this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
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If they have the two-column/gantry style cable machine and you’re willing to BYO bar, you could add removable cable attachment points to each end with common pipe and cable hardware.
For example, on each end of your bar, you could slide on a shaft collar like this
But replace the set screw with a shallow eyebolt like this
Then attach cables of lower-inside pulleys to the eyebolts at each end of your bar, and test.
It won’t replicate the dynamics of plates but should let you find the correct angle of resistance into the floor and maintain your form while training with cables.
I'm fascinated by your knowledge of various fastening/affixing hardware (such as a shaft collar, which I didn't know exists but can see its immense usefulness). Did you learn about all these devices from your job? If so, where does someone like me learn about all these various cheap metal apparatuses since I enjoy building my own stuff as it relates to my various hobbies, including but not limited to, climbing/fishing/beekeeping? This type of knowledge would be extremely useful if I can find out where to attain such knowledge! Just looking to be pointed in the right direction so I can get started more easily, such as maybe a couple keywords or search terms to lead me down a deep-dive rabbit hole.
This is chatGPT's recommendations, if I don't hear back I'll just start with this list. 😁
Oh sorry, I just saw your edits with the additional questions and gpt image.
So for specific keywords and rabbit holes, I highly recommend both the cable swaging and turnbuckle rigging and here’s why:
I picked way overspec cable and hardware for looks only; the braided cable in the first photo is rated for the weight of an SUV and I just put books and a turntable on it.
But it was legit useful to know 2 years later. A friend’s garage had a wall frame damaged by flooding and the roof corner was sagging. One turnbuckle cable ran across the hypotenuse of the damaged frame stood the wall back up and held the roof up for weeks while he arranged the repair.
Anyway I’d look at that one first for sure 👍 GL
In my case, I learned by making stuff I wanted or needed that ~~didn’t exist yet~~ I couldn’t find. Once you start doing that you inevitably start running into problems that require slightly more specialized knowledge to solve correctly. But you don’t have to learn everything at once.
So I imagine any “maker” category of content would be a good start, since they often start with the same premise and talk through their techniques, resources, and tools in the process.
Here’s a maker from the old mythbusters TV show talking about making things: https://www.ted.com/talks/simone_giertz_why_you_should_make_useless_things
GLHF