Push-Pull Sled

Written By PJ

Introduction

Before I teach you how yo build one, let me quickly cover WHY I am building one despite already owning one. I already own the VEVOR push-pull sled…and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. While it’s a great value (it does everything a much more expensive sled can do but for a much better price point)…. I personally don’t have a use for it…

Here’s why: ALL metal sleds are awesome if you have a large area of “AstroTurf,” metal sleds are awesome. They are actually better. However, but if you don’t have AstroTurf…I do not like them as much.

Pushing/pulling ANY SLED on your lawn can tear up your grass (especially if your ground is wet). Again - that’s not a knock on the VEVOR sled, that’s a knock on all sleds. Therefore, I prefer using sleds on concrete/asphalt, but ALL metal sleds can mar the the surface of your concrete.

Further, dragging metal up and down your driveway, sidewalk, or street makes a awful noise…

So metal sleds just are not for me….So today - we are making a simple diy sled out of wood!

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DIY Tutorial

Step 1: Cut FIVE Pieces of  Pressure Treated (PT) Landscaping Timbers – 24” long each

My Landscaping Timbers were about 3.5” Thick and about 5” wide.

Step 2: Cut TWO Skids.

Use the same PT Timbers. Cut 45 Degree Angele at both ends of each skid. Cut each skid to be 36.5” Long (from Tip to tip).

Then make a 0 Degree cut at each end of each skid -  trimming off up to ½” off the tips. This is done so that tips are duller. This  will prevent the tips from chipping/breaking (as well as mitigating injury).

Step 3: Affix Eyebolts

After laying out the 5 24” long pieces onto top of the skids, select which pieces will be the “End Pieces.” These “end pieces” will have eyebolts affixed to them (to enable hooking onto for pulling the sled).

For each end piece:

  • Since I used a 3/8” washer that had an outer diameter of 1”, I started by making a 1” hole with a 1” Forstner bit. The hole should be just deep enough to accommodate a washer  and the Lock nut at the end of the eyebolt’s threading. Then run your drill bit through the center of that hole. It probably will not be long enough to pop through the other side of the Timber…so do your best to drill through the other side so that that the two holes meet in the interior of the Timber.

  • I used a 3/8” eye bolt. Therefore I used a 3/8” drill bit. However, I started with a much smaller drill bit, for better precision in the placement of the hole. Then I incrementally worked my way up to the 3/8” drill bit, bit by bit…..probably 5 different bits before using the 3/8” drill bit (the final bit).

  • After drilling, insert the eyebolt, then add washer and locknut. Then I used a ratchet to tighten the lock nut down.

Step 4: Select the poles that you will use, and place holes into the two “End Pieces” to accommodate your poles.

I used 36” long ¾” Plumbing Nipples for my poles. These nipples are a little over 1” in diameter. Therefore, I made my holes using a 1 1/8” Spade Bit. I added “Fat Gripz” to enhance the grip comfort.

Step 5: Screw the 24” Pices to the skids.

I used 6” Lag Screws made for PT Lumber.

In order to ensure the Skids were “square” I placed two pieces of 15” long 2x4 lumber between the two skids before screwing anything together. I also made sure that the “tips” of the skids were aligned, by placing one of the 24” long pieces in front of and behind the skids before screwing the first piece onto the skids.

I started with the center piece, and worked my way outward, using 2x4 scraps as spacer to achieve a 1.5” spacing between each piece.

Step 6: Affix ¾” Floor Flange to the middle of the center 24” piece

I used galvanized floor flange, with galvanized 3” long lag bolts. I used galvanized because otherwise these will get rusty/corroded quickly due to being left outside (not to mention the caustic chemicals in the PT lumber).

Step 7: Affix a Plumbing nipple to the Floor Flange

This can be whatever length you want. However, I wouldn’t go shorter than 12” and I wouldn’t go longer than 24”

  • Don’t go shorter than 12” inches, because you will not be able to fit many plates on.

  • Don’t go longer than 24: If longer than 24”, with very little force, the  leverage of such a long nipple will easily pry the leg bolts holding the floor flange in place right out of the wood.

Step 8: Add Olympic Plate Adapter

This will make the unit quieter when in use. To learn how to build one watch this:

Step 9: Add ¾” Nipple Cap

This will keep the Olympic plate adapter in place, as well as mitigate injury. If someone falls on this nipple, it will definitely hurt. However, if there is a cap at the end, it will hurt much less.

Step 10: “Movement Limiting” Spacer Blocking

These blocks will limit the end pieces from being able to bend forward too much as a result of pushing the sled. We don’t want the poles to essentially become “pry bars” ripping the end pieces off the skids.

As I mentioned in the video – to make the end pieces stronger (while keeping the Gap between the end piece and its neighbor piece) simply add FOUR  3” or 4” long 2x4 blocks between the end pieces and their neighbor pieces, like this:

Ideally I would have used PT 2x4  for this (but I didn’t have any ) – so oh well….

I obviously shot this scene after the rest of the video was shot - which is why you do not see these blocks in the final exercise demo scene of my video.

Step 11: PLATE SPACERS

Wooden Plate Spacers: To make things quieter, make it easier to remove stacked plates, and prevent fingers from getting pinched by plates: place a wooden spacer between the plates….

  • This could be as easy as placing two pieces of scrap lumber between the plates (as small or as big as you want) – just so that the two plates stacked on top of another do not actually touch one another.

  • However, if you want to make it easer to use…make some of these (suing a 2” Hole saw or 2” Spade Bit or 2” Forstner bit)

  • Mine Look like this:

Shopping

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PJ
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