Great looking parkour park in Newhaven
Loving this new park setup and the way the Freemove guys are going about it:
STURDYThe Parkour Laboratory Rail Horse BuildRail work is prominent in parkour training. Here is a practical option for stable, portable rails fit for gym or workshops.
Just as with the Rail Precision Trainers, the materials of choice here are 2 x 6 and 16 gauge line post. Remember to deburr any time you cut pipe! ToolsThis list assumes access to power tools, but the entire project can be done with hand tools if you have the time and energy.
Materials
Construction
The rail horse is basically a specialized sawhorse. You’ll be making two “A frames” which will be connected by the rails. Start by cutting the 2 x 6 to length. Don’t be intimidated by the fine measurements in the pictures. The important part is to get the angle cuts consistent at roughly 30 degrees. Lay out the cut pieces and mark where they actually line up to cut the lap joints, rather than relying on the measurements. Bore for the rails (see notes in image below). Drill and countersink for the set pins, and assemble the A frames. Rounding edges at this point makes for improved safety and aesthetics.
Drill the rails to accept the set pins (remember to deburr) test fit them with the A frames, and you have rail horses ready for action.
Buy old tools!Flea markets, secondhand stores, and craigslist are some of the best places to start building up a set of basic tools for your parkour construction projects. 
Keep an eye out for "vintage" well-built handtools and simple power tools. We get a lot of our equipment (and grab bars) from a fantastic secondhand place called the Restore in Seattle. I spend hours there picking out old, heavy, well-used stuff, even if it's rusted or slightly dented. I figure if a tool has lasted a long time already and still works, it will handle anything our well-intentioned volunteers mis-use it for ;) The best part of picking up old tools that require some de-rusting or fixing up is the learning experience. You'll learn how simple machines are put together and how to care for and fix your tools. You'll often end up with something awesome that only cost you some WD-40 and scrubbing. An example would be this old vise I picked up for $5. Every moving part was severly rusted shut. Eric teased me about picking up a complicated doorstop, but it cleaned up reasonably well and works! Rail Precision Trainers
This is a relatively cheap (less than $10 each) option for building rail precision trainers. They take a bit of effort, but the result is sturdy and looks great. The main materials are 2X6 and 16 gauge line post (the upright for chain link fence). Line post is substantially cheaper than steel pipe or ADA rails, but holds up well under normal use. It usually comes in lengths that need to be cut down. However you cut the post down, be sure to thoroughly deburr the edges - they will be very sharp. ToolsThis list assumes access to power tools, but the entire project can be done with hand tools if you have the time and energy.
Materials
Make the saddlesCut a post-sized hole in the center of a 10" length of 2X6, then rip the 2X6 in half. Make contour cuts per the image. These cuts aren't absolutely necessary, but they increase safety, comfort, and aesthetics. They also give the trainers clearance to stack and nest with each other (see image). If you don't have the tools to make the contour cut, an angle cut will give some of the same benefits. 
The base, likewise, is 2X6 ripped down the center with a groove cut for the saddle to nest in. Routing all the edges makes things safer and nicer to look at. Drill the holesPre-drill for bolt. Countersink around the hole on the base piece to give clearance for the washer and head of the bolt. A regular drill bit is fully capable of making the hole in the line post. To keep the bit from walking, mark the steel with a pointed punch or heavy nail. The holes should be made no farther from the end of the rail than the pre-drill hole is from the edge of the base piece. There is a seam just visible on one side of the post where the steel was rolled and welded in manufacture. This seam makes a good reference line to keep the holes lined up. Apply whatever finish you prefer to the wood before assembly. The steel is galvanized and should not require finish, though it may have an oily film applied to it by the manufacturer. Remove the film with mineral spirits. Assemble the trainersRun the bolt through your holes and secure with a square nut inside the post/rail (square nut rather than hex because it will hold itself in place against the inner wall of the post). 
Some rubber glued with contact cement to the bottom of the base protects it and keeps the trainer from sliding around. Keeping them in orderSome of the same techniques can go into building a rack to keep the trainers organized and out of the way when not in use, but that's a project for another day... Wooden precision trainer buildThese are simple to make, but have lots of applications. We use them to train people to pay attention to where their feet are going, whether it’s in a jump, out of a vault, or while running. We love to use them as low-risk stride trainers... If you miss, you don’t fall 10 feet onto concrete - you only lose a foot in the lava :) 
Anyone with a saw, a screwdriver, and some paint can make them. STURDY - Ladders out of 2x4sHere’s a quick and easy way to make a ladder on any wall with a few 2x4s: 
This beautiful piece of work took 30 minutes from conception to installation, including measuring and cutting (window not included). Jea's stackable vault boxesCheck out these stackable vault boxes Jea Ritchey designed and made. Along with excellent Sketchup plans! Box finishes - hard and easyYou’ve learned how to build a basic vault box, and that was fairly easy. Now the important part: making it pretty and durable and grippy all at once. The most important thing in all of this story is preparation. It’s the boring stuff that no one likes to do, but means the difference between ugly and pretty, flimsy and sturdy, and preparing properly can save you a lot of rework. Take the time to sand, wipe, let stuff dry properly. Read and follow the instructions that come with the products you choose to use.
Gym - Straight ringsGreat for training upper body and grip strength, these straight rings are portable and can quickly be hung from any bar. We've already tried daisy chaining the straight rings, tying them off to other stuff in the gym, etc. We're still working on a finish that’s grippy without being too easy to hang onto. Tyson thinks it’s possible to do a muscleup on them and despite the insanity of such an idea, is working on it. Updates as events warrant.
(download)
Vault Box HOWTO
Build materials and tools
Build instructions1. Determine sizeSize is up to you and your design constraints. Our new medium boxes are 36” tall, 32” deep on the bottom, 12" deep on the top, and 48” wide so that they fit through doorways and make efficient use of plywood sheeting. If you don’t need to fit through doorways, 36x36x16x48 is a good size as well. Weight and base width relative to height are the defining factors for tippiness. Our new boxes are a little narrow, so we built them heavy (about 120lbs) and cut a big hole near the bottom for bracing or sandbagging. Once you have chosen your size, sketch out each face’s dimensions on paper so you’ll know how to cut your plywood and lay out your frame pieces. Take your time to plan and think about how to make the best use of your time and materials. Example of a BAD plan (sheeting first and figuring it out as we went)
2. Make frameWe build our frames like we build walls - framed in 2x4s with studs every 16”. This is important so that you have enough attachment points for the faces and an internal framing structure to distribute force. You can also use 2x6s on the top and bottom rectangles to add strength and weight. We used a mitering chop saw to cut the angles, which helps a huge amount. Use at least two 3" screws or nails per attachment. 3. Sheet the frame in plywoodYour framing will probably have some irregularities. We’ve found that the best way to make sure the pieces fit together tightly is to trace the frame onto a sheet of plywood, then cut. If your cuts are accurate, you will have very few gaps in your vault boxes. Cut and mount the ends first, then the faces, and then the top so that the sheeting overlaps at the edges. Extra points for angled cuts on the faces for a perfect fit. We used spare OSB for the sides once, but it breaks down easily on the faces and top. If painting, you can get away with CDX, but use BCX or ACX if finishing clear or if you want the most strength. Use lots of quality fasteners when assembling your vault boxes. The plywood sheeting provides excellent shear strength (to keep the box in a box shape) and the framing prevents the plywood from buckling in--but if they aren't tied together well, neither will be very effective. We sink quality star head 2" decking screws in at least every 8” into every framing member at STURDY. If you’re using nails, be sure to caulk down a line of liquid nails on every connection as well for a long-lasting box. 
4. Optional ImprovementsHandlesWe move our boxes around a lot, so like to cut in handles for them. Put in handles so that they’re not so low as to be awkward to grab, and not so high that you bash your shins when you try to move them. We’ve found that ½ way up is good for most boxes. We used a 2" hole drill and jigsaw to cut our handles, but you can also just screw on a 2x4. Route/sand edgesWe used a router and a 1/2” roundover/bullnose bit to route all the edges and handles of our boxes. We also sand the boxes to 180 grit to get rid of potential splinters. FeetIn order to save wear and tear on the box bottoms when you move them around, you can make feet out of 2x4 squares and mount them to the bottom of your vault box as close to the edges as you can. Our feet even have wheels attached for moving them around easier. 5. CoatingYour vault boxes will last a lot longer if you coat them. If you’re looking to paint your boxes quickly so you can get jumping soonest, it’s simplest to use any latex primer/sealer, then paint over with any porch/floor paint. You can mix playground sand in with the paint to add some texture for better grip. That's how we made our first boxes a couple years ago. At Parkour Visions, we like the natural look of wood. Finding a clear finishing process that’s tough and grippy, though, has been a challenge. Paint is going to be 10x easier and less expensive but wears down ugly and Tyson just doesn’t like it ;) Our last process that went pretty well involved staining, epoxying all the edges and the tops, and using several coats of clear marine varnish with walnut shells added in for grip. More on Finishing:5. Jump on it Tell us how it goes! This is the 3rd version of our boxes and we’re always looking to improve the design and see what others are doing :) If you like these HOWTO's be sure to subscribe on the right sidebar and follow our Facebook page. |
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