Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a certain distance above the ground. Walking stilts are poles equipped with steps for the feet to stand on, or straps to attach them to the legs, for the purpose of walking while elevated above a normal height. Today, were going to build some standard, walking stilts.

What you need:

• A reasonably long 2×4 (8 ft. long)
• Some length of wood 2×2 (1×1?)
• Long wood screws
• Some assorted tools: screw driver, drill, square edge, tape rule, saw

Lets get to it!

I am not going to be too detailed on this one because all of the proportions and lengths vary person to person. You apply the concept to your own body and get it to work comfortably for you. Note: I am not responsible when you break your neck.

1. Get your tape rule and measure from your feet to arm pits… thats how long you want your main supports to be.
2. With your tape rule, mark the length of your previous measurement on your piece of 2×4. Using your saw, cut each piece so you end up with two pieces the same size.
3. Take your smaller piece of wood to be used for your stand-on ledges. Since we used a 2×4, and my foot is about 11”, take the size of your shoe and divide it in half. That is the length we need each stand-on ledge to be. Mine ended up 5.5 inches per piece. Take your saw and cut each stand-on (the 2×2) piece to your desired length.
4. Next, determine which side of your main supports you would like to use. Choose the one that is most flat and stable. With your tape rule, decide then measure the desired height you would like to be raised. I used a square edge to make a perfectly straight line. This line will be where you will mount your 2×2s underneath.
5. Now, take your drill and drill two holes in each 2×2 piece… one offset to the left of center, and one offset to the right of center.
6. Take each piece and with your screws, screw them into your main supports. You are now done with your stilts so start practicing!

Tips!

When walking, hold your stilts as parallel to your thighs as possible.

If you are having an extremely hard time balancing on your stilts, you may need to stack the 2×2 pieces of wood outward so you have more of a base to stand on.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2007 at 5:43 am and is filed under Other.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.