A Great Build-at-home Disc Golf Target (or a better use for 55-gal drums!)

Step 4 Step 3, Keep cutting!

Step 3: Keep cutting! You need to cut your chain into 24” lengths. 31’ of cut chain isn’t as common as the 10’ lengths you can buy by the box [almost anywhere] so you don’t have any scrap when you’re done. 3 boxes of 10’ chain will give you 15 pieces (that’s why I use 15 chains…12 is the minimum but that few won’t stop as many discs as 15 will and if you buy it by the box you’re gonna get stuck with some left over chain; might as well get good use of it).

• I use a composite cut-off blade in my angle grinder to cut the links. I clamp the to-be-cut link in a bench vice, cut the link with the composite blade and then (while the link is still clamped in the vice) use a hammer to ‘twist’ one end of the link enough to provide enough clearance to get the chain apart. If you do cut your chain apart this way PLEASE, PLEASE use safety glasses and hearing protection! You DO NOT want to be on the receiving end of a shattered disk at 7,500 rpm…trust me, it’s not pleasant (and could even be fatal!).
• See the picture to see my set up. If you don’t have these tools you can use a hack-saw, a reciprocating saw (with a bi-metal blade) or (if you’re really cheap) you can have the Home Depot dude cut out each and every 2’ length for you, but if you’re going to make more than one target [like me!] you may think twice about this (if you value any relationship that you may have developed there).

Also note: I also use Passing Link chain (instead of Straight link chain) because it is wider than Straight link. Since the only job of the chain is to stop the disc it helps to have as much ‘width’ as possible; besides, if it does cost more per foot it will only be about 3 to 4 cents more. The chain is the single most expensive part of this design so it won’t break the bank to not go cheap here.