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I just got a new pull-up bar and am slightly concerned about the design. The bar itself is attached to the main assembly in such a way that its only support comes from two bolts on either side that bear the entire body weight load in a downward direction. Even though it feels very secure to me, one reviewer of this product says that one of the bolt's threads stripped on him during a workout. Therefore, I want to reinforce the assembly as a measure of protection.

The first thing that entered my mind was to remove the bolt, apply epoxy to the threads, and reattach it. This would pretty much be a permanent solution which I am not opposed to, but I'd really like a solution that would allow me to disassemble all parts if I needed to.

I also thought of a possible way to use some kind of strap or cable that would wrap around the bottom of the bar and over the top of the handle as I attempted to illustrate in the pic, but I don't know what kind of strap could be used for that.

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    Don't take action based on one product review. Chances are good that the user didn't assemble the thing correctly. Body weight doesn't strip threads on bolts. A photo of the situation would be helpful to confirm this suspicion. – isherwood Jan 22 '20 at 16:27
  • That bar sure looks welded to the vertical member. Do I need glasses?? – JACK Jan 22 '20 at 17:32
  • To me it looks like a cap welded to the bottom with a radius to match the bar diameter. – mikes Jan 22 '20 at 23:05
  • It's not welded. The horizontal bar is fastened to the vertical bar via bolt. What you're seeing as welded is probably the cradle piece that has the hole that the bolt screws into – oscilatingcretin Jan 22 '20 at 23:58
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In general, bolts are great fasteners, and unless the engineers did a particularly poor job designing the connection, you shouldn't have to worry about a properly assembled pull up bar. The issue comes when bolts start to loosen up and move.

If that bolt were to loosen up a bit, it would start to jiggle and move as you worked out. A pull-up bar will have 100s of pounds of force on it, so a loose connection will get looser and move more and more until the bolt strips.

You give the idea of "epoxy" on the threads, but there are actually "thread locker" compounds used on threaded connectors that are made for this. Any automotive parts store (and most home improvement stores) will sell thread locker. It typically comes in a "blue" color for removable connections and "red" for permanent, but you need to read the package. For this use, permanent should be fine, because even if you want to take down the pull-up bar and move it or sell it, you probably don't need to take it apart.

I wouldn't bother with a reenforcement strap. Make sure all the connections are tight and secure and you should be fine.

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  • Yeah, unless the bolts are tiny you aren't going to strip threads with body weight. – isherwood Jan 22 '20 at 16:26
  • Good info. However, about threadlockers, aren't those to ensure that threaded fasteners don't loosen up on their own due to vibration as opposed to protecting against pull-out via sheer force? – oscilatingcretin Jan 23 '20 at 0:08
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    @oscilatingcretin, Yea, I’m saying the bolt never will pull out if it stays tight. But if it does loosen, it can wiggle and damage the threads. So, use thread lock to ensure it never loosens in the first place. So you are right - it doesn’t add strength. It just stops it from loosening. – JPhi1618 Jan 23 '20 at 0:11
  • Ah, makes sense after rereading your answer. I just ordered some Loctite red 271 off Amazon (cheaper than Menard's) and will have it tomorrow. I'll come back to mark as answer after I apply and reattach the bar. – oscilatingcretin Jan 23 '20 at 0:24
  • That’s good stuff, but it does require heat to remove (really hot) so don’t use it on anything you ever want to take apart. It’s good to use on annoying stuff that loosens like furniture. – JPhi1618 Jan 23 '20 at 0:27

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