As a guide, who guides, I love teaching people the essential skills of crack climbing technique. One thing I have realized is that it’s hard for people to grasp the concept of finger locks, ring locks, hand jams, cups, and the like, especially if they don’t have access to good rock.

So, for this Summer’s Stonemaster Series which starts this weekend, I have decided to build a special tool. The Crack Machine. It’s going to be a blast. The idea is that people can watch and see how a jam works from the inside, then they can apply it directly to the rocks and find that sweet spot for themselves.

It’s a fact that everyone’s sizes are going to be different, (even if their hand sizes are the same, they may have different finger sizes), so as a climber (especially if you are leading), it’s good to know exactly what size you are, and how that size correlates to the gear you are using. It will save time and energy on more challenging routes. I am so stoked on this. The model came out perfectly and so far the feedback has been amazing. Below, is a documentation of how it works and how you can build your own. Hope you like it and if you’ve signed up for this weekends course, see you on Sat. If you haven’t and are interested, drop me an E-mail – there are still spots available, one for this weekend, and more throughout the summer weekends. Cheers.

What you need: Saw. Drill. Glue. Tape Measure. Sand Paper. Space.

What it looks like: This model is exactly 8 feet (96in) in length and leans up against a wall quite nicely.

At it’s smallest it’s 1/2 an inch.

At it’s widest, it’s exactly 2.5 inches. Wide Hands.

Perfect Hands in the middle.

Tight Hands.

Ring locks.

Rattly fingers.

1/2 inch is too tight for many.

Rolling up the sleeves for this one.

The crack machine is heavier than you might think.

Look ma, no hands.

It’s all in the torque baby. The more you twist, the tighter it gets. The less painful it becomes.

Another example. Click to enlarge. Andrew Burr foto.

Nearly too tight for me. Give me grey’s.

One of my all time favorites. .5 all the way.

Trucker .75 in action.

Textbook Red.

Bomber two’s (#2)

Perfect Blues (#3)

Feels blissful.

Looks painful.

The full range.

SEE YOU SOON!