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home woodie wooden holds

holmsy

12-Dec-2002
2:02:49 PM

does anyone out there have a home woodie and want to lend a little advice
i was wondering how people make decent wooden holds i was thinking of geting one of those dremel rotary tools has anyone else used one do they make cool holds or is it a waste of cash?
has anyone made one of those virtual woodies from uncarvedblock.com that looks pretty cool i was thinkin of building that?

Dalai

12-Dec-2002
2:20:34 PM

The cheapest and best way for making climbing holds is to get MDF (also known as craft wood) which is easily shaped and then sanded with a sanding disc attached to a drill.
These then can be permanently fixed to the wall using self tapping screws. As you can pack many holds into a tight space they don't need to be removed.
Source the material as off cuts from cabinet makers. Either for free or very cheap.
Larger holds can be made glueing pieces together, sanding and then screwing it to the wall.
Note: MDF can only be used in a dry environment and the dust is quite toxic so use a dust mask when sanding.

alrob

12-Dec-2002
2:25:12 PM

I've made my wooden holds, mainly out of lengths of 35x35 pnie, and made the incut, flat or sloping with the electric planer. I find they hurt a lot, hard on the fingers/tendons, so i'm going to invest in proper holds soon.

If your keen on making a lot of wooden holds, then by all means, buy a dremel....it will be so much easier. However, it is an expensive tool for a few holds. Try making a few holds with tools you like, and if they feel alright, buy the dremel and continue. If they're shit, then you've probably saved yourself an expesive tool, and can buy some proper holds.

joemor

12-Dec-2002
2:59:02 PM

dremils are dye grinders....... and arer ment for grinding "small" things not for hard core carving....

they burn out if used for this...

phil_nev

13-Dec-2002
2:39:23 AM

My freind has made the virtual woodie, it's awesome, i dont if hes started setting problems from the site, but the angle and size are aweosme, that wall will make you strong!

Robin

13-Dec-2002
7:36:36 AM

You can get 10cm blades for angle grinders which are basically a metal disc with chainsaw like teeth on the outside. A dangerous piece of equipment but very effective in shaping wood.

I believe one of these to sculpture the crack at Altona and I've used one to carve a crack for my bouldering wall. I've also seen blocks of wood shaped into climbing holds.

alrob

14-Dec-2002
11:32:11 AM

Dremels are fine for wood carving Joe. There are two types, a corded and cordless. The cordless come in 7.2V and 9.6V. The 9.6V runs at around 5,000-25,000 RPM, variable speed. This is faster then a cordless 12V drill, which run at between 500 and 1000 RPM. The corded Dremel runs at About 10,000-37,000 RPM's.

Theres no way you could burn a Dremel out carving holds.

joemor

16-Dec-2002
10:34:29 AM

mmmmm yep u can.......

as u know i am also into bonsai and some of the guys at the club im a member of use them for carving and sculpting dead wood on there trees and although its the best tool for the job they do get hot and burn out with prelonged use..... there designed for small jobs not epic carving.
the dremil is a dye grinder not a power chisle.

joe

alrob

16-Dec-2002
2:26:57 PM

We're not talking about carving a conoe out of a tree, just holds out of MDF or Pine. The dremel runs at the same speed as a router, and can be used as a router.

Obviously these guys are doing something wrong with their tools, because they shouldn't burn out.

Of course they get hot, as with every power tool, and the battery will run dry after a lot of use.

http://au.dremel.com/html/projects/projectfinder_fr.html - just an example of what the dremel can be used for. I also believe that it's what they used for the holds on the woody at Collingwood too.

Donut King

16-Dec-2002
5:26:21 PM

nice tips alrob.

I'm now going tobuild a Squirrel Guard (?) for my shorts to help my woodie

...what a tool!

Hardware

20-Dec-2002
3:29:55 PM

Wooden holds are great for climbing and training but when making holds out of MDF be careful. MDF is illegal to sand or cut unless you have a dust extraction unit, the dust is toxic. Mind you I have been cutting the stuff for years with no ventilation and I ( cough, splutter, gag ) feel fine. Just a word of warning !!!

B

14-Jan-2003
9:37:44 PM

If you're interested in making fibreglass ones I can give you some advice -- I've made close to 100 in a variety of different ways. Generally you can do it quite cheap with resin and sand etc. Also good fun :)

holmsy

22-Jan-2003
1:46:48 PM

ive read a bit about making fibreglass holds but i was never really sure of how to do it. my bigest wory was how a hold with a positive edge would get out of the mould how have you gone with that. I would be very interested in hearing how you have made them and what has worked well for you.

ben cossey

15-Feb-2003
9:52:29 PM

maybe im a bit late, but ive made a pile of woodern holds in my time and if you put a bit more time in they can easliy be better than the purchased ones.
i think pine is the best for the job,if MDF is what i think it is than it it can fall apart after a while and gets all furrie,very unplesent.

in my hold making kit i have a electric sander,a plane(not electric)this allows great control and error correction,a few different sized chisels which are awsome for rounding the edges of pockets and have alot of other uses.a tennon saw for making prisise smooth cuts and a big mean saw for getting the basic shape.
a rowter is the bomb for making campus rungs,but the bits can be expensive so i tend to use the plane and some sand paper.
i like that emry cloth insted of the sand paper with actual paper.around 120 grit great.

try to make them as smooth as possible so as to be able to train on them longer,so your not burning your skin out in the gym, so you can have more fun when you hit the rocks.
it might take a little while to get used to it and to be able the real technical shapes,so let your imagination guide you as you search for that ever elusive perfect shape.

PS.if you make a long shape and its always spinning ,stick screw in one end,thatll stop the bugger in its tracks.

peace out.ben c

benjo

17-Feb-2003
6:53:36 PM

that was really great advise and i have already put it to good use.
you went into alot of detail.
what does everyone else think of the info ben has given us?

love.

joemor

18-Feb-2003
2:55:23 PM

i just bought a dremel for a purpose other than climbing holds and would definately NOT reccomend them... the router bits for them are like the size of your little fingernail. and it takes ages to remove any sizeable amount of wood. it would be good for finishing touches but not to shape the entire hold.
go an arbortech if your after carving POWER!!!

joe

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