DIY Climbing Pegboard

Remember that scene in Vision Quest where Louden Swain climbed that pegboard in the gym and blew all his team mates away?  No?  Anyone?  If not, you must be under 40.  Anyway, it was a great moment, and in the recent years, thanks to CrossFit, they have made a comeback.

As far as craftsmanship woodworking skills go, you don't need a whole heck of a lot to complete this project... consider it a good gateway project into the world of woodworking.  However, you DO need some quality tools, otherwise it's going to take a lifetime to complete.

And as far as costs go, this one didn't cost me very much at all.  Primarily because the main board I used was a scrap piece of wood I found.  And when I started, it really did look scrap... nicked, scuffed, sun bleached and paint.  But in the end, I think it turned out looking great!

So, here's what you need to make your own DIY Pegboard.

• One 2x12 board (length depending on how high your ceiling is)
• One 1/14" dowel rod
• One sheet of 1/8" or 1/4" plywood

And as far as tools I used for this project:

• skill saw
• drill press (with a 1 1/4" drill bit)
• speed square (not necessary but a big help with drawing my lines)
• tape measure

So, my pegboard didn't need to be too long since I only have 9 foot ceilings in my garage.  So I cut my board down to four feet (actually slightly shorter due to some rookie skill saw skills... you'll understand if you watch the video).

Next I drew three lines to mark the rows where the holes will go.  One directly down the center, and the other two 2 1/2 inches from the sides.

Then along those lines I marked where the holes would go.  I spaced them 6 inches apart.  The left and right lines had the holes even, with the center line staggering the wholes from the left and right... they were also 6 inches apart, but spaced in-between the holes on the edges.

After that it's time to drill your holes!  I predrilled small, shallow pilot holes with my hand drill to help make the process a little easier for when I got to the drill press... helpful, but not necessary.  Then the big 1 1/4" holes.  Like I said, I strongly recommend doing this with a drill press.  My crummy battery powered hand drill doesn't even have enough battery power to drill one of these big holes, so doing 20+ would take forever.

Next, you need to put a back on the board to prevent the pegs from going all the way through the board where they could potentially go through the wall and then pinch your hands.  A thin 1/8" or 1/4" sheet of plywood should do the job just fine.  Just trace the shape of the board onto your plywood and then cut it out and attach to the back of the board. (Nails, screws or glue would all work.  Since it's going to be secured to the wall, the back won't be going anywhere).  I chose to go a slightly different route for the back of my board that I explain in the video above.

Finally, you just need to cut two pieces of your dowel rod to make your climbing pegs.  I cut mine between 5 1/2 and 6 inches... whatever feels right for your hand.

Now if you want just a basic, functioning, no frills pegboard, you're done!  But if you like the frills you can do what I did.  First, I added a little branding and stenciled on the name of my blog.  I saved money by printing out the stencil and cutting out the letters with an exacto knife... honestly, the process of cutting out those letters took longer than it did to make the whole rest of the board... BUT WORTH IT.  I then took my handy dandy stencil and spray painted on the words.   Then I added a nice wood stain to really give it that classy, professional feel.  It turned out great!  It looks nothing like that piece of scrap wood I started with.

And there you have it!  Your very own DIY Pegboard!  The only thing left to do is mount it on the wall.  Just make sure you find the studs or you'll be sorry... you'll probably need to stretch some 2x4's across the wall from stud to stud, and then mount your board to them.

Best of luck, and happy climbing!