DIY Power Rack Instructions

Project by Kaizen DIY

Video

Recommended Tools & Materials

Below is a list of recommended tools and materials for this project.

Power Rack Materials	Link #1
10 – 8ft 4×4 rough sawn cedar	Home Depot
(Alternatively, you can use pressure-treated pine (https://homedepot.sjv.io/Ryk92X))	Home Depot
Titan Fitness multi-grip pull-up bar	Titan
6 – T-brackets	Home Depot
8 – L-brackets	Home Depot
18 – ½” bolts 8 inches long	Home Depot
32 – ½” bolts 5 inches long	Home Depot
50 – ½” lock nuts	Amazon
100 – ½” flat washers	Home Depot
1/4 x 1 in lag bolts	Amazon

Plate Storage	Link #1	Link #2
2 – 1” floor flange	Amazon	Home Depot
12” long 1” steel pipe	Amazon	Home Depot

Landmine:	Link #1
2 inch pvc pipe	Amazon
4 inch swivel caster wheel	Menards
1/4 x 1 in lag screws	Amazon
1/4 washers	Amazon

Tools	Link #1	Link #2
Dewalt sliding miter saw	Amazon	Home Depot
Combination square	Amazon	Home Depot
Drill press (or cordless drill)	Amazon	Home Depot
Titanium Step Drill Bit	Amazon
Dewalt cordless drill	Amazon	Home Depot
Dewalt impact driver	Amazon
Wood Clamp set	Amazon
1 3/8 spade bit	Amazon
1 3/8 inch forstner bit	Amazon	Home Depot
Dewalt Chop Saw, metal cut saw	Amazon
Kreg K4 Pocket Hole Jig	Amazon

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome back to another tutorial. I’m Kyle, and I’ll show you how I made my outdoor power rack today.

First, I’d like to say thanks for reading this article; I hope you read it until the end. The second thing I’ll say is don’t build a power rack! It was crazy and expensive, and most people would be better off just purchasing a steel power rack. 

You can get a decent 2×2 on amazon for less than $400, and I’ve seen some decent 3×3 options for less than $800. Those racks have the added benefit of being sold on the secondary market when you’re ready to upgrade.

That being said, there are a handful of cases where building a rack makes sense: if you have access to free lumber, the building could be cheaper than buying, 

maybe you want specific features built into your rack that isn’t available on a purchasable rack,

Perhaps you live in an area of the world where purchasing is not an option as inexperienced the first time when I was in Costa Rica, 

Or maybe you want something for the outdoors that can withstand sun, rain, and snow. That’s my plan anyway; I’ve always loved having a gym in my backyard to work out in the elements.

For this project, I am using rough-sawn cedar. It is expensive at $40 for a 6 ft 4×4, but I love how it looks, and cedar is naturally resistant to rot.

A lower-cost option would be pressure-treated southern yellow pine.

After a stop at my local lumber yard, I am ready to get going. By the way, the bill for my lumber was a whopping $400! If I had used the pressure-treated pine, the total would have been under $120.

Once I get home, I start chopping this stuff up. 95% of this project is measuring, cutting, and drilling.

I am using a Titan multi-grip pull-up bar at the top, which will dictate the width of my power rack. I use that as a reference for my cross-member.

Like my last few projects, I’ll use lap joints for this one. Specifically, half lap because they will help with the stability of the rack. It takes a while to cut everything, but it’s worth it to me. 

Once I have everything cut, I lay out the left side to test how well the pieces fit together.

I lay out the right side, and everything matches up perfectly. 

I’ll reinforce the lap joints with t brackets and L brackets. I need to drill an additional hole into each one; I do this with my drill press and a step bit.

After doing that on them, I spray-painted black and let them dry. I only spray the front sides because the backsides will be against the cedar. 

Instead of adjusting j-cups, I’ll use scrap pieces of 4×4 as my j-cups set to my preferred heights. I need four sets total. 

These 4x4s are thick, so you’ll need a long bit to get through all the way through. I am using a 9/16” auger bit that is 8 inches long. I cut them to 9 inches; then, I mark the holes before drilling them out with my drill press.

I’ll be bolting everything together, but before I do that, I need to pre-drill the holes for the bolts. I lay out the brackets using a tiny drill bit to mark the holes, then go through with the auger bit. 

I clamp the joints to ensure the holes line up on each piece. 

At this point, I am out of daylight. Usually, I’d be working in my garage, but it is currently full of appliances and trash from my kitchen remodel, so I’ve got to call it quits for the day. 

I resumed working the next day. Though it’s a little rainy, I can make some decent progress. 

I finish drilling out the holes for the t-brackets and l-brackets.

One thing I didn’t realize until I got to this step is that I need another cross member for stability, but I don’t have a piece long enough to span the width of the rack, and I don’t want to spend another $40 on lumber, so I am going to make do with what I have. 

The plan is to use this 49” long piece and cut out notches from the rear uprights for it to fit into. 

Ok, now it’s time to start getting my j-cups ready. After measuring the heights on my basement power rack, I mark where the j-cups are going on my new frame. 

I’ll be drilling the holes with my drill press, so I am using the 4x4s and my cordless drill to mark the holes. To help make sure these are even, I clamp the uprights together and then keep both of them.

I’ll put two sets of j-cups on the back uprights – the top is for straight bar squats, and the bottom is for the flat bench.

And two sets of j-cups on the front uprights – the top ones are for squats with the Marrs bar, and the bottom ones are for elevating the barbell to load weights for deadlifts. I prefer it this way over using a deadlift jack in the grass.

After those holes are marked, I have a few more to mark before I start drilling everything out with the drill press. I clamp the four uprights together and mark the holes for the safeties.

For these holes, I am using a 1 3/8” spade bit. It helps to have extra room for the 1-inch pipe I’ll use for the safeties.

I am only making three height options for the safeties. Drilling these holes is a lot of work, and I don’t need more than 3. I am using my drill press; it is super important that these holes are straight so they all lineup. You can use a corded or cordless drill, but it’ll be tough to be accurate. 

It is time to drill the holes for my j-cups. This is relatively quick because I’ve already marked everything. 

Last but not least, I use my forstner bit on the j-cups to make room for the bolts and washers. This allows them to be slightly recessed. 

Once those are done, I will attach the j-cups. 

Now, finally, it is time to assemble. Before I do that, here are all of my parts laid out with measurements.

I am using 1/2” hardware to assemble. This, plus the brackets, will ensure the joints are reinforced well. With all of the holes pre-drilled, this process goes quickly.

I didn’t pre-drill holes for the pull-up bar because I wasn’t sure exactly where it would go. Now I am ready for it. I line it up with the bolt from the corner bracket and drill the second hole.

This part, in particular, should be done using the buddy system. It is difficult and sketchy doing this by yourself. I ended up resting one side on a tree while I got the other side upright. Not exactly safe, but I managed to put them together without getting injured.

Next, I add the bottom cross member. Everything lines up nicely.

The top cross-member is a snug fit, so I need to use a mallet to knock it in, but once it’s in, it is solid. I use lag bolts to attach these t-brackets to the upper cross member. 

I hop on and test it out. There’s still some side-to-side movement; I’ll address that in a minute.

For now, I am going to cut my safeties. I am using a 10 ft steel pipe and cutting it down to 50 inches.

I am happy that the holes line up perfectly and add caps to the end.

Now I will cut a couple of additional supports for the cross-member. I cut a 48-inch piece of scrap in half with 45-degree angles on both ends.

I use a pocket hole bit to make holes for my screws.

I use a couple of clamps to hold them up while I screw them in. Much more secure.

To ensure this thing doesn’t tip over or come crashing down while I’m using it, I drive six 18-inch steel rebar pins into the ground and attach them to the rack. I have a few finishing touches to add before I call it a day.

A couple more L brackets and 4×4 supports

I add some plate storage,

barbell storage,

And a landmine. This thing is good to go. I can do all of the main lifts and some landmine accessory work from the comfort of my backyard.

This is awesome.

I finished the build just before the first snow of the season.

So that’s it for now. I’ll add to this rack over the next six months. So what do you think? Let me know in the comment section.