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alan_ellis
Jan 26, 2007, 6:16 PM
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I'm building a bouldering wall in my garage. I ordered a Metolius holds mega-pack and received them today. I was somewhat disappointed to find that most of the holds were screw-in instead of bolt-on. My plan was to build the wall with pre-drilled bolt holes and t-nuts so I could move the holds easily at will.
Should I send the screw-in holds back and get all bolt-on? What are your opinions of screw-in vs bold-on holds. Thanks for the help.
Alan
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cintune
Jan 26, 2007, 6:26 PM
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Put the screw-ons over framing where bolts won't go.
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jjhellstrom
Jan 26, 2007, 6:31 PM
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It really depends on what and where you are placing them. I have all pre-drilled holes in my wall, for the obvious variety factor, but I still like to buy screw on foot holds and I have bought some larger screw on holds as well. If you don't plan on moving things around or if you have any nooks or crannies that you can't get a hole or t-nut in, screw-on's are good.. They definitely are cheaper and as far as performance, i would say there is very little difference. Just less potential to make easy variations. I would probably keep them myself, and just continue to fill your wall with holds.
One quick question and comment.. you are buying holds before you have your wall built? Also, when you purchase these, the manufacturers usually specify if the holds are bolt on or screw on, whether they come w/ hard ware i.e t-nuts and bolts, etc..
oh and post pics when done!
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dynosore
Jan 26, 2007, 7:14 PM
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I like screw ons, cordless drill makes short work of moving them and they're generally cheaper. You can put them exactly where you want, not just where the t-nut is. I've never had one pull off either, using 3/4" plywood. Have a set of ten nice Metolius handholds coming right now, only cost 18$ from sierra trading post.
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alpinismo_flujo
Jan 26, 2007, 8:04 PM
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You need both. Don't be bummed...that's why you got so many of them for the price..
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sidepull
Jan 26, 2007, 8:46 PM
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a_f is right, you should have read the details - most of those multi hold packs are watered down with screw-ons. Don't get me wrong, I have some screw-ons on my wall but very few and I usually specifically choose them to replicate holds I see outside on problems I'm training for so I would never indescriminately buy screw-ons.
I doubt you can send just the screw-ons back. I think the solution of using them on the framing might help. Good luck.
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alan_ellis
Jan 26, 2007, 9:09 PM
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Thanks for the help and responses. After checking out a couple of sites and reading your responses, I decided that the screw-in holds will be OK. After looking at my space (100 sq ft), my real problem is not enough holds. So, I'll be ordering more holds and making sure that any future purchases will be bolt-on.
One more question: The little guidebook that comes with the mega-pack says that each 4x8 piece of plywood needs 100-250 t-nuts pre-placed. That seems like an awful lot. Do I really need that many? Thanks again...
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cintune
Jan 26, 2007, 9:21 PM
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If you can access the back of the wall you can always drill holes as you need them. That's what I did. If you won't be able to get to the back, then you'll have to predrill a bunch.
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cicali
Jan 26, 2007, 9:25 PM
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I am just about finished with my woodie and the sheets of plywood which I have already drilled and placed t-nuts on have 90 (I am almost positive that is the #) t-nuts on each of them. I started the t-nuts 2 feet of of the ground because most problems do not start below that. I feel as if I have plenty of t-nuts per 4x8 sheet of plywood. For any holds below two feet I will be using screw on jibs for the most part. Good luck!!!
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dynosore
Jan 26, 2007, 9:26 PM
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If you go on 6" centers with t-nuts and start 6" in from the edges, you'll need 105 t-nuts (7 X 15 grid). I wouldn't want them more than 6" apart.
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alpinismo_flujo
Jan 26, 2007, 9:50 PM
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I had a full blown gym in my garage many years ago - problem is you wind up climbing there all the time and consequently get bored easy. So best to leave many options so you can mix it up. i.e. many T-nuts.
If you can't access the back of the sheets then do yourself a favor and Liquid Nail each T-nut so you don't have trouble with ones that lost their "grip". Liquid Nails will hold them in place really well.
Ah, wish I had a private gym again...
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alan_ellis
Jan 26, 2007, 10:28 PM
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I won't be able to access the back of the wall. Thanks for the liquid nails idea.
My wall is being built to supplement my gym workout. We have a pretty good gym in OKC, but being so far away, I can't seem to get there more than once a week. This way, I can get a climbing workout every other day or so.
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crimp2bfree
Jan 26, 2007, 11:07 PM
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Drill holes with 6 in spacing or closer. Then randomly drill like 25-50 more holes an you will be happy. The combination helps with variety.
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rocknice2
Jan 26, 2007, 11:29 PM
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dynosore wrote: If you go on 6" centers with t-nuts and start 6" in from the edges, you'll need 105 t-nuts (7 X 15 grid). I wouldn't want them more than 6" apart.
I maked a 6" grid pattern then ramdomly drilled close to the X [within 2"] IMO I wish I had made a 4" pattern.
But that's what screw-ons are for
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unrooted
Feb 1, 2007, 7:08 PM
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I love having both, even with a tight grid (tighter the better like 4" staggered would be really nice but expensive) I still NEED screw ons, I wish my gym could use them but the concrete texture crap that goes on gets chipped to easily. Anyways I love the crater screw ons, they are uerathane so they don't break very easily compared to resin (i think all holds should be eurathane, but oh well).
While on the subject I have quite a few holds that are on my friends wall, he just got divorced so I need to get them back, if you need more holds I could sell them to you, about 2-3 bucks each (plus shipping).
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