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2014-12-26

Balance Beam

My daughter received an early Christmas present from her Nooka, gymnastic classes!

She enjoyed practically every aspect of these classes, well except for the uneven bars but I don't blame her one bit there. She talked about the balance beam a couple times and all I could think was, well that's something easy I can make and do so for under $22.


After some initial research on official sizes of balance beams I decided to shorten the 16 footer and do a short 8' practice beam and have it sit about 7" off the floor. 

I started with 3 pine 2x4's that I sanded down to reduce the overall thickness (was shooting for a 4" wide beam) and to round over the edges. I then glued and screwed the 2x's together. I left (2) 3 1/2" gaps at either end to receive the removable 2x4 feet.

diy homemade balance beam wood 2x diy homemade balance beam wood 2x

I didn't know if there would be potential for toe pinching as the boards may move over time so I taped a thin board on the top side.

diy homemade balance beam wood 2x  diy homemade balance beam wood 2x

I went to the fabric store during a 50% off upholstery vinyl. Fabric generally comes in 54" wide so I had to stitch the two halves together on my sewing machine. It flattened out well once it was pulled tight. The trickiest part was how to fold heavy fabric at the ends and not look horrible. It took several tries to find the best solution. I started installing the fabric in the center and used a hammer stapler to tack it to the wood. I then pulled it tight lengthwise and temporarily stapled the ends before wrapping the rest of the beam.


diy homemade balance beam wood 2x diy homemade balance beam wood 2x

It turned out a lot better than I thought it would and both my daughter and her younger brother loved playing on it... even if were used for non-gymnastic things.

diy homemade balance beam wood 2x

2 comments:

  1. que telas o de que material son aconsejables para forrar la viga de equilibrio.?

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    1. The fabric is 100% Polyester Faux Leather. I found it in the Vinyl Upholstery section of my local craft store. I wasn't sure exactly what to use either when visiting the store. I knew I wanted something with texture for grip as well as something sturdy enough to last a long time. Not having a strong sewing machine I couldn't go too thick either. In the end it has worked well for me.

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