Many treadmills have a way of folding up to save space, but often, as is the case with mine, the latch is very simple and not enough to keep little hands from unlatching it. The base is also very heavy, so if it were to fall on anyone, it could cause serious injury. This is how I child proofed my treadmill using a padlock and a few parts from the hardware store.

This was my temporary solution. I just tied it up in place, but I wanted to start using it again, so I needed something a little better.

Below is the original latch. It’s just a pin held in place by a pretty weak spring.

Parts Needed:

5 feet of 1/8th inch coated wire cable. $2.25 (I got the plastic coated cable so it wouldn’t scratch anything or anyone)

2x wire rope clips $0.96

2x wire rope thimbles $0.96

2x 1/4 inch by 4 inch eye bolts $1.04

2x lock washers $0.22

2x hex nuts $0.10

1 padlock (not shown) which I already had on hand

Steps:

Step 1:

The first thing to do is to slip one of the rope saddles (or thimbles) through one of the eye bolts. (only need to do this to one side)

Then run the wire rope around the thimble and secure it with one of the clips. Just work back and fourth on the two nuts to get it as tight as you can. I also threaded the nuts

Step 2:

After securing the first side, measure the length of cable needed to reach the other side. Then wrap it around the other thimble and mark where to cut the cable, leaving about an inch past the end of the thimble so there is room to attach the clip.

Cut the cable on the second mark. This is difficult because wire rope is designed to be hard to cut. I used some pliers with wire cutters and just worked the cable, turning it and cutting it and it wasn’t too hard.

Step 3:

Attach the second thimble and clip as in step 1. Here is the completed cable.

Step 4:

Now to drill holes in the upright legs of the treadmill. Use a bit the same size as the eye bold so it just barely fits through.

Step 5:

Attach the eye bolts with the lock washers. One on each side.

Last Step:

Attach the lock to the open side.

And that’s all there is to it. For under $6, I feel much better about the safety of this latch.

Leave a comment below to tell me what you think or if you’ve tried a similar approach.

Disclaimer:

Don’t make this. I accept no responsibility if you do.