Volume for Climbing

Volumes are a way to add variation to a flat wall, the are great for setting more interesting and thought provoking routes.

3/4 in ply wood

2 by 4 scrap

drill

drill press

belt sander

circular saw

compund miter

finish nailer

contruction adhesive or wood glue

bondo

polyester resin

70 grit aluminim oxide

fender washer

sand paper

a few paint brushes

brass brush

you need a very acurate design for your volume becasue a few degrees of error can drasticaly reduce the quality of the final product.

Ft might be helpful to use an angle finder. If the edges of the wood are straight you can draw off of them as long as only acute angels go against the edge.

Cut out all of the sides exept for the top. Its easier to trace the top since its simple and thta leaves a little bit of room for error.

Glue and nail the three of the pieces together to for a partial box.

Add braces to the corners with glue and nails. I just used scrap ply wood. if possible put the nails in from the exterior so the dont come through.

Glue and nail the fourth face on.

Add braces to the corners and trace out the shape of the top face.

Glue and nail the top face on.

cut out a 2 by four to fit inside the volume and glue it down.

Hammer down the 2 by 4 to make sure its in all the way.

Nail the 2 by 4 from the sides and top to secure it.

Use finish screws to add strength to the 2*4. I used 8 screws. all of the cimbers weight will be on the 2*4 so make sure its strong.

snad down all of the edges and rough spots. Make sure the volume is the shape you want.

Use bondo to fill cracks, holes and imperfections.

sand off the bondo. you may need anouthe layr of bondo to fill everything I usually repeat the process 2-3 times.

Use the drill press to drill 2 holes. the first should be the size of you washer and go through the plywood. the second should be a little bigger than 3/8 and go all the way through.

Drill holes on the side to acomidate for a screw. You will also need to drill a bigger hole for the head.(not pictured)

Push washers into the screw holes with a punch.

Coat volume in polyester resin, then cover the volume in aluminum oxide. you cant add too much exxes will just fall off. Allow the texture to dry then repeat for a second coat. Here is a good video on how to do it: https://youtu.be/65PFcQFxGFw

After allowing texture to cure use a brass brush to remove loose texture.