Mounting a hangboard on my wall with minimal holes

[couloirman]

ok, so Im trying to mount a rock climbing hangboard onto my apartment wall and want to put as few holes in as possible. I bought one of these and want to mount it to a piece of plywood, then mount the plywood to the wall on the studs because the holes in the actual hangboard itself do not line up with the studs.

What type of fasteners can I use to go through the holes in the hangboard, and through the plywood, but be flush with the back of the plywood so I can then mount that onto the wall, and still be strong enough to hold a 170 lb guy doing powerful pull up type moves on it? Should I just use regular wood screws and cut off the end of the screw then file it flush? That seems like a pain in the ass and more difficult than I wanted to make it.

Some have suggested mounting the plywood to the wall first, then mounting the hangboard to the plywood with some big long screws but then there will be a lot of extra holes in the wall and I want to minimize the amount of fixing up I need to do when I leave this place in 2 years so it is kind of important to me to be able to mount the board to the plywood first.


If this doesn't make sense Ill try and take some pics and explain it better. I'm not a total woodworking JONG, I've built 4 guitars out of nothing but big blocks of wood(no kits) and they feel great to play(ok, the first 3 play like crap, but the last one is better than any commercial guitar Ive ever strummed), but I dont have much experience with fasteners like this. Thanks.

[char]

Get a 2x10 and counter sink the boltheads for the hangboard.. Then attach the 2x10 to the studs.

[karpiel]

Threaded inserts, bolt board to board, screw both to wall.

[mock vomit]

I'mma bump a thread for you...

[RedWolf]

I had a similar set-up in my old apartment. I just used deck screws straight through the plywood into the studs, three down each end. It held me fine for two years, and I weigh a good 40 pounds more than you. It came off pretty easily, and the holes were relatively small. I filled 'em in with some spackle, and went on my way...

[couloirman]

hmmm, threaded inserts eh? That seems like a good idea, Ill just need to figure out the right length of screw to use so its flush with the back of the board and Ill be in business. Maybe Ill just bring it into home depot and make sure its all good before I buy anything. Thanks guys

[irul&ublo]

Get a 2x10 and counter sink the boltheads for the hangboard.. Then attach the 2x10 to the studs.

What he said....and TECH TALK BITCH!!!!!

[Wiilbert]

Just put any old screw in and grind them flush? I did a similar setup, but didn't care about the place I lived in and just screwed the plywood straight into a door frame.

[char]

hmmm, threaded inserts eh? That seems like a good idea, Ill just need to figure out the right length of screw to use so its flush with the back of the board and Ill be in business. Maybe Ill just bring it into home depot and make sure its all good before I buy anything. Thanks guys

You are making this too complicated.

[couloirman]

OK, so Im finally getting around to putting this thing up.

I was drilling through my walls and much to my dismay I found metal studs. Since metal studs are hollow doesnt that mean the holding power is reduced because much less screw thread is in contact with the metal?

Can I still put this thing up into metal studs or is a 170lb guy doing pull up too much weight for the screws to hold in?

Thanks for answering my JONG Q's. I can build sexy guitars out of blocks of wood but I cant do any home improvement for the life of me.

[RootSkier]

You will probably be fine.

[donutlynx]

Just use the right screws for the material.

You're all set.

[jm2e]

I would start with a piece of 3/4" plywood a little bigger than your hangboard.
Sink T-Nuts into the plywood corresponding to the holes in the hangboard. Make sure they're in deep so that they'll be flush and not fuck up your wall.
Now buy some Allen Head bolts (just like the ones we use for climbing holds) at the same hardware store you bought the T-Nuts at and make sure they're the right length that they don't push through the back of the plywood. It's okay to bring the hangboard/plywood setup to the hardware store and geek out a little.
Then screw the plywood to your studs without the hangboard attached. Use a shit load of screws if you're worried about strength. Since you'll be using small screws and not big ass lag-screws, when you move it'll be super easy to spackle them in.
Now bolt the hangboard to the plywood.
This setup should cost you an extra $10 or so.

[couloirman]

I did the T nuts and bolt thing to mount 6 of the 8 holes to the plywood. The other 2 screws are right in the center of the board so I was going to get longer decking screws and put those into the studs as well.

What size pilot hole would be appropriate to use for #9 decking screws in metal studs? Same as for hardwood? Smaller? Larger?

I just tried to screw them in with no luck with a 5/32" pilot hole but there's a chance it was slightly mis aligned because I dont have a long enough, thin enough drill bit to drill through the board and the drywall into the stud, I have to do them separately then line it up.

[Dhelihiker]

no pilot hole, you have the wrong screws. I would use Metal stud dry wall screws. You do mean metal studs not steel beam, right?

[Dhelihiker]

also metal stud walls are not made lateral loads, if you feel the wall flexing, be careful/

[jm2e]

You already got 6 bolts from hangboard to plywood? You do not need any more. That piece of carcinogenic plastic devilry is stiffer than a maggot waiting for his firs heli drop.
You could have gotten away with two bolts.
Now get that piece of plywood secured to the wall and start cranking. Remember, lots of little holes are easy to fill. Big holes are expensive when your landlord sees them.

[TyeStick]

Just remember fingerboards only work if you use them....My problem is to much use.

[couloirman]

The board is finally up. There's 11 screws over 3 studs, one stud on each side of the door and one in the center hopefully attached solidly from above.
The hangboard is attached to plywood with 8 T nuts, then the 11 screws go from plywood to studs, there are no screws through both hangboard and studs.

But...........

I got these responses to my metal stud query on a rockclimbing forum:

"Ever see a metal stud? My guess is no, as there's a reason they're said to be ill-suited for this sort of thing; they're used because they're cheaper than lumber and barely strong enough to hold up drywall. I suspect that either the wall will bow or the screws will pop out (the metal studs are only ~0.060" thick {possibly less}, so not much to bite into). Either way, video would be amusing."

And from someone else:

"Well the answer is, it depends. I am an old metal stud framer, and some metal studs could hold up a truck, it just depends on the gauge. What you have is most likely going to be 20 or 25 gauge if its just a demising wall on the interior of your apt. If they are 18 or 16 gauge you will be totally ok. The best way you have to tell is if a regular sharp pointed dry wall screw goes in easily, then they are 20-25 gauge. If you had to use a self tapper, or push like hell to get them in, then you are ok. "


Now Im scared to hang on the damn thing and do pull ups. Im going to ask management what gauge studs are in the wall tomorrow, but Ill bet they're light gauge cause its just a dividing door between bedroom and closet, but the drill bit hit some good resistance going in, it took probably 8-10 seconds of the drill turning in place to push through the stud so Im hoping its thick enough to hold me. I think I could easily be seriously injured if it unsuspectingly fell on me while hanging and would probably cost a ton to fix the wall as well.

Mounting this simple POS is turning into much more of an ordeal than I thought!