In this 15 minute version we show you how to make your own pair of wood stilts. The material list you will need can be found at www.StiltFactory.com. The skill level to make these is roughly equivalent to installing a door lock.
Thank you for this information. I intend to dominate my school’s Olympics for my senior class as the competitor for craziest dressed. I will become all powerful and rise above(literally) all my competitors. Again, thank you and I will train diligently to become dexterous in stilts.
day 4!!!!!!!!!!!! finished and tried out this design, the work beautifully. i stilted for about 1 hour the first night and had lots of fun walking around and around my yard. these felt super sturdy and comfortable. awesome design. i built a 2 foot set for a costume and plan on making another set for my brother. keep up the good work and thanks for so much fun!
You know, I didn`t even realize that there is actually a manufacturer of stilts! thank you for posting this , it brought back such good memories of my youth. I would be making those stilts using branches of trees back in the day in Winnipeg, Manitoba . Just pure unadulterated fun! Thank you again ! I will eventually show and build this for my grandson .
My stilts turned out great! The supplies are maybe $25. I used heavy Velcro instead of the belt. I made a second pair for my friend and she loves them. I was walking around my yard trimming trees this summer with them.
I made my first strap-on stilts more than 30 years ago from some photos from a circus arts book I had found. This video and shared knowledge would have made it a lot easier.
i found that the pvc pipe was digging uncomfortably into my shins, so i just removed it entirely and wrapped a small towel around my legs for a bit of padding under the knee and secure it to my legs with two thick velcro straps wrapped tightly which are bolted to the wood on the side. after i did that they work great now and are not uncomfortable and i was able to get up on them and after only and hour and a half or so of practice i can now walk around without even needing a walking stick for support
I love hearing this. By all means it's about comfort and adapting this basic design. There's so many variables to comfort compounded by all the different bodies! Also just a 1/4" movement of the shoe can result in good changes. Thanks for posting. Happy Stilting :)
This works? My biggest complaint with my first pair was the plastic flower pots my friend's dad used as leg support. I used to have to shove a washcloth behind my calf. And I was worried about the PVC for the new set I'm building myself because I don't have a heat gun. I might just omit it all together thanks for the food for thought 🤔
@@hanananah it does work, however you still need to make some way of securing your calves to the top of the stilts. I changed that method from the hard PVC pipes to soft cloth straps and Velcro.
When you cut the PVC pipe, does it spring out to the c shape, or do you have to widen it? And do you use one cut along the side, or do you remove a section?
You mentioned the list of supplies (wood measurements etc.) were on your website,,, I couldnt find it anywhere. Can you help me out. I need to build a pair for my daughter in by thurs. Thank you a ton!!
hi. sorry to bump an old video, I was wondering what the weight limit might be on stilts made following this tutorial. Additionally, where would you reinforce and with what process to increase the weight limit? thanks so much
Mitri, the short answer is it depends. Because it's wood and all grains and species have a different kind of strength. I make no guarantees for safety. Eventually wood breaks, but I've found that increasing the dimensions help such as 2x2 (1-1/2"x 1-1/2") could be increased to 2x3 or a fraction thereof. Always check your stilts before you go out, if you hear squeaking or feel somethings not right, then come down. If you want some more help/advice hit me up david@stiltfactory.com
Yes I've seen the original "Spirit Walker" what a great creation and so many have been inspired to create their own. Yes you could create stilts for that. It looks like most of them are 2' high and that will depend on your arm stilt height. Check out other videos on the channel that show the combination of arm/leg stilts. Good luck!
I can't really say without seeing exactly what you're talking about, but you need something with force like a pipe clamp. The rubber feet are under a lot of stress.
I live in Florida and fly RC airplanes and quadcopters in parks, and I keep losing them in hard to access swampy areas. I have painstakingly recovered all but one, which I still intend to try and locate - in very hard to access terrain that is muddy, covered with vegetation, and areas with 2-3 feet of water. Also snakes and gators. I would let me to stay above all of that, which brings me here. Do you think stilts could be put to use in this type of terrain? Would you do anything different when building the stilts, if so? If I could make this work, I will be able to enjoy my hobby with more confidence - and bring stilts along with.
I am no expert but i am guessing the stilts will get stuck in the mud and you will drown after losing your footing.Personally i would not risk it..cheers
We have a video on the page which shows "Advanced Stilting Techniques" in that you can see me walking partially into the ocean and the key is arm stilts. If you don't have those, at least bring some 10' poles, move slow into the swamp and see what is possible. I'd love to hear back on your adventure.
I found stilts online for 260 dollars! They were 2 feet tall. Before I even attempt to try and get my parents permission, about how much would this cost?
So, can I use another material instead of wood? If yes what material you would recommend that is easy to find and it doesn't need much work to make this?
Wood is the first material I would suggest unless you know how to work with bamboo? Other than aluminum or carbon fiber I'm not aware of any other materials that would give you the strength you need and to avoid any catastrophic failures. Best of luck whatever way you go.
go to the how to at the top of the right of the page, then scroll down to make your own stilts, there is an email request there for the set list, i got mine in under 30 seconds :) hope that helped
m0nkst3r This is from his email to me: First we gather the materials: (2) - 1 ½” x 1 ½” x 3’ wood (The lumber yard measures these as 2” x2”) (2) - 1 ½” x 1 ½” x 2’ wood 12” section of 4”PVC (white) pipe (2) 2” x 39” nylon webbing 2” Velcro 22” of Hook and 18” of Loop (2) 2” Dee rings (4) 2 ½” x ¼”- 20 (threads per inch) hex bolts (8) ¼” stop nuts (great feature! Stops them from coming undone) (4) 4” or 4 ½” x ¼” -20 (threads per inch) hex bolts (12) 1 ¼” x ¼” washers (1/4” hole) (4) ¾”x ¼” washers (1/4” hole) 12” x 24” x ¾” 5-ply plywood (good grade) bike tire, preferably used and not too knobby. (16” minimum) (2) #36 hose clamps fits 1 ¾”- 2 ¾” diameter 2 volley ball knee pads Optional tradesman knee pads to wear over the calf brace *Not shown in the video is that you can wear hard knee pads over the stilt calf support as addition protection. Good quality wood glue Tung oil and paint thinner to finish and seal wood (wikipedia has a great write up on application)
Good question- What is the distance between the 9"and 1.5" surfaces on the trapezoid?- It coincides with the overlap of the shin support and can vary slightly in each creation. Hope that helps. david@stiltfactory.com
It's difficult to give an estimate b/c supplies and areas vary so much. I can't really give you an amount, but I will say that sourcing some of the material via recycling will save you. What is your budget?
Bottom of the home page, click on the blogpost "How to make your own stilts" enter your email and check you inbox and then maybe your junk mail. Ps, I have yet to use any of the email addresses :)
Stilt Factory - You should include a warning with this: PVC stands for PolyVinyl Chloride, burning PVC will release chlorine gas, which you may know is very harmful to inhale. I dont know if you are releasing chlorine gases when you heat it up, potentially not, but definitely something anyone putting a heat gun to a PVC pipe should be aware of.
Hi Ty. Lets consider your response as the warning. Also I don't recommend heating it to burn stage or even smoking. In general there's a NUMBER of tasks one should be careful doing in this process..then of course actually stilting takes a lot of personal care and safety, which I hope I have communicated on the "how to' stilt videos. Hope you have fun on your stilts!
