DIY Home Gym Adjustable Pulley Cable Machine Build Log
Part 1 of 4 – Material Prep and Beginning Fabrication
Here’s a video log of how I built my own adjustable cable machine for my home gym. These are widely available online but I couldn’t find the one for me:
- Very expensive – £475 was the cheapest retail machine I could find with a rotating and height adjustable pulley.
- Size – You’ll see in the video that my home gym is not the biggest! All of the retail machines I found we’re totally floor standing and as such had large footprints to prevent them from tipping over. They would’ve taken up far too much space in my gym.
- Capacity – All the adjustable retail units that I could find used weight stacks and the cheapest maxed out at around 70KG which is fine for most exercises but could easily be exceeded for lat work and there didn’t seem to be any way to increase the maximum weight capacity.
My design uses 1″ bars to hold the weights so it can take standard home gym weight plates which you’ve probably already got and can be bought for next to nothing on ebay. As such it also has finer increments for weight adjustments which make it ideal for light weight rehab work.
I’d like others to have a go at building one of these (or two for a crossover!) for their own home gyms. I had intended for the videos to be a full tutorial for anyone to have a go but realistically I think a maker would need to have some basic/intermediate DIY/fabrication experience, as although I’ve made sure to include all of the important steps, I can’t possibly cover 100%. Also, for the significant cost savings to be viable, you’d need to already have a well stocked set of tools as you see me use in the video. That being said, I would invite anyone to give it a go!
My design DWG file and a PDF print are available through the below link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3rymtpe1svan1mt/Cable%20Machine.zip?dl=0
The PDF is intended as an overview only. If you’re going to build this then you will need to use the DWG file so you can take precise measurements and prints as and when you need them throughout the build. If you don’t have AutoCAD to view the file then you can download TrueView for free from the AutoDesk website which will let you measure and print as needed.
Basic Materials List:
40x40x2mm Mild steel welded box section for the main frame
50x50x2mm Mild steel welded box section for the weight plate mount and pulley mount
3mm Thick mild steel sheet for the base and all other plate pieces you see
1″ 14AWG Mild steel tube for the weight plates
M10 Part-threaded bolts, nuts, washers, rod etc
Steel sleeves, M10 internal, 15mm external
95mm Pulleys, M10 hole. Pack of 10 from Ebay Hong Kong seller
Plastic coated wire rope, 5mm overall diameter
8mm detent pin to secure the pulley assembly to its various heights on the frame
Split pins to secure the pulley assembly hinge pin
5mm Wire rope clamps and carabiner
40mmx40mm Box section plastic end caps
2mm Plastic sheet to sleeve the weight and pulley assemblies
Etch primer and gloss black top coat (approx 800ml of each)
4mm Thick mild steel spacer washers used to space pulleys from the frame according to the designs
With the exception of the main steel order, all other parts were from ebay.
Total material cost £196.92
I’ll provide more details on all of the above if needed.
Few things in the world of motorcycling are as cool as sidecars. And the allure is magnified when the rig in question is both vintage and ultra-rare.
This very classy setup was put together by South African BMW experts Cytech, and pairs a 1964 BMW R69S with a 50s-model Steib sidecar. “The client had been in touch with us for two years looking for this particular sidecar combination,” says Cytech owner Donovan Muller. “Eventually we made the match.”
And what a match it is. Steib was the sidecar of choice for BMW Motorrad in the 50s; replicas are still available, but finding an original is a tad more difficult. This one was bought from a deceased estate, as part of a bigger lot—but it was completely dismantled, and riddled with rust and amateur repair work.
Cytech’s restoration on the sidecar would rival many complete motorcycle rebuilds. The main shell was stripped, sandblasted and repaired, and the wheel fender was rebuilt with sheet metal before being painted and rubberised inside.
The sidecar’s wheel received new spokes and nipples, the hub was powdercoated, and every nut and bolt was cadmium plated. Cytech has also fitted a new aluminum bead to the fender and body, and refurbished the original tail light and Steib badge. The seat was recovered in black leather with gold pin studs.
The BMW itself was also in need of a serious restoration, and was even missing a few parts—such as the seat and exhausts. So Donovan and his team tore into it with vigour, completely overhauling the engine, gearbox and original 26mm Bing carbs.
The electrical system received a serious refresh, with a new wiring harness and ignition system, and the suspension was rebuilt. Every little detail was attended to—such as fitting tapered steering head bearings and replacing the air filter housing.
A rare long range Hoske tank was fitted, with a Karcoma fuel tap and a set of US-spec R50 handlebars to accommodate its width. Other top-shelf parts include a Denfeld bench seat and Bumm bar-end mirrors.
Then a full stainless steel exhaust system was installed, and a set of wide-lipped aluminum rims built up with stainless spokes and nipples. Metzeler rubber was fitted to the bike and sidecar’s wheels.
By default, the sidecar mounts were all placed on the right from the factory. “But for the road rules in South Africa, the sidecar must be mounted on the left,” explains Donovan. Cytech moved the mountings to to the opposite side of the bike, and finished everything in a timeless BMW livery: black with white pinstriping.
Both the R69S and the Steib are immaculate in their own right. But combined, they’re unbeatable.
It’s the perfect rig for ambling around on a Sunday afternoon, in style.
Cytech | Images by Ryan Roux.
https://www.bikeexif.com/