Introduction: Do Try This at Home!
Check out the video for a more detailed instructions, or read on to scratch some surface:)
Step 1: Cut
To start making these stilts, get yourself either some knot-less pine or some birch wood and cut two straight pieces out. Choose the right length for you. Mine are 230cm. The lighter wood you use, the easier it will be to later learn how to walk. Keep in mind that you need these to be durable too, so try to avoid knots in the wood since they can weaken the wood tremendously.
Step 2: Insert Pegs
For the pegs I also used pine wood. I drilled the first set of holes 80cm from the end, and the second pair is 100cm from the other end. Poured some glue on em and knocked them in.
Step 3: Round
Now I rounded out the edges for better grip and weight reduction. You gotta be careful not to take too much off because these things still need to be durable.
Step 4: Start Learning!
It took me about 2-3 days to get good at this. It's definitely harder than it looks! Check out the video to see some of our walking attempts!
4 Comments
5 years ago
Oh, my gosh! This brings back memories. My grandpa made me a pair of stilts 50 years ago when I was still a young’in. The only thing he did differently was to make the foot pegs from a 2” x 4” and he cut a “U” shape in the foot peg so my feet wouldn’t slip off the sides of the foot pegs. I even learned to skip on my stilts! :)
Reply 5 years ago
That's pretty cool! This is the way we made and used them throughout childhood so this was the only method I knew:)
Tip 5 years ago
Nice stilts.
Some may find it easier to get the hang of, if you 'twist' you arms around the stilts.
This means, having your arms in front of the stilts. They are sort resting in (or right behind) your arm pit. that way, you get 3 contact points on each stilt, instead of 2, and the force forward your body excerts on the stilts, is 'blocked' by your shoulders, instead of having to use arm strength.
I can see from your construction, that it will only work on the lower pegs, though.
Anyway, that's how I learned to use stilts. :-)
this image shows it:
http://denstoredanske.dk/@api/deki/files/71860/=Kopi_af_juli_2010_045.jpg
Reply 5 years ago
Huh! That's really interesting! I've seen people use them like that before but never thought it'd be easier that way.. Thanks for the great comment, mortenlc! I'm gonna have to give that a try