Homemade Hand Grip Machine

Article and pics by Philsworld.

My neighbor, 23 years old, plays softball and he is totally into it. He works part time for a tree service and his forearms are very strong. But, he wanted me to build him a homemade hand grip machine for his forearms\grip.

I had some spare machine plates, guide rods and other parts left over from another machine I took apart for the parts. I put some drawings on paper and in 30 minutes I had a plan. Over the next week and a half I built this gripper.

I gave it to him for free, but he helped me pick up some fitness equipment\machines in Georgia. I live in Florida. It was a 900 mile round trip.

I measured the grip distance specifically for his hands and then cut the cable and placed the stop blocks. He loves it. It wasn't too hard to build. This will give you guys some idea what to do if you want to build one too.

The numbers on the plates don't stand for anything. Each plate is 10 pounds. The plates came from an old machine with two stacks. I just picked plates out and made them work and didn't put them in any particular order.

I purposely chose plywood for the handle to slide against. It's really hard and that makes the handle slide easier. And, I left a little space so it moves around easily. Honestly, if I had a mig welder or stick, I'd have used metal. But, I think it turned out decent and it works great. My neighbor is very happy with it. His friends are impressed too. If the handle starts to bind or drag sliding up against the plywood, a little Vaseline would work great there for lubrication.

Webmaster’s Note

Nice job! For lifters with smaller hands and fingers, I would recommend using two smaller diameter pipes for the handles (like 1/2"). The smaller the diameter the greater range of motion your grip will have.