[ducastaing]

Hi,
Does anyone have any recommendations on the type of wood to make campus rungs out of?  We're thinking about buying campus rungs for our woodie and then cutting them down to use as holds.  However not sure whether it would be better to make the rungs ourselves or whether by the time sourcing wood, sanding and so on is factored in we'd be better off just buying the metolius rungs.
Thanks!

[Paul B]

why not just make wooden holds instead of making rungs and then making the rungs into holds?

[ducastaing]

Have also been thinking about that.  I guess the reason for asking specifically about wood for campus rungs is because it seems that it might be easier to simply have a strip/rung of wood that you cut into sections and sand on the ends, rather than having to individually sand and shape holds.
 Suggestions for making wooden holds would also be gratefully received though! 

[highrepute]

I bought some softwood, something like this http://www.wickes.co.uk/PSE-Timber/Planed-Softwood-PSE/invt/107147
Soft so doesn't take much sanding to get that campus rung shape

[ducastaing]

Thanks highrepute.  Does it feel relatively skin friendly?    I know that whatever the Beastmaker is made of feels pretty good as do the Metolius wooden holds I have played with in a shop.  The woodie is outside so we might have to treat the wood, although maybe it's not worth it because if the things are cheap and easy to make we could just replace them if they start getting too mashed by the weather.  I don't know if treatments effect the 'feel' of the wood either.  I'm sure I would know all this if I were a bloke.

[highrepute]

very skin friendly as long as the edges are sanded off. I think that you're right, the BM board is a softwood, I chose it because it's easy to work with, but harder woods might last longer and do better outside. I've got no idea how the wood would fair outside, untreated. And I imagine it's not going to be as nice to hold varnished. Just go for it, at less than a fiver can't really go wrong

[lagerstarfish]

I reccommend using CLS or studwork timber -strong, cheap as chips, easy to shape and has rounded edges already; just plane/cut/sand the side you want to reshape and the rest is rounded enough not to hurt you. Comes in different cross-sections, but usually in 2.4m (8ft) lengths. Might take more effort to make very thin rungs out of it, but it will make great slopers - I had some made from two widths of CLS bolted together and then sanded down. It has a nice feel to it.

No point in paying the suppliers to plane down (like what PSE is) something to a perfect finish when you are just going to change it anyway.

[ducastaing]

Excellent, thanks lagerstarfish and highrepute.  I'll be off to wickes/B&Q some time this week and hopefully we can set about making the holds in the evenings.  Maybe in a week or so we'll have lots of nice new holds and problems up 

[Houdini]

 Fools Some of the recommendations here are shocking...


Bubinga mate, every time:




Failing that, Honduras mahogany:



Last (& I do mean last) resort, Zebrawood:



Duh!

[ducastaing]

Looks like we could have the most expensive holds in the world then 

[ducastaing]

I'd better get the rungs/holds sorted out quick or Three Nine will be justified in all the puntering he has been doing to me   

[Three Nine]

Just can't help it...

[St Hubbins]

To me, to you....

[ducastaing]

To me, to you....

Just trying to be polite
Now have the wood but weather for weekend is looking good for heading to real rock so hold making will have to wait.  We've just put up some Bleaustone 30deg Pockets, warm up jugs and dished crimps though and are really impressed with them.  The pockets are amazing.  Hopefully these combined with the wooden rungs and holds will add more training options.