Building a High bar

[KYLE ELLIS]

Are there any coaches or athletes on this board who can give me an idea of about how much money it would cost to build a legit high bar? I really want to build a highbar and any insight or people with experience of building or getting one built I would love to hear from you...

[dougb]

Ok

There are a few variables. The cost will depend on what drills you want do do on it.

The most expensive would be a full on gynastics highbar capable of supporing any exercise from a giant release, catch to chin ups.
Buy one! min $1000

For most pole vault drills, two peices of 2" galvenized pipe stuck in the ground (min 18") with a 1" peice of pipe about 5" welded though the uprights about 8' off the ground, will work.

Doug Balcomb

[Divalent]

Here's how I did an outdoor one: go to home depot and get two 10ft 4x4s (pressure treated), a 5 ft length of 1" piping (threaded at ends), 2 threaded flanges to screw on end of pipe, 1-2 bags of premixed concrete. Borrow a post hole digger.

I think this is the Flange I used: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

Make sure flanges fit the pipe before you buy. (the pipe thread is tapered, so the fit in the flange gets tighter the more you screw it in)

Before you start, mount one flange temporarily onto one of the 4x4s (or a 2x4; you use 4 screws to mount each flange) and the other onto a 3-4 ft length of scrap 2x4, and screw the piping into the flanges as tight as you can possibly make them go (you don't want the bar to roll during use: mounting the flanges to the wood lets you have leverage to get them super tight).

Dig two holes 2 ft deep, spaced by the length of the pipe with flanges (plus thickness of the 4x4s). mount one 4x4 into the hole and pour in concrete (also put some concrete in the hole as a base before you put the 4x4 in). Make sure it is perfectly upright with a surface square to the hole that will have the other 4x4. Come back the next day and install the second 4x4, temporarily screwing the pipe/flanges low to get the spacing and 4x4 surfaces correct at the bottom.

Return next day and mount the pipe/flanges up high. Sand/file the corners and surface of the 4x4 to remove sharp edges and potential splinters.

If you are tall, maybe you might need to use 12ft 4x4s (and make the holes a bit deeper).

I think everything cost under $50 total.

[ClintonMagus]

Be careful with the galvanized pipe! It will absolutely eat your hands up unless you get some gymnastics bar grips!

[tsorenson]

Kyle,
We built ours using the same idea/materials as Divalent, only we used 6" x 6" 's instead of 4 x 4's, and we built an "L-shaped" high bar/low bar combination with 3 posts. Much more sturdy when you do it this way if you have large size people using it. The high bar is at a little over 8' high. The low bar is at about chest-level, handy for cast-swing-to-free-hip-circles and bubkas (coach can assist with these drills on the lower bar).

We used galvanized pipe and it's just fine, it makes your hands strong. Just make sure you don't have any burrs or rough spots on the bar.
I bought some gymnastics high bar grips and they suck! I must have sized them completely wrong, but I followed the guidelines for sizing...anybody with smaller-sized hands want to buy them? They were ~$50 new and I can't use them at all. PM me an offer if anyone is interested.
Tom

[ClintonMagus]

I stand by my post. My daughter was a champion gymnast for more than five years prior to moving to pole vaulting. Her hands were like shoe leather, from all her bar work, but one short session on a galvanized bar without her grips almost caused her to miss a meet due to the rips the bar inflicted on her. Granted, the kips and giants were a lot more stressful than the workouts that 99% of the pole vaulters in the world will ever do on a bar.

Maybe some galvanized pipe is better than others, but she won't take that chance ever again!

[KYLE ELLIS]

Thanks for all the ideas!!

[vaultron]

Could anyone post some pictures of the high bar we're discussing about? A picture worth a thousand words, thanks!

[dwcforever]

any pics of high bars?

[dracjr]

galvanized pipe with threds screwed into 4x4 10' treated post buried 2 foot with redi mix and athletic tape on the galavined pipe

[altius]

any pics of high bars?

Plenty in BTB book and DVD.

[altius]

These are the specs from John Hamann, the guy who made ours.

High Bar. Self supporting. Minimum requirements.
Posts:
2 galvanized steel 11’ 9” long square tubing of 4” x 4” x ¼”.
Cap the posts at the top end.
Drill each post with a ½” drill: 4”, 14”, 24” and 34” from the top. These holes must match the holes in the end brackets of the cross bar for the bar to be secured to the posts, so purchase the Cross Bar first. Or drill to suit your own bar heights.

The Cross Bar:
Contact your Local Gymnastics Equipment Manufacturer to supply a 6’ length of 1½” diameter stainless steel cross bar with end brackets to match the size of your posts. Their stock items are longer.

Footings:
Drill or dig 2 holes in the ground 2’ diameter and 2’ 9” deep to suit the length of the cross bar.

Procedure:
Bolt the cross bar to the posts with ½” bolts.
Set the post in the holes near the centre with the cross bar in place.
Check that the posts are vertical and parallel.
Pour in the concrete and check the posts several times for vertical and parallel for each pour.
Allow 1 day for the concrete to set.


High Bar. Supported by steel wires.
Posts:
2 galvanized steel 9’ long square tubing of 2” x 2” x ¼”.
Cap the posts at the top end.
Drill each post with a ½” drill: 2”, 6”, 16”, 26” and 36” from the top. These holes must match the holes in the end brackets of the cross bar for the bar to be secured to the posts. Or drill to suit your own bar heights.
Weld a 10” square ¼” thick plate to the bottom of each post. Each plate must drilled on diagonally opposite corners with a ½” hole so that the post can be bolted, screwed or pegged to the floor/ ground.
Through 2 suitable shackles, thread a 10’ length of ¼” steel wire rope and a 3’ 6” length of steel wire rope, both of which has been looped at each end.
These shackles are then bolted to the posts through the top hole.
A tensioning buckle is then attached to the other end of the short length of steel wire rope on each post.
A 7’ length of industrial chain is then attached to the other end of the tensioning buckle.

The Cross Bar:
Contact your Local Gymnastics Equipment Manufacturer to supply a 6’ length of 1½” diameter stainless steel cross bar with end brackets to match your posts. Their stock items are longer.

Footings:
Dig 2 holes, suitably spaced from the base position of the posts and 3’ wider so that the 2 long steel wires can reach with little slack. Each hole is to be 12” diameter and 2’ 6” deep.
Dig 2 holes on the other side of the bar, suitably spaced as before, so that the chain can reach when the tensioning buckles are wound out fully.
Into each hole is placed a loop, so that the wires and chain can be shackled. The loop is made out of ½” steel 5’ long and bent back onto itself.

Procedure:
Position the loops into the holes so that the loop is 2” above the ground level.
Pour in the concrete and check that the loops are still centred.
Allow 1 day for the concrete to set.
Bolt the Cross Bar to the posts.
Shackle the 2 long steel wire ropes to the loops set in the concrete on the same side of the Cross Bar.
Stand the posts vertically and secure the base plates to the ground/ floor through the 2 drilled holes.
While the posts are held vertically, shackle the 2 chains to the other loops set in concrete through the most secure chain links.
Turn the tensioning buckle until the posts are held securely. As the steel wire rope will gradually stretch, the tension must be checked regularly.


Safety:
Underneath and around the high bar a suitable soft fill material or foam mat must be positioned whenever the bar is used.