Making a punching bag

I've recently managed to acquire some space where I can train a bit and get back into shape but, I'm lacking the funds as I'm sure plenty of people are now.

So, I've gone about making a heavy bag by filling an army surplus kit bag with shreds of clothes, which I was assured by another website would be enough weight, if I packed it tightly, to make the bag weigh 70-80lbs.

After having packed about 1/6th of the bag, very tightly, I'm starting to doubt the weight of the final result as it only weighs 8ish lbs so far.

Also I found sources informing that the best way to fill a bag is to line it in foam, place a bag of sand at the bottom, wrapped my many other bags to prevent breakage and then stuffing the top with tightly packed shredded clothes again.

So, if anyone has made a bag, or at least knows of the best way to stuff it I'd be greatly appreciative of any info :)

Thanks guys

Never made one but packing the rags in tight enough might be a problem if you want weight, I've had rag filled bags but they are pretty light and I hate them moving too much. If you can hang one on a tree in your garden fill it with sand and then water it to make it heavier, I used to put targets on it for liver shots etc

Not long ago, I got an empty 100 lbs bag, and filled it with rice husks. I loved using rice husks as a filler. It didn't react to the weather like sawdust, so it could be kept outside, rain or shine. It was soft enough that I could hit it with minimalist bag gloves. It didn't get too compressed on the bottom even after months of use. Hanged up to where the bottom of bag was at waist height, I could even throw half-uppercuts at the bottom. My only complaint is that it weighed about 70 lbs. On the flipside I was able to work on my footwork more, and hit it as hard as I wanted with reckless abandon, without fear of hurting my hands .

Now I just have a 100 lb everlast bag that I got off of craiglist for 50 bucks, which is alright for me.

If I was going to make a punching bag, I'd see if I could get a large empty punching bag. It's a pity that it's so pricey online. :-\ For filler, shredded rags are okay, and come to think of it, maybe even using lint from your clothes dryer would be better. ;D

When hanging it, if you use a longer chain/rope, the bag will have much more freedom of movement, which will force you to move a lot more than with a bag that is stationary. I recommend hanging it higher, so that punches at head level are not close to the top of the bag which would otherwise would injure your wrists.