Is building a DIY cable station actually worth the hassle?

I threw together a lat pulldown rig from a $40 pulley kit and some scrap wood in my garage, and it worked fine for about 2 weeks before the bracket snapped at the weld. I patched it with steel plates and bolts, and now it feels solid, but I'm wondering if I just got lucky with the fix or if I'm one bad rep away from a disaster. Would you guys trust a welded repair on homemade gear, or do I need to just bite the bullet and buy a real stack?

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2 Comments

elliotburns1mo ago

Tbh I've rebuilt a pulley bracket twice with 3/8 inch steel plate and grade 8 bolts after the original weld gave out, and it's held for over a year now. The trick is to overbuild the fix, not just patch it, so drill new holes and sandwich the bracket instead of relying on the old weld. If you're still questioning it after that, then yeah, just save for a real stack, cause your gut feeling is telling you something.

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haydenp951mo ago

Sandwiching it is the way to go. Reusing those old weld points is just asking for it to pop again... you gotta give the new metal something solid to bite into. Good call on the grade 8s too, cheap bolts will strip out on you before you know it.

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