need to add a top rope belay anchor and hopefuly some bolt hangers for leading (due to the steep nature of the wall, a straight top rope could lead to some nasty pendulum falls). does anyone have experience with this? i am an experienced carpenter so my wall will be structurally sound with 2x6 studs throughout. i am thinking of attaching bolt hangers with 5 inch lag screws and washers into these studs. i figure this should be good if i make sure to check them often. as for a top anchor i want to do something i can really trust, especially if i have my friends or inexperienced climbers, anyone other than myself on there... any suggestions? i think that a chain anchor with at least 2-3 points of attachment is a ok way to go but maybe someone else has a better idea?...
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tharealtn
Nov 1, 2004, 11:41 PM
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Registered: Oct 7, 2004
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Lag screws into the studs dosnt seem too safe! I would go with a bolt and nut and but some huge washers on the other side, or maybe a 1x4 then the washers, because the lags could rip out under a fall. I would make like 3 points for an anchor top rope and then just use chains comming down from all of them at equal lengths and a carabiner at the end. That sounds the safest to me, I am building a wall of my own at the moment and thats exactly what I'm doing.
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lnmego
Nov 2, 2004, 3:50 AM
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Registered: May 18, 2004
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I would have thought that putting a bolt throught a 2x4 would weaken it too much. THe bolt it a good idea i think, but I'd put it through a 2x4 that doesn't support the structure.
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aka_fred
Nov 2, 2004, 4:32 AM
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Registered: Mar 23, 2004
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what size lag bolts? some would split the wood a lot, but they'd be about the best to hold the wood. i'm in the same boat, trying to figure out the best way. what i figure is if you use a bolt in every other board, and put several rows of them, like a big checkerboard or something, there would be enough weight distrobution that it'd hold up to anything. you said 2x6, are you using the existing beams in the wall (or is this free standing?) or are you using new boards just for this?
As for the anchor, lowe's/home depot sell kits for hanging extremely heavy items from ceilings. they make a kit that you can hang a punching bag from a single ceilng joist (probably killed the spelling). what it is is a peice of metal that is a hook that hooks onto the top of the joist and then extends down. that way there's no holes to disrupt the wood. i'd ask them what their opinion is, or maybe they'd know somthing better, but that's what i planned on using.
good luck and take pictures so we can see it!!
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ron_burgandy
Dec 8, 2004, 6:55 PM
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Registered: Nov 10, 2004
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When i set up a gym with a buddy of mine we used big eye bolts and eye screws, when you gte them really big and put in really secure like they can hold lead falls, and will work well for toproping. justy make sure that you put them into a really solid peice of wood- we put them into the 4x8 in beams used as the frame of the barn.
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