How To Make Wooden Climbing Holds - Tools And Steps Explained - Finger Pocket

Wooden holds: check out wurft.com/ or @wurfttobias on Instagram. Please SUBSCRIBE to support the channel.
More and more climbers have started making their own climbing holds. In this video, I want to share my process of how I make a wooden two finger pocket.
The following tools were used:
- Drill with 20mm Forstner drill bit, 20.5mm 90° countersink drill bit, 11mm drill bit
- Band saw
- Belt sander (60 or 80 grit)
- Veritas Carver's Vise in combination with the 2" mounting plate
- Angle grinder with:
- carbide discs:
- King Arthur's Tools Holey Galahad Round Course
- King Arthur's Tools Holey Galahad Flat Medium
- Arbortech Turbo Shaft
- Arbortech Contour Sander
- Drum sander (probably 60 grit)
- Drill with a sanding pad (60 or 80 grit)
- Drill with 5mm countersink drill bit
- Detail sander (60 grit)
- Sandpaper (80 grit)
Filmed and edited by Tobias Wurft.
Thanks for all your support!

[@CarlosARodriguezF]

i'm loving this series, this is quality content right here my man, keep it up because we all want moar!

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks man, makes me so happy to hear this!

[@skaliodrum]

Very nice again. Hope to have equipment like you, make life easyer !

[@brianrick6741]

Another rad video! Keep ‘em coming!

[@krabapple1028]

15:08 Love this part...

[@wurfttobias]

😂🙈

[@sian2005]

That now, is a quality climbing hold.

[@ejl74]

Great video. I look forward to more.

[@abliviax]

Very nice! Plan to start using this in a month or two!

[@ChrisHaileyTrainHardDiveEasy]

This is awesome Tobias, so much love and care to get one perfect hold!!! Thanks for sharing your process dude 😃 🤙

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks dude!!! ☺

[@TesterAnimal1]

That is a thing of beauty!

[@tilakmuller6801]

Awesome man! That hold looks good!

[@mlsporter]

Great pocket!

[@guidocubillos8567]

i make climing holds as well, you can use the sawdust mixed with glue and put it in the surface of the climing hold to give them texure! i love your videos

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! Good idea. Have to try that.

[@ceppuno]

increible amigo, gracias!

[@pelac6708]

That board of yours must be pretty nice with such good holds!

[@samuelmoreira_marcenaria]

Sensacional Man! Congrats!!

[@nwek277fzx]

Thanks for all the info :)

[@nicktareumable]

Awesome! Very inspirational, will start making some next WE 👌

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! Have fun and enjoy making holds. :)

[@artifactommy]

Very nice work dude !!!!

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks dude!!

[@oscarkamminga4408]

This is so cool man! Also really love the carving tools. Is that a regular angle grinder? And have you ever considered painting and texturing the holds? (they are fine like this, but would be cool i guess)

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks Oscar! I'm using a regular angle grinder in the video but since then I have upgraded to a variable speed angle grinder which is awesome in combination with the sanding disc. I've oiled some of my holds partially to make them more challenging but I haven't painted and textured them. In my opinion, the smooth texture of wooden holds is a training advantage. When I need more texture, I use conventional resin holds which are also cheaper.

[@MattStrauser]

Very nice work. What are your thoughts on 1) type/kind of wood, 2) orientation of the grain relative to the expected direction of pull, and 3) Location of bolt and;/or screen holes relative to expected direction of pull on the hold. Thanks again.

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks Matt! 1) soft wood to get started and gain experience, then hardwood that's not too hard (reduces the time for sanding) and without large open pores (they get greasy over time). Beech is one of my favorites. 2) if you're using hardwood that's free of cracks, the orientation doesn't matter much as long as the bolt and screw holes don't go directly into the end grain. 3) bolt hole quite centered (small lever to reduce the possibility of a spinning hold) and screw holes far from the center (large lever to prevent spinning) but at a location where the hold is still a little bit thicker and can handle the forces. Cheers, Tobi

[@bopleponge530]

Nice Gojira shirt ;)

[@wurfttobias]

Hehe :) Gojira!!!

[@Provablenotions]

Turbo Shaft looks awesome, but why not first just drill through with a paddle bit?

[@wurfttobias]

If you have large bit, you should definitely drill first! :)

[@ebachini]

Awesome, thanks for the video! Can we have on of the big hold that's in shot at 16:29 please?

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! A video of a big sloper is on my to-do list. :)

[@ebachini]

Tobias Wurft, I look forward to it.

[@niallmccormack6359]

Really nice finished hold! Do you apply any wood treatment for a final finish before putting it on the board? Just curious as my board is outside and untreated wood holds won't last too long

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! Sorry, I don't apply any coating because my board is inside...

[@jamescanjuggle]

This is really helpful, it's hard to find quality information for making climbing stuff😂 gonna build a climbing wall/bed soon

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks James! What's a climbing wall/bed? 🤔😎

[@jamescanjuggle]

@@wurfttobias ___________________ |. | |. | |. | |____________{©©©}| |___________________| It's simple😄 I'll build a box around 1 or 2 layers ofdouble sized mattresses in my room. That way I save space and can say that I sleep under a climbing wall😅

[@wurfttobias]

@@jamescanjuggle Hehe. Nice!! 😁😎

[@damiensmith8351]

Brilliant video, what wood are you using?

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! I'm using Matai (I'm New Zealand based) but any hardwood works.

[@stefanbakkescreate2668]

Very well done! What type of wood do you use?

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! This pocket is made out of Rimu but I use all sorts of hardwood.

[@tommatko7869]

Great video! How long did it take to make the hold?

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! About 1 hour and 20 minutes. It's definitely the most time consuming type of hold and if you don't have a tool to sand the inner part of the pocket it can easily take 2 hours...

[@TheDeltaStation]

Is there a specific reason as to why you use countersunk bolts and and not just the usual socket cap bolts with a washer?

[@TheDeltaStation]

And is there a specific depth that is optimal for the holds? I understand it would depend on wood size and bolt length etc but is there an approximate depth that should be used so the structural integrity of the wood isn't compromised? Also I didn't say it early but your videos are fantastic and probably the best resource I have come across for making holds and I've been looking all over the internet.

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks man! :) To me it seems to make more sense to use countersunk bolts because the pressure is spread over a larger surface area, both on the head of the bolt and the bottom surface of the hold. But I can't back it up with literature. I can also imagine that in case if the wood already has some cracks the countersunk bolt could make it worse? So far, I have had no issues with cracking at all. I also had a look at the wooden moonboard holds and they are using countersunk bolts instead of counterbore bolts. About the depth of the holes: I'm using at least 50mm long bolts and for the big holds up to 80-90mm long ones. That's all based on gut feeling: judging the wood - are there any cracks? How is the lever ratio when you pull on the hold...

[@exodust2056]

Hey, great vid! Would you say this hold could have been made with only the medium disc and not the coarse one? Would it have just taken longer?

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks! Definitely, the medium disc is perfect for this job! Would just have taken a bit longer. After more than two months of working with both disc, I have used the medium disc way more often. And for removing a lot more material the mini grinder (see my two latest uploads) is faster than the coarse disc...

[@exodust2056]

@@wurfttobias Thanks for the response! And do you think the flat disc is better suited than the round disc for medium grain?

[@wurfttobias]

@@exodust2056 I think the flat disc is easier to handle and thus better to create a nice smooth surface

[@exodust2056]

@@wurfttobias cheers! Very inspired by your videos and Instagram :)

[@Noold]

My dude. Lower your bandsaw height to just above the workpiece. Reduces flex in the blade and should produce an easier cut. Beautiful holds!

[@wurfttobias]

Thanks dude! Usually I do, but for whatever reason I kept it higher... Maybe because of filming? Can't remember. :)

[@charliefreed]

How long did this whole process take you?

[@wurfttobias]

About 1 hour and 20 minutes when I made the first pocket (video). Now, I'm slightly below an hour... A lot of work for one hole. ;)

[@lukinhaamp4368]

What kind of wood are you using?

[@wurfttobias]

In this video, I'm using Rimu. (I thought I was using Matai when I made the video). But any kind of hardwood should be good!

[@bodiemiller1002]

You should sell these holds on eBay

[@wurfttobias]

Occasionally, I sell some of my holds to local climbers and to a local climbing gym.