How To Make Stilts

In olden times, stilts were invented not at all for amusement, they helped people to cover flooded areas of roads and fields. In Holland, for example, stilts were a vital acquisition, because the sea flooded the valley parts of a territory at high tide.

Of course, now stilts lost their applied significance and are used rather for entertainment. They cause interest of almost any child and, not putting too fine a point on kids, no adult will refuse to try to stand up on them.

Making stilts on your own does not represent special complexities, it is enough to find a pair of tough poles or bars and two rectangular workpieces for feet props. One can assemble stilts in two versions, firmly fixed stilts and ones with adjustable height. They differ little in complexity of work, it will only be required to drill more holes for one of them and use bolts as fasteners instead of dowels.

The stilt struts are made from bars with the length (height) of 1600-1700 mm., the section of a part is 50/50 mm. Sharp edges of the bar should be made oval, and you should necessarily bark them carefully. The presence of notches, splinterings and splinters is completely inadmissible, it can become the cause of trauma.

Please, bring to notice, the danger is not in a possibility of running a splinter by your kid. The main thing is that at that moment, because of a spontaneous reaction, your kid will lose the balance and fall down. Apart from that, the danger of stilts is not so great, as it can seem. Metal heels are also set for good workpieces to the bottom of woodblocks. It is desirable for wear resistance, though it is not obligatory.

The feet props can be distinguished in size, but the thickness of these parts should better be the same as of the vertical bar. The support can be smaller for the adjustable variant, because two fixing bolts hold the part reliably enough. Although, there are no fundamental differences here. Drill holes, starting from the height of 180-200 mm from the floor level.

The fixation of parts should be on the bolts of 170/10 mm or 170/8 mm.

In total, eight holes are made on the poles. The space between centers of holes on the strut is equal to the space between centers of holes on the feet props. Just to remind you, these products are intended just for children, adult stilts can be 50% higher.

Proportions of the feet props.

Assembly on dowels.

In the variant of the firm fastening, the parts can be assembled with the help of dowels. However, the fixing on long thick self-tapping screws or Euro-bolts will also fit. It is not strongly recommended to use nails, as they fit badly for this kind of workpiece.

Note, that the stilts from the example are made by one of the parents for all pupils of a class. After necessary training, one can organize even a mass competition for speed, as well as for the duration of standing on stilts. This is not just an entertainment, at certain extent, the stilts are the sport implement, which helps to develop the senses of balance and one`s body control.