Greetings to the community of instructables! This is my first instructable. I will show you how I made a calf raising block for weight exercise. It came out very robust.

Step 1: Materials and Tools Needed

Obviously wood is the main material. I had some scrap wood laying around and I re-purposed it. You will also need some wood screws, metallic L shaped corners and optionally resin paper.

List of materials :

Wooden pieces

A) 9.5 x 8 x 48 cm (x2)

B) 9.5 x 8 x 70 cm (x1)

C) 9.5 x 8 x 27 cm (x1) Optional

Metallic fasteners

Wood screws 3 cm in length (x32)
7x7x5 cm L shaped metallic corners (x4)

Optional

Resin paper P 40

List of tools :

Adz
Screwdriver
Flexible sanding sponge (optional)
Clear wood varnish (optional)
Wood glue
Wood-saw
Brush
Handheld drill with 2mm drill bit
Ruler
Square
Sharp knife

Step 2: Step 1 : Wood Preparation

Take your scrap wood and remove any protruding nails using the adz.

Fill the holes left by the nails using some wood putty if you like.

Then saw the scrap wood according to the measurements. Measure twice with your ruler, then cut. Your measurements can vary depending on your initial material length. You need two identical pieces for ground support and one long piece for your calves to step on. You don't actually need the forth smaller one showing in the photo. It was a leftover from my initial scrap wood pile and I decided to use it for additional support when I am torturing my calves with heavy weights.

If your wood has rough surface like mine, you can sand it with the sanding sponge.

If you want you can paint the wood with some protective varnish. I chose a clear varnish.

Step 3: Step 2 : Glue Some Wood!

Take the large piece of wood and the smallest and glue them together in the middle using wood glue applied by the brush. Leave overnight to harden.

Step 4: Step 3 : Assembly of the Rest

Next day, assemble the calves raise block as you see it in the last picture. The square tool is your friend!

Secure the wooden pieces using the metallic corners and the screws. Where wood touches wood, you can apply wood glue for extra strength. The screws will hold the pieces firmly in contact while the glue hardens.

It is a good practice to drill pilot holes in the wood before fastening with screws to prevent the wood from splitting. Use your hand-drill for that.

Step 5: Extra : Upgrade Sole Grip With Resin Paper!

You can glue resin paper on the top surface to enhance dramatically the grip of your feet sole to the calf raise block. I used resin paper sold by the meter because it nearly matched the measurements of my wooden piece in width and I already had it. The characteristics of the paper can be shown in the photo. You can use any grit number for your resin paper you find most comfortable of course!

First apply wood glue to the back of the paper, then to the wood surface. Allow 10 minutes to pass for the glue to set and then join them together. I added some weights and left overnight. You can use weights, clamps, heavy books etc.