Finishing Touches...

The last part of the project was screwing thin pieces of plywood at each end of the boxes to prevent the weight from rolling off. I had two lengths of plywood leftover that when cut in half would serve this purpose perfectly. I also plan on putting a couple of handles on the boxes. I'll probably use rope since I think I have some laying around and that's the inexpensive option compared to buying gate handles.

A few final thoughts to add...

After you've screwed the boxes together with the deck screws but before you lag them together, stack them to make sure they all line up and fit. This is especially important after screwing the tabs in place. That way if something is off you wont have to go back and undo any lag screws. Also, do what you can to buy 16' lengths of 2x12s. Its a long piece of lumber but it is more economical and the spare wood I had in the end saved me from having to buy more. I even had one center support split and was able to replace it and have wood to spare in the end.

Overall I'm pleased with the end product. I only spent $164 which is almost half of some estimates. It took several hours to complete - I ended up building it over the course of a week, working on it here and there after work at night. If I had to guess total time spent I would say between 6 & 8 hours.

Before you begin make sure you read the instructions at Catalyst Athletics and review what the guy at Auburn did. I posted links to both those sources in my first post below. There is valuable information in both sources that may help you with the project.