So you want to be an athlete?

[Delaney]

... second that, good advice and gratitude for your sharing it!

[Stout]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread - I use an 18" shoelace tied to a sparkplug socket to practice my footword and timing. My coach taught this to me. Works wonders!

[Alan H]

I made GGGP a super-lightweight practice weight.
one, 6-inch long, 4-inch diameter PVC plastic cylinder....two PVC plastic endcaps..... some PVC cement.
One 6-inch long, 3/8ths inch eye bolt. Extra washers and nuts.

I glued one of the end caps on to the PVC cylinder, and then when it dried, filled the thing with cement and a dozen lead wheel weights.

I drilled a 3/8th inch hole in the center of the other PVC cap and put the eye bolt in, with the threaded end sticking down....the eye is resting right on top of the PVC cap. I then threaded two sets of washers/nuts onto the eye bolt threads, cranked them down and locked them in place with JB Weld.

I then glue'd this PVC cap onto the cylinder. This pushed the washers and threaded end of the eye bolt well into the cement.

Wait 24 hours.....ready to throw. Total weight, with ring handle and rope to connect the two is about 8 pounds, or roughly half of GGGP's light weight for distance. This is perfect for practicing footwork, or to give to lady-friends or kids who want to try this throwing stuff. Total cost was about $25, plus the handle, and it looks cool. She hasn't told me that she broke it, yet, and it's been 3 months so I assume it's still going strong.

[okiwen]

Will you please post a picture of this "tool" for me?

[PanhandleThrower]

I have a good weight for a hammer, but I can not find any sch. 80 pvc with either a threaded end or a bell end. Are there any nationwide stores that would most likely carry either of these items? I've checked our local Lowes, and it was a scratch.

[o1d_dude]

Schedule 40 PVC (gray electrical conduit) will work just fine. A ten foot length should cost no more than $2 a length so buy several. The do break from time to time.

Use the flared end to hold the weight places in place.

[PanhandleThrower]

I've felt the sch. 40, and am just concerned that it's 'too flimsy'. But, now that I think about it, when centrical force is applied, it won't matter how hard or soft a pipe is, at least it's worth an experiment or two.

[Lockhart]

Reading this just answered every single question and curiosity I ever had about the different events. Thank you to Yaish for starting this and everyone that contributed.

[Alan H]

Here in Nor Cal, essentially all our hammers have sched 40 handles in competition. There might still be one or two with rattan handles on the truck, but I kind of doubt it.

[PanhandleThrower]

I'll give the sch. 40 a try, thanks Allen.