Crack Machine Designs

I want to put some type of crack machine(s) in the garage for the Winter and would love suggestions on which types of designs have worked for you, and where to find them online or otherwise. I think a horizontal design would work a little better for the space, but am open to a vertical setup as well. 

Thanks

Kerr whats the yellow stuff?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q6dNCxVo2w
This is the most economical crack machine that I've ever seen. Not nearly as cool as a home made roof crack though.

Don't half-ass it: 

This is good too:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1912826/how-to-build-an-adjustable-crack-hangboard

that crack machine^^^ is awesome! I want to build that in my backyard now.....wonder how they're protecting the wood from the elements.

BigB wrote:

Kerr whats the yellow stuff?

I do believe it's just texture'd paint. That isn't my exact machine. I found that photo online and am in the process of re-creating one for myself. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/108201704

http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/crack-fix-how-to-build-a-home-crack-training-system

KevinCO wrote:

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/108201704

Do u know how are those mounted to the wood? its hard to tell from the pic

I would guess epoxy, although maybe you could use cheap wedge bolts and a hammer drill to bolt the blocks to the wood.

BigB wrote:

Do u know how are those mounted to the wood? its hard to tell from the pic

I built it with 2x10s and cultured stone-bull nose that wraps around the edge of the 2x.  I got the cultured stone essentially for free at a used building material place (Uncle Benny's in Loveland) because I traded some other materials for it.
I used about $75 worth of PL Premium 3x in the larger 30 ounce tubes.  The manufacturer recommended to wet both surfaces before gluing and to use pressure while the glue is drying.  I used heavy weights for this (cinder blocks and weight plates).  
It is held together with all thread and nuts, so it is adjustable.  I added angle iron on the sides to stiffen it.

there's already a forum on this

BigB wrote:

Kerr whats the yellow stuff?

It is a high quality flat exterior acrylic paint (Sherwin Williams) mixed in with the finest hobby sand I could find, which happened to be at Hobby Lobby.  When new it feels like freshly broken sandstone, and it wears down slowly while maintaining it's abrasive character (to a lesser and lesser degree) the whole time.  It is like coating the crack in 220+ grit sand-paper, so the wear is bad for the shoes and other equipment, though I prefer that to something with no texture since I find the tissue bruising involved in overly-torquing jams in smooth cracks to be more of a training limiter than having to provide some material for the crack to chew up each session.  It would be possible to do a light sand mix and re-apply as needed since the paint dries quickly, so it could dry between workouts.

I am proud of that wall because it was a project roughly equivalent to the projects my engineering friends did for their undergraduate senior thesis/projects, including doing the force calculations and deciding on a suitable margin of error strength-wise.  The whiole wall is rock solid, barely wobbles when you all-out dyno to the top of the wall (I bolted holds between the cracks and to the top of the wall), and the cracks flex less than a millimeter. 

Jacon wrote:

Don't half-ass it: 

This is good too:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1912826/how-to-build-an-adjustable-crack-hangboard

Clifford Meece wrote:

Does anyone have a link to the plans for that thing?

The box and rails look straightforward, but I'm curious as to what mechanism they use to do the adjustment.  It appears they are cranking something hidden inside the right tower.

I would guess acme screws or something similar