Building a Gym

[vision1]

I've got a question for the barbell experts or mechanically inclined.

I ordered a Synergee Regional bar. After shipping and tax it arrived for $270 CAD.
There was something wrong with one of the sleeves, it spun fine but shifted with a thud once every rotation. I sent a video to the service department, they agreed that the sleeve looked faulty, and offered me a full refund or a new bar and said either way I could keep the original. I opted for the refund. It's a weightlifting bar and I don't do a lot of those lifts anyways.

Yesterday I did some power cleans before my main lifts. Nothing heavy, just singles at 185 working on form. The bar felt great, didn't notice any issues when lifting. I dropped the bar (rogue bumpers on my platform) maybe 10 times from shoulder height. At the end of my workout, I noticed the bushing on the inside of the sleeve was hanging on by a thread, it had shifted out of the sleeve by a half inch.

See pictures below. The bushing (I'm calling it a bushing but I think it's sole purpose is to keep the bearings retained) is made of some low grade stainless and is a loose fit in the sleeve. I can push it in and pull it out of the sleeve with my bare hands.
How should I go about fixing this? Just add some loctite? In which case, what colour would be best?
Or should I buy / machine a new bushing and press fit it into the sleeve?

Long post for a quick question but I think the pictures will be interesting for some.

 

[MatterOverMind]

In addition to (or rather than) retaining the bearings, I'd guess it's meant to A) Give it a finished look (fill the gap that would otherwise be there) and B) Help keep crap from getting into the bearings.

There are a whole bunch of different Loctite options that would work fine. Most of them will likely be green. 603, 609, 620, 640, and 680 would all work, plus probably a whole slew of others. It'll be called retaining compound.

If its purpose is what I stated it might be, rather than to physically retain the bearings, you could get away with just about any kind of adhesive.

 

[vision1]

Thanks MoM
I did end up using some green loctite, not sure what number it was but bottle was labelled for loose fits.

 

[vision1]

@MatterOverMind
another handyman question for you.
I purchased a commercial adjustable bench on an auction. I received it in good shape but the pad was loose. I went to tighten the two screws underneath and one of them was spinning freely. Can’t tighten the screw or remove it, the nut anchor (whatever it’s called) spins behind the wood. I ended up cutting the head of the screw off so I could at least access the pad. Any suggestions? I tried drilling into the insert to lock it into place but no luck. I’m reaching out to Atlantis but I’d rather not buy a replacement pad.

 

[Fahcough]

The insert nut is in the bench pad? Or the bolt is still attached to so you can't retrieve it?

If you can get a skinny flathead into board to hold it from spinning to remove the bolt. you can nail a replacement nut insert in. Guessing you can thread an insert from top or bottom.
Had my bench remade after the flood. Cut a piece of plywood, drilled inserts and had it recovered with pad.

 

[MatterOverMind]

@MatterOverMind
another handyman question for you.
I purchased a commercial adjustable bench on an auction. I received it in good shape but the pad was loose. I went to tighten the two screws underneath and one of them was spinning freely. Can’t tighten the screw or remove it, the nut anchor (whatever it’s called) spins behind the wood. I ended up cutting the head of the screw off so I could at least access the pad. Any suggestions? I tried drilling into the insert to lock it into place but no luck. I’m reaching out to Atlantis but I’d rather not buy a replacement pad.

Seems likely to me that it would be a standard t-nut:

I'd try to pull on the bolt as you turn it to see if you can get the teeth to grab the wood. Then, if you're able to get the bolt out, you can do like Fahcough said and screw (not nail) something like this to the bottom side: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-5-16-in-Zinc-Plated-Standard-SAE-Brad-Hole-Tee-Nut/3012551

 

[vision1]

Ya it’s probably a tee nut.
I’ve tried pulling while turning with no luck.

I’m almost thinking I just cut the screw and glue the pad onto the bench.

or leave the screw, make a sleeve with a set screw, and lock it on. Doubt I can make it very stiff though as is.

 

[vision1]

The insert nut is in the bench pad? Or the bolt is still attached to so you can't retrieve it?

If you can get a skinny flathead into board to hold it from spinning to remove the bolt. you can nail a replacement nut insert in. Guessing you can thread an insert from top or bottom.
Had my bench remade after the flood. Cut a piece of plywood, drilled inserts and had it recovered with pad.

There isn’t any room to get anything in there to hold the nut.

 

[Fahcough]

There isn’t any room to get anything in there to hold the nut.

How thick is the pad? Can you turn the seat cushion over and pull the bolt back to the original hole and tap with with a rubber mallet to see if the teeth will bite enough to unscrew

(hard to judge situation from a couple pics) Sure you've exhausted an hour on it.

 

[vision1]

How thick is the pad? Can you turn the seat cushion over and pull the bolt back to the original hole and tap with with a rubber mallet to see if the teeth will bite enough to unscrew

(hard to judge situation from a couple pics) Sure you've exhausted an hour on it.

I’m not sure what you mean by “pull the bolt back to the original hole”.
The cushion is 1-2 inches thick. I don’t know if it’s removable, seems glued on.

 

[MatterOverMind]

How about cutting the screw, getting two of the "brad hole tee nuts" that I linked, and shift the locations of both holes by 3/4" or so?

 

[vision1]

How about cutting the screw, getting two of the "brad hole tee nuts" that I linked, and shift the locations of both holes by 3/4" or so?

Maybe I could cut it out and stick the Brad hole nut in the same place if it’s slightly bigger

 

[Fahcough]

Maybe I could cut it out and stick the Brad hole nut in the same place if it’s slightly bigger

Thats what I would lean towards. Hoping the severed bolt and nut doesn't find a permanent place in your back while using bench.
Curious if those inserts are 1 way screw. Because they would typically go on the inaccessible part of wood. Glue is going to piss you off when it keeps breaking and sliding mid set.

Flat mount T-nut if the teeth won't bite on the other style

 

[vision1]

I ended up leaving the cut off screw as it was.
Mounted with four 3/8 lag screws from the other side + the original screw on the bottom. I think it should hold just fine, if not, Atlantis quoted a new pad at $120.

@MatterOverMind @Fahcough

 

[Fahcough]

Awesome, hope it holds up and the lags don't stick in your back. It might be cheaper to find an upholstery place and ask them how much to cut the seam and put another insert nut and restitch. That's 30 minutes of their time.

 

[vision1]

Onto my next project and I need some support

I’ve made a 3 x 3 post that I plan to wall mount and use for rack attachments. Rogue makes something called “The 3x3 Strip 2.0” - this is basically the same thing just longer.

The first two attachments I’m making are a foot support bracket (for doing GHRs/Nordic hamstring curls) and a swinging arm for a double end bag mount.

Here are my design questions:

Foot Roller Attachment
How important is ankle extension when doing Nordic Hamstring Curls? Is a foot plate necessary or are roller pads on the back of your Achilles’ enough? I’ve mostly done them with a partner holding my ankles down so don’t know if it’s beneficial having a foot plate.
IF I’m better off adding a foot plate, are 4 rollers required (2 top and 2 bottom) or are 2 roller pads on top enough? The attachment that Rogue sells is built like their standard GHR foot assembly (foot plate + 4 rollers). Their Floor Glute device has a foot plate and 2 rollers but it does look like the back edge of the floor pad locks feet in place.
Hope this question makes sense. If a foot pad is suggested, I’d like to get some dimensions if anyone has a GHR in their home gym.

Double End Bag Arm Attachment
The idea here is an arm that rotates into position for hanging a double end bag and rotates to the wall for storage.
I need to figure out how long the arm should be, which means I need to determine how large of a radius is needed for the swing of the double end bag. I know band tension, elasticity, bag size, punch force all play a role but what’s a safe number? I would think a 2 foot radius would be enough for clearance but I don’t want to be wrong and have the bag smashing into the post. The longer the arm, the more torque applied to the wall post so I need to keep it at a minimum. Maybe adding a few hook options is best and then I can cut off excess length after testing it out.

 

[vision1]

This is what I have so far. I still need to fill in the weld and clean it up but that’s the start of the first attachment.

 

[MatterOverMind]

I've never done a Nordic hamstring curl, but I have a GHD. I would think, due to your knees being on the floor and staying in one place, that you wouldn't need the foot plate or lower rollers. Makeshift solutions seem to do fine without them.
If you decide you do want a plate, I can get you measurements from mine.

Do you have the double-end bag already? If so, can you rig it up on your rack or something to get an idea how much room you'll need?

 

[vision1]

I've never done a Nordic hamstring curl, but I have a GHD. I would think, due to your knees being on the floor and staying in one place, that you wouldn't need the foot plate or lower rollers. Makeshift solutions seem to do fine without them.
If you decide you do want a plate, I can get you measurements from mine.

This is what I'm leaning towards. Definitely the easier route and a simple 2-roller design is probably better for other exercises like anchoring feet on weighted situps or a thigh holder if I ever build a pulldown rig.

Do you have the double-end bag already? If so, can you rig it up on your rack or something to get an idea how much room you'll need?

I do not but I could wait and build everything but the arm for now.

 

[vision1]

I've never done a Nordic hamstring curl, but I have a GHD. I would think, due to your knees being on the floor and staying in one place, that you wouldn't need the foot plate or lower rollers. Makeshift solutions seem to do fine without them.
If you decide you do want a plate, I can get you measurements from mine.

Do you have the double-end bag already? If so, can you rig it up on your rack or something to get an idea how much room you'll need?

Not my nicest welds but here’s the first attachment complete.