After much demand I have decided to finally lay out instructions as to how to build your very own drag sled and for cheap.
To see what we use our Drag sled for check out our thread.
San Diego GPP Training for the self-loathing
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1333985
Panik
Step 1)
Obtain your supplies.
I got most of my metal parts from a metal shop as scraps and only paid a few bucks for them (the Square steel plate, cylinderical rod welded to it and the two long rectangle pieces)
I am convinced that if you do not have access to a metal shop or store you can use 2x4’s for the two long rectangle pieces.
As for the Welded plate and Cylinderical rod, if you don’t know anyone who can weld you can a pre-fabricated “Flange” at home depot.
You will want about 8ft of steel cable (thin) will be 4ft for each side.
You will also need the conectors for the cable, dont know what they are called but they are the to small metal pieces with the 2 holes and the two metal tear drop looking pieces.
You will need 2 U-bolts, these actually screw together.
Enough 1/4inch rubber material or carpet to make 2 squares big enough that a 45lb plate can lay on it with some overlap.
Nuts and bults to hold the Flange to the rubber mat and the two long metal pieces plus the two rubber mats between them together.
Build your cables.
Your cables should be about 3-4ft long.
You will really need a vice to get the crimpers to crush together and hold. Just ask the guy at Home depot how to do this.
But anyway it should look like above.
(Top)
Step 3)
Building the Platform.
Cut the rubber mat or carpet or whatever you chose to use as your base as described above (big enough for 45’s). Remember you need two pieces.
The two long metal or wood pieces, one piece should be a few inces longer than the other.
Pre-drill the pieces so that 3 holes match up between the two and are evenly spaced alond the rubber mat.
The longer piece should have 2 holes more, one on each end, this is where the U-bolts will be connected.
Place longer piece on bottom, place rubber mats / carpet on it and the smaller piece on top. You may want to put a holes in your mat where the two pieces will be bolted together at this point.
Use a nut and bolt for each hole, except the two outer holes on the longes piece.
(Bottom)
Step 3)
Metal pieces with Rubber mat between them.
Step 3)
Step 4)
Attach the Flange.
Above is a closer look as to what mine looks like.
Anyway find the center of your mat (draw a line from corner to corner diagonally for both sides, where they intersect is your center.)
You only want to make a hole in the top sheet of your rubber and just big enough for your flange to fit through.
An easy way is to cut on the diaganal lines you drew in the center till it can fit.
The flat portion of the flange will be under the top sheet, sitting on the bottom sheet, with only the pole sticking out the top.
Attach the flange with nuts and bolts to the top sheet, try and use a flat headed bolt. The bottom sheet is only there to protect your flange and add some extra support.
Step 5)
Connect the cables.
Take the u-bolts and put them in the two holes remaining on the longer metal piece, along with the cables.
Step 6)
The harness.
Min is relativly simple and you can see it in the thread I posted earlier.
Its a back pack with truck tie downs looped through the arm straps and then through the Steel cables of the sled.
And thats it.
Like said before I think you can use wood for the metal pieces if you have to.
Also if you want to build a poor mans drag sled you only need two things.
Get A Long Thick Rope.
Get a wooden pallet
Tie One end of rope to pallet.
Stack rocks on pallet
Tie other end of rope to waist
Pull
Ok guys hope this all helped, let me know if you have any questions.
-Panik
Thanks for taking the time to post this.
Yeah seriously…thanks a lot, can’t wait to build mine for the summer
Panik, Bout time you contributed something to this site besides an avatar gets me harder then a diamond in an ice storm.
The GPP sessions look like their going great man, keep up the work.
–WS4
And yes, im aware that the avatar is no longer the blonde dry humping the camera, im just a huge Horatio Sanz fan.
–WS4
Thanks a lot.
or you could just toss a chain around an old pine pallet,toss some weight on it and drag it.
[quote]petrainer wrote:
or you could just toss a chain around an old pine pallet,toss some weight on it and drag it.[/quote]
Yup you can do that as well.
But the benifit of making like this, and with a flexable material is that the sled actually can be rolled up and stored in the backpack harness. For those of us who don’t have space for a pallet ;).
That looks nice, good job.
What we have at the gym is just a plate of aluminum with a pole welded to the front of it. We throw a chain around the pole, put a tire on top, then pile a shitload of weight on top of the tire. Very simple, and very hard. The friction from the tire makes it impossible to gain any momentum. We went back to the old way and the sled just flew along the ground.
Monopoly
