Crack Machine Texture Ideas

So here is the final product! I went with the Restore 10x and I ended up brushing on the texture because I saw potential problems with the roller application. FYI its texture is closer to stucco then paint.

The build used 2 12ft 2"X10"'s and I used bearings and cross dowels to make the build crank adjustable. Getting the drilling to line up was challenging because the tolerances for this design were tight, but over all I'm happy with the final build.

I still need to mount it but I did a few jams Sonnie Trotter crack machine style and I was so stoked that I wanted to post it.

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Any thoughts on prepping the wood on a crack machine that will live outside?

mike, Mine is going to be living outside. Part of what sold me on the Restore 10x product is that it's a deck paint. So I'm hoping that it will handle the elements well after being treated with a product that is designed to see rain, sun, snow etc.

Some good ideas and very cool crack machines here - thanks for sharing. For my first interior crack machine (see below) I added fine grained sand to paint and applying multiple coats. Worked OK but the grains eventually broke free and I was left with a slicker than bare wood texture. As I'm rethinking my design to build an exterior crack machine I think I'm going to forego texture entirely. The elements will wreak havoc upon any finish over time, and I don't want to have to refinish it. Plus, like Nathanael said about Pete Whitaker and Tom Randall (virtual crack climbing gods), bare wood seems to do just fine for them! For me, I think that crack machine climbing is partly training strength, partly training technique, and partly training pain endurance (skin, bones, etc). I think that if I can raise my level of all 3 while training on parallel sided bare wood I'm going to be well prepared for real rock when texture and variable width come back into play. Or maybe I'm just a masochist!

I've been experimenting with bare wood for a fingers to thin hands crack machine and the results are in: works great, forces learning and using good technique, and painful as hell. I'm definitely a masochist! But if there ever was an occasion for the phrase "no pain, no gain" crack climbing is it, right?



Because my crack training sessions are very intense I tape for all of them, which helps in a big way. In fact, the pain would be unbearable without it, especially on the difficult off fingers, ring locks, and tight hands. I don't spend much time training hands anymore (they're perfect after all).

The next project would be building an OW crack machine. Anyone have any good designs they've developed? Seems like texture would be important here as, among other things, the technique involves scumming up any way you can!

I realize this thread is about texture but I someone was asking about how to avoid flex. Here's a picture of one I'm gonna build attached to my new system wall that I'm also building.

Hey JNE, I'd love to see come more pics of yours.

I have built a vertical size-adjustable crack machine for training finger stacks. For the texture I have used PORTER-CABLE 4 1/2-Inch 220 Grit Adhesive-Backed Sanding Roll. The tape is very easy to apply and remove. The texture has good friction but it is very abrasive on skin and shoes. Taping the main contact points on hands is necessary. The climbing shoes chew the tape at the edges of the crack but I do mostly hangs, so that's not a problem.

Here is my home crack machine setup. I opted not to build a crack that sdjusts the width of the crack, but one that adjusts the angle. I felt it was cheaper and more rigid to build all of the sizes that I wanted to train and change the angle to make the sizes harder or easier. I didn't use any texture. If I were to add texture I'd use fine sand in acrylic paint.

Brian Boyd wrote:Fiberglass reinforced cement...

Can you Explain the process to get this done? i want to build a small cave in my son's room.

Has anyone done padded tape on the inside of wooden cracks?  The WideBoyz new volumes have some kind of comfort finish.  I wonder if the training pain was less, time and technique could be increased?  Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Tape-RP32-Width-Length/dp/B007Y7E2T2/ref=zg_bs_10649406011_19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JSYRJJBX4X7VZWBXRNYP

I've also thought about just using athletic tape inside - tape the crack instead of my hands every time?  How gross will this become?  Or just bare wood?

#covid19woodencrackproject

Kaner wrote: Has anyone done padded tape on the inside of wooden cracks?  The WideBoyz new volumes have some kind of comfort finish.  I wonder if the training pain was less, time and technique could be increased?  Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Tape-RP32-Width-Length/dp/B007Y7E2T2/ref=zg_bs_10649406011_19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JSYRJJBX4X7VZWBXRNYP

I've also thought about just using athletic tape inside - tape the crack instead of my hands every time?  How gross will this become?  Or just bare wood?

#covid19woodencrackproject

Hey that looks cool. The wideboyz stuff uses soft grip which is a trademarked material used on tool handles and stuff. They must have a direct link to the supplier bc I haven’t found it in sheets. If you try out the 3M tape let us know how it turns out. Especially interested in outdoor potential. 

PS athletic tape is a really bad idea. It’s adhesive is not nearly strong enough 

Phil Sakievich wrote: mike, Mine is going to be living outside. Part of what sold me on the Restore 10x product is that it's a deck paint. So I'm hoping that it will handle the elements well after being treated with a product that is designed to see rain, sun, snow etc.

Update. 4 years later and I’m still using the crack machine textured with restore 10x deck paint. It’s seen tempe az sun exposure plenty of rain and snow now that I moved. It has flaked off a bit around the lips of the crack from foot jams, but other than that it has held up. I have no need to refinish it and I can jam without tape unless I’m doing a high mileage training session on a small size. 

Curious if anyone’s ever lined a crack machine with a thin hard rubber sheeting.   You can buy 1/16” neoprene rubber for relatively cheap.  Seems like it would reduce pain and provide a bit of bite that’s far more realistic than plain wood.

Darin Berdinka wrote: Curious if anyone’s ever lined a crack machine with a thin hard rubber sheeting.   You can buy 1/16” neoprene rubber for relatively cheap.  Seems like it would reduce pain and provide a bit of bite that’s far more realistic than plain wood.

I don't know about using it for a crack machine, but it is fantastic for hand grips.
I have some wood exercise handles that I lined with 1/16" black neoprene rubber that I use for TRX-types of exercises, and they have held up to daily use for several years. But I think it would be quite expensive to line several feet of crack. I actually found that the cheapest place, even cheaper than bulk online suppliers, was Hardware Sales in Bellingham, WA. Sorry, I don't recall exactly their price.

But if you do go this route, I highly recommend using superglue (cyanoacrylate) for bonding that rubber to wood. I tried about a dozen other glues some even specialty expensive ones for rubber, and none were as good as superglue. The handles that I've used daily for years have never needed any repair or regluing.

Phil Sakievich wrote:

Update. 4 years later and I’m still using the crack machine textured with restore 10x deck paint. It’s seen tempe az sun exposure plenty of rain and snow now that I moved. It has flaked off a bit around the lips of the crack from foot jams, but other than that it has held up. I have no need to refinish it and I can jam without tape unless I’m doing a high mileage training session on a small size. 

Can you post a link to the exact paint you used? Having trouble finding the 10x, do see 20x and 6x though.

Darin Berdinka wrote: Curious if anyone’s ever lined a crack machine with a thin hard rubber sheeting.  

Anyone tried Butynol as a lining? 

Anybody have feedback on using bare wood?

I was thinking sand it down with 40 grit, not super polished but smooth enough to work with, then just rubbing it out with water, to make the wood's natural grain pop, for natural texture.  Not sure if I should go another step after that, or just keep it sanded wood.

James Cho wrote:

Can you post a link to the exact paint you used? Having trouble finding the 10x, do see 20x and 6x though.

Looks like it might have been discontinued. I think 6x would work just as well. It’s essentially just textured epoxy but designed for outdoors

Kaner wrote: Anybody have feedback on using bare wood?

I was thinking sand it down with 40 grit, not super polished but smooth enough to work with, then just rubbing it out with water, to make the wood's natural grain pop, for natural texture.  Not sure if I should go another step after that, or just keep it sanded wood.

I wouldn’t do much more than that I think. If you get the wood textured too much I’d start to worry about splinters as it the crack machine ages and wears from use. 

Kaner wrote: Anybody have feedback on using bare wood?

I built a 16ft horizontal crack machine (think roof) with 3 sizes, fists, hands and thin hands. Initially I tried bare wood, it was nearly impossible for me on everything but fists, admittedly, I am an amateur when it comes to cracks, so I think someone with strong technique and more experience could make it work, I think for a vertical crack machine I would go with bare wood. Horizontal it's just to damn hard.

Phil Sakievich wrote: So here is the final product! I went with the Restore 10x and I ended up brushing on the texture because I saw potential problems with the roller application. FYI its texture is closer to stucco then paint. The build used 2 12ft 2"X10"'s and I used bearings and cross dowels to make the build crank adjustable. Getting the drilling to line up was challenging because the tolerances for this design were tight, but over all I'm happy with the final build. I still need to mount it but I did a few jams Sonnie Trotter crack machine style and I was so stoked that I wanted to post it.

Could you elaborate how the "Bearings on the other side that are encased with plywood " part of this design works? I really like your design but am having trouble visualizing this part of it