Homemade 4x4 Power Rack

This is the homemade 4x4 power rack I made for less than $80.

Supplies List and lengths cut:4- 4x4x6: No cuts

2- 2x4x8: 1 cut in half for the bottom supports, 1 cut for 2 pieces 47"

1- 2x4x12: cut for 2x4x50" top front, and 2 2x4x35" for left and right side

4- T-brackets: mounted from the bottom into the 4x4's

2- 6in 3/4in black iron pipe

4- 3/4in black iron pipe end caps

2- 3ft 3/4in black iron pipe

Screws were 2 1/2in to go from t-brackets to wood and 3in from 2x4 to 4x4. The screws don't actually hold weight so I feel it is safe for now.

The holes in the 4x4's were drilled with a 1 1/8in spade bit. The pipe is actually 1in thick (outside dimension the 3/4in is the inside). Holes started at 18 inches from the floor and continued every 3in on center.

My wife suggested using the EZ bar for a pull up bar. It just happened to be exactly the size I needed.

I have tested the strength of the pipe and it can easily hold 420lbs plus my 250lbs. The t-brackets really help make it stable. If you were standing in the rack facing like for squats, there are two 2x4's one at the bottom and 2ft up and one at the top. Also all corners are "woven" to help lock everything out. Support from front to back is from the t-braces and an extension of the footer. All exercises that can be done in a normal power rack can be done here.

In regards to the strength of the wood structure, I feel confident that if I can build a gazebo with 4x4's for support and it can hold the weight of the roof's shingles (90lbs a pack for 20sq ft) it will be able to hold anything I can lift.

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Webmaster's NoteI get questions all of the time on how much weight wooden power racks can handle. Check out this post:

"This rack is truly amazing. For anyone who has worked with wood platforms or any of this type of large wood (4x4s, 6x6s, etc.) the load bearing strength is ridiculous. We have jacked up a floor from the basement of a two story house with a bottle jack and a 6x6. The house had sagged pretty badly and we lifted it multiple inches right in the center, so much that drywall cracked and old doors were out of line. I can't imagine the type of weight that we put on that 6x6 before we put up the supports."

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6ft is just tall enough for me to walk into without hitting my head. I'm 5'11". My bar is 48" between the collars and the plates are at least another 2-3" outside of them. I made the spacing between the uprights 47". So the collars fit just outside the frame. The 45lbs plates don't even come close, about 3" for each side. If I were to shift left or right then I guess they would come into play, but when squatting I try keeping it as straight up and down as possible.

I did not want to pay that much for a lat pull down, so I just added one to the power rack. I bought some heavy duty pulleys (2 of them) from Lowes rated at 420lbs and some 3/8" cable rated above 800lbs and some clasps and bolting. Rigged it up and now I have a detachable cable pull down machine on my power rack.

I don't feel it needs to be anchored to the floor. It doesn't shift or slide like you might think. If there was one thing that I might have done to help even more with that would have been to cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to match the shape of the base. That way by me standing on it would further hold it from sliding while re-racking. But I have never had problems with it.

I used a spade bit and a hand held drill to cut the holes, but if I had a drill press it would have made it much easier.