The Mini Moonboard

Hey Quinn, I had the same issue. I had to splice wires into the LED system so those sections could jump over the larger 2x6s boards. In certain smaller support boards I just took a sawzall and cut a small channel in the board.

It was a PITA, but it was worth it, the board is rock solid with no give at all. If you’re not sure how to do that, I could show you both the splicing and the channels. You may need more or less depending on how you’ve constructed it.

My mini moon is framed similar to Mark Whites' but even lighter with a single 2x6 horizontal purlin and two 2x4 vertical  braces per panel with no plywood gussets at the joints. Plenty stiff.

Eric Marx wrote:

Hey Quinn, I had the same issue. I had to splice wires into the LED system so those sections could jump over the larger 2x6s boards. In certain smaller support boards I just took a sawzall and cut a small channel in the board.

It was a PITA, but it was worth it, the board is rock solid with no give at all. If you’re not sure how to do that, I could show you both the splicing and the channels. You may need more or less depending on how you’ve constructed it.

Eric- it would be great to see a pic of the back of a board with LED’s! There is very little Info around about routing the LEDs, just that they won’t fit over 2x6’s.. 

My running plan was to use a Hole Saw and drill out 2” holes at the top and bottom of each of my verticals.. which would require feeding the LED strings through- but having not seen them I have no idea if that works or if there is something I’m missing 

I’m hoping to have my board totally built before my holds and LEDs arrive 

Quinn Hatfield wrote:

Eric- it would be great to see a pic of the back of a board with LED’s! There is very little Info around about routing the LEDs, just that they won’t fit over 2x6’s.. 

My running plan was to use a Hole Saw and drill out 2” holes at the top and bottom of each of my verticals.. which would require feeding the LED strings through- but having not seen them I have no idea if that works or if there is something I’m missing 

I’m hoping to have my board totally built before my holds and LEDs arrive 

The hole saw will definitely work. Note that row 1 is not populated on the 2020 Mini set up, though LEDs are still designated for those bottom positions, they can just be taped to the back. I believe the LED strings start at A1 go up to A12 over to B12 down to B1, rinse and repeat, so you should only need one hole top or bottom depending on the placement of your verticals.

If someone knows differently please correct me.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

The hole saw will definitely work. 

thanks Victor!

I’ll probably end up drilling  1.5” holes at the top and bottom of each upright before assembly.. 

Quinn Hatfield wrote:

thanks Victor!

I’ll probably end up drilling  1.5” holes at the top and bottom of each upright before assembly.. 

The top holes should be 12cm down from the top of the panel.

Here's my mini moonboard. I finished it a few months ago, I've been using it weekly and enjoying it. No tweaks yet and feels like I am definitely getting stronger. 

It's built to the standard spec, no LEDs, and I made it so can adjust the board angle from a minimum of 25 degrees to anything steeper using an electric winch installed behind board. I am not super strong so I have it set at 25 degrees currently. Super hard enough for me, right now. 

Other differences include: I built the kicker height at 10", instead of the spec'd 6". Glad I did this. And, I doubled the number of t-nuts in the wall so I can put up jugs and other spray holds in-between the moon holds. Right now, aside from random spray holds, I just have the schoolhouse and wood A hold sets (tight on cash) but there are plenty of problems to train on and I will get wood B and C sets eventually.

Construction details: the kicker box is framed with 2x6s and anchored into the concrete floor via 3/8" wedge anchors, and also into the back with some brackets. The actual wall panel is attached to the kicker via a 6' continuous steel hinge and supported by chains to a 2x8 anchor plate on the back wall, which in turn is attached to the frame of my house via structural screws. The chains have turnbuckles in-line which allow chain tension to be balanced and fine-tuned between left and right anchors. I used 2x4s for the wall frame to save weight, and it's fine (the wall is not wobbly). 

Quinn Hatfield wrote:

I just ordered my holds, bolts and LED’s last night. Looks like I’ve got about a month to get my board framed out..

Well… I don’t know if Moon was fast or if I just lost track of time… but my Holds and LEDs all showed up and I hadn’t even started the framing.. 

started framing yesterday… I’m no carpenter.. but it seems like it’s coming together ok so far.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

Eric Marx wrote:

Hey Victor, or Eric, or anyone else with LED’s

any reason the LED row for row 7 needs to be on the lower panel? Seems like it could be on the upper panel and then both panels would be identical.. would also put the light 2” closer to the corresponding Hold.. 

something I’m missing?

https://moonclimbing.com/media/moonboard-pdf/Mini_Moonboard_Template_Guide_IMPERIAL.pdf

I’m not sure why they spec’d it that way, but yes, should be a larger gap between 6 and 7.

The light appears to be in the right spot on my board(relative to the other rows) but there is a slightly larger gap between the entire rows of holds.

Framing Done…

Next step panels 

Victor Creazzi wrote:

The top holes should be 22cm down from the top of the panel.

Worked Perfectly!!

Just so my build story is complete- here’s the finished Board.. no big issues.. I’ve got one bad LED (stays on green when it should be off) otherwise I was able to make everything work.. 

Looking forward to my first Humbling session tomorrow!!
(edit- had to swap one bad bulb)

I’ve had a mini moon board since 2020, just bought  holds, everything else diy, no leds and I don’t miss them. Chose the mini because I couldn’t fit a full moon board in the space I had available. The kicker is to spec and some of the low starts kill me (I’m 6’1), but it has been a great training tool. As others have mentioned, the body tension/crappy holds/footwork required for the mini seem to translate well to real rock. Highly recommended.

Has anybody climbed any of the new benchmarks? I think they just added a lot of new ones on the Mini. Also does anybody want to trade problems we set to climb? Ignore the grades but I set a couple that I think are worth climbing.

Problems with originals only: Blue's Clues, Original Invisible/Wide Boyzzz/Hold My Hand (different variations on the same theme), Nerds (not as good)

Wood and plastic: Cross Bay, Jumping For Jugs (love the flow on this one), Future Frosty, Torque Wrench

Bryan wrote:

Also does anybody want to trade problems we set to climb? 

I'm adding your list to my MB profile even though my holds aren't even in stock yet ;-) 

Day one: panels. Five hours for the two of us.

Psyched for you to join us 

Day 2: Frame and final assembly. Frankie and I brought it right up to the point of setting the holds, seven hours total today. Super stoked with how quickly it came to this point.

Variations from the Krebs Youtube blueprint:

- Four 2x6 panel studs instead of six. This thing is uber-bomber.

- Vertical supports are 2x8 instead of 2x6.

- Kicker is a 6x6 deck post instead of a box. 2x6 screwed to the top and bottom to add three extra inches. 3/8" screws instead of bolts and t-nuts.

- Vertical header. We cut the panel studs with a 40 degree on the top as well so that we could set hangboard edges. We have an extra 23 inches of vert to work with in this room.

 If the room were deeper, we could have gone with an extra couple rows. If I had permission to anchor to the already-exposed joists, well, let's be grateful for what we have.

I sprayed fifteen Metolius mini-jugs for the niece and nephew to play around.

Next up: setting yellows, Woods B & C, spraying the rest. Then building a "pancake" header of 2x6's and setting the hangboard trinkets on the header.

Sick build Fritz, you’re going to pat yourself on the back for the larger kicker every time you jam yourself in there on a ridiculous bunched mini-start.

I used a 2x10 for my header, if you didn’t buy the wood it’ll only cost a few bucks more and gives you a bit more room. If you did buy the wood return it and grab a 2x10 ;)