speed bag question

**bb310** · 06-09-2006 02:21 AM

Hey, I was wondering if the thickness of the platform of the speed bag matters. I have seen sets for $40 that were 3/4" thick, then I have seen one for $70 that was 1" thick, and then I see ones for about $500 and up that are 1 3/4" thick. Does the thickness really make a big difference? Also I was wondering about what size speedbag to get. One more question, if it is eaiser to make a platform, what wood should I use. Thanks a lot in advance.

**Von Milash** · 06-09-2006 07:06 PM

I'm embarking on making my own too. Trouble is, good dressed lumber is tough to come by. I have to wait to make a trip home to find some. I'm going to use 1.75" oak or (depending on price) honduras mahogany. Laminate, thickness plane, band saw, sand nice and smooth. A heavy, hard wood will be rock solid. Those platforms take a beating so the thicker and heavier the better.

The bigger the bag the slower it is, and the easier it is to learn with. But I say just get a smaller one to begin with because you'll very quickly learn and out-grow it. ie, it'll very quickly be too slow for you.

**helminth** · 06-09-2006 07:36 PM

I was thinking about making one two. Right now I am just using a cheap $50 dollar platform and it's getting the job done. But the thicker ones are alot smoother if you ask me.
I agree with Von Milash about just getting a small bag over a larger one because if you do it your going to learn it no matter what.
I think the title 5 by 8 speed bag is really good, I am currently using the everlast 6 by 4 inch bag and I love it. I call it my peanut bag because it's
so little.

**bb310** · 06-12-2006 08:48 AM

I was thinking of using that MDF board. It is supposed to be really dense. It comes in 3/4".

**Von Milash** · 06-13-2006 06:05 PM

mdf might be ok...

**bb310** · 06-18-2006 07:24 AM

Ok so today I went out to home depot and got all my supplies to build my platform. I used the MDF board, it was 3/4" thick, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, so I cut it in half and screwed em together and used some wood glue. Then I put on two shelve brackets and screwed them in and mounted it to the studs in my shed. It works fine, and it is 1.5" thick and 24" wide and long. Just thought i'd post this so if anyone else needs to know how to build a platform and what wood works. It took me like a half hour to build so it is not time consuming.

**BoxingCoachBW** · 06-18-2006 08:33 AM

I agree with the MDF..

Its messy when cutting , but lasts forever...

I have several platforms built for my Gym from MDF...

We too two pieces 32"x32", glued and screwed them together(Making them approx. 1.5" thick). I then bolted to my mounts made from 2" angle iron. On the face of the platform I covered it with a sheet of 1/8" thick acryllic sheeting for better action from the speedbag.(cut the center out for swivel placement.

I guarantee this platform is better than any platform sold by any of the top named suppliers...

**Von Milash** · 06-18-2006 06:14 PM

CoachBW,

Can you give more info on the acrylic sheeting? What department it would be found in, what it's actually for, etc. I've never hard of it. Of course I've heard of acrylic but not sheets of it.

I must assume the adversarial role here..... I can't see anything being as solid as 3/4" maple or oak. Steel, but that's about it. But I'll go check out the mdf, which I know has a plethora opf applications.... even things like guitar amps.

**BoxingCoachBW** · 06-19-2006 12:20 AM

Acryllic sheeting is very similar to plexiglass, but has a clear to solid coloring scheme as is not used in same situations as plexiglass,,,plus I believe that its alot cheaper than plexiglass...

Plexiglass is about $15-20 for a 3x3 sheet, I paid $10 for an 4x10 sheet...

MDF is not as solid as oak, but it is solid enough for speedbag platforms...