[tomtom]

Just pad the wall? You won't ever be hitting it that hard at 500mm horizontal from the top holds. You may dab if cutting loose however I'm not sure if that is an issue on a home wall.

If it was me I would maximise climbing space as the first priority.

This. Dolly's shed has little swing room - and he just uses upright bouldering pads along the wall.

[SA Chris]

I have to hang a pad from the pedal of a bike, and one problem has an unavoidable shoulder / bike dab when finishing. Scary at first, but it's actually fairly safe.

[dunnyg]

I would hope people wouldnt be cutting loose on their home boards, not if they want to get strong #straighton #dropkneedropagrade #feetonorfoff

[tomtom]

I would hope people wouldnt be cutting loose on their home boards, not if they want to get strong #straighton #dropkneedropagrade #feetonorfoff

You need to get some smaller footholds if you're not cutting loose :p

[Fultonius]

With further lockdowns looming, and never quite getting the "crack machine" added to the all, I've been pondering a few ideas.

While out mountainbiking today (couldn't keep up with the fit boys, so plenty time on my own to think) I came up with this idea:



I'm yet to devise the key bit, which is having the central board in the crack on a threaded rail system so I can move it and make one crack bigger and the other smaller.

Ignoring the finer details of the crack design for now, how well would the volume add to the board climbing experience, and conversely, how shit could it make it?

Pros:  More angles, bit more interesting, better for heel hooks, sidepulls and gastons, can make problems that use james
Cons: Gets in the way, takes up 1/4 of width, loses 120mm of space

Another idea is:



Pros: Less in the road
Cons: far side holds less useable as no flat board beyond for feet

I could always go with the original plan of mounting on the edge of the board, that way it doesn't use up any board space. However, I'm already finding the board encroaches quite badly on the workbench space.



I could move the vice, or redesign my bench a bit...

Any thoughts?

[Paul B]

Is there no way you can have it set in the board instead (possibly a right pain to retrofit) that way it would interfere with the rest of the board less perhaps?

[Fultonius]

Yeah, I had thought of that, but was wondering about rigidity etc as it would get in the road of the noggins and split the ply in half.

I'll keep that thought in the mix.

[Monolith]

Does anybody have a board where you've had to create a false ceiling of joists? If so, please could I see your framing plan for an 8 foot wide board together with connection details that fixes into it.

[Bradders]

Slightly random question; is it worth getting an impact driver for screwing holds on? And is it okay to do this without drilling pilot holes first?

Reason I ask is I have a normal combi drill atm, which is a good all rounder, but when I set my last wall I ended up having to drill pilot holes every time, which obviously more than doubled the time it took to get all the holds on. Is there any downside to using an impact driver without pre-drilling holes? Does it damage the ply?

TIA

[tomtom]

I’ve a drill driver (brushless) that does the job fine. Even so I tend to set the torque low and then nip up by hand. I’ve split a small plastic foot wedge abs driven the screw in too far On a couple of wooden holds.

With an impact driver - it’s got more power (good for not needing pilot holds) but might need a bit more control to stop over tightening.

Could it be the type of screw? Some certainly go in easier than others?

(My experience is only my own board though - take above with pinch of salt etc.. 😀)

[moose]

I found the type of screws made a huge difference.  I had to drill pilot holes for cheap screws, and even then my 18v drill had problems and often stalled. Then I bought some more expensive screws with wired threads and a lubricating coating that came with TX / star- shaped bit -  no pilot holes required,  just go straight in with only slight pressure.

[Fultonius]

Impact drivers, if you think you might do more than just move holds around, are a total godsend, so much less torque on your wrist and slipping screws. I literally v remove the screws with my drill, if they went in with the impact.

I bought various adaptors so I can use it with sockets etc. Very handy!

[webbo]

I was going to say the opposite about getting screws out put in with an impact driver. My board has been built 3 times by late brother in law, he was a joiner by trade. The first time I tried to take it down with drill driver I failed to get several screws out and ended up with having to hammer the screw through the ply and levering the board off. I then bought an impact driver when I was taking  it down next time and still there were some screws I couldn’t get out. I ended up with an 8x4 board swinging off one screw, which when levered off drew blood.
I guess the answer is don’t move house if your board has been built by a professional.

[rginns]

I've never had to drill pilot holds for 18mm ply and a standard 18v drill should do the job. I've found using Torx or Spax screws to be essential though. They're pricier but make the job so much easier

[Adam Lincoln]

Torx screws and an impact driver is what i’ve used.

[Steve R]

I've never had to drill pilot holds for 18mm ply and a standard 18v drill should do the job.

would second that (with caveat that it's a decent brand drill obvs eg. makita, dewalt).  Personally don't like impact drivers for screwing into wood (except really long screws into hardwood maybe) and don't see any advantage into ply.  Much less feel what's going on and grim on the ears.  Personally find standard PZ2 goldscrew or silverscrew screwfix (cheap) 5mm screws go straight through any ply no problem. def no pilot holes required.
Can see Impact drivers being crucial if you want to set/move bolt ons quickly but for screws into ply, wrong tool for job imo.

[Bradders]

Thanks all, thinking back to setting my last board it sounds like it was the screws at fault then; it was mid-lockdown and I just bought a load of cheap things from B&M Bargains....

Will get some Torx / Spax / quality ones this time.

I guess the answer is don’t move house if your board has been built by a professional.

Literally just done exactly this! Board built by a chap who normally does skate parks and film sets, to say it was over-engineered would be a big understatement and it was hard going to take it down.

[spidermonkey09]

Cheap screws are the worst investment you'll ever make. Its amazing the difference you see with the better ones.

[JamieG]

Fnarr fnarr!

[moose]

These are the screws I use and referred to above.  Well worth the premium - I fitted a load of new dome footholds this week (my high-strung neighbour is back out working now, whilst I am WFT all the time, so after months of abstinence, I have been able to use my woodie again).  Utterly effortless to fit with my cordless drill - straight in, first time every-time with no pilot holes / tapping required.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/turbo-ii-tx-double-countersunk-multipurpose-screws-5-x-50mm-200-pack/1998h

[Paul B]

I've got a few boxes of standard Goldscrews left over from my previous board and they're noticeably worse than any with a cutting tip. I'm still managing to drive them into 18mm ply and the receiving C24 2 X 9 though. I just put in 600 odd T-nuts and the screws without a cutting tip were a pain (Wera magnetic screw holder made this a lot less painful).


Screwfix let me down and I needed to buy a different 13mm wood bit; avoid the Bosch ones with the worm tip like the plague if you're drilling T-nuts. My drill simply couldn't cope with the rate it wanted to progress. Thankfully it had a hex shank and the impact driver was capable.

TBH I've been really disappointed with my Bosch 18v combi drill and impact driver.

Call me soft but I've bought ear defenders (my Dad has occupational deafness), wear safety glasses etc at home.

[Fultonius]

I grew up with my dad never wearing safety specs, gloves or ear defenders. Always using angle grinders, bench grinders etc...

8 years working offshore, getting regular hearing tests and the odd bit of tinnitus and I'm now a dust mask wearing, ear defending, eye protecting kind of guy. You only have one set of ears (well, the inner ear hearing thingmy whatever its called.

[rginns]

I grew up with my dad never wearing safety specs, gloves or ear defenders. Always using angle grinders, bench grinders etc...

8 years working offshore, getting regular hearing tests and the odd bit of tinnitus and I'm now a dust mask wearing, ear defending, eye protecting kind of guy. You only have one set of ears (well, the inner ear hearing thingmy whatever its called.

... As well as one set of lungs, eyes, fingers etc... I'm always paranoid of dusty environments so almost always wear a mask, the stuff gets everywhere even with decent extraction

[tomtom]

Father in law was a model maker for many major films in the 80’s on until CGI took over (Labyrinth, American Werewolf etc..) and has bad lungs from all the solvents and stuff used in the studio and on set.

He also has lots of tales about Hollywood stars and a working environment with coke breaks. Think fag breaks but the white stuff 😀

[Fultonius]

I grew up with my dad never wearing safety specs, gloves or ear defenders. Always using angle grinders, bench grinders etc...

8 years working offshore, getting regular hearing tests and the odd bit of tinnitus and I'm now a dust mask wearing, ear defending, eye protecting kind of guy. You only have one set of ears (well, the inner ear hearing thingmy whatever its called.

... As well as one set of lungs, eyes, fingers etc... I'm always paranoid of dusty environments so almost always wear a mask, the stuff gets everywhere even with decent extraction

I had always assumed that plain sawdust was pretty inert, but heard this year it can be nasty too?  I've got a cartridge type mask, but should really order some new filters.

Wonder if they're as hard to come by as the black nitrile gloves are just now!