For those of you who have built your own schooling jump standards, do you prefer to drill holes and use jump cups with pins? Or do you recommend using the keyhole tracks with cups, or the Schneiders or Dapple style pole holders on your standards?
Thanks!
Make your pole-height resetting life easier by spending money on metal keyhole tracks and compatible molded plastic jump cups. Buy a set of magnetic breakaway keyhole cups for the back rail of any oxer you plan too.
How long are the landscape timbers DH plans to use for your jump rails?
I put keyhole tracks on all my jumps, even those I picked up used that had the holes drilled in them. They are so much easier to adjust and safer (especially with the breakaway cups). I prefer the metal tracks to the plastic ones, which can be a little fiddly.
That’s a lot of work for landscape Timbers. They won’t last as long as you think. Been there done that. They do make a decent ground rail
Though to keep your nice rails off the ground. You’ll be better served to just get 4x4s cut the edges off then paint etc .
I have them as poles and they are at least ten years old.
I have ridden a few places that use the Dapples type cups. It is super nice not to have to try to find the pins all the time. they do stay in the standard just fine unless the jump got a good whack or you tilt the standard at the wrong angle when moving them
But occasionally they would get bent (don’t ask me how…) so the angle between the standard and the “cup” would change and then your poles will never be even (or it’ll bend so far the pole won’t even stay in anymore)
Wow really? Mine didn’t last anywhere near that long. But then I’m in FL
My Lowes landscape timbers are green pressure treated usually #3 grade southern yellow pine. They are an actual 2.75 x 3.88 inches in cross section. Green means that they are not kiln dried and are “wet.” They require a long time to dry enough for paint to reliably adhere. As they dry they are prone to splitting, checking, cracking, and warping.
Lowes 4x4’s are pressure treated grade #2 southern yellow pine, meaning they have fewer defects and knots (weak points). They are an actual 3.5 x 3.5 inches in cross section, so stronger and less likely to break. After pressure treatment they are kiln dried, so are paint-ready sooner and less likely to deform.
About 85 percent of all pressure treated lumber in the US is southern yellow pine. But you might live in the western part of the country where your pressure treated lumber is Douglas fir.
Cost for a Lowes 4x4x8 is $11.68 and an 8 foot landscape timber is $4.88, both at today’s prices. Landscape timbers seem to only come from my Lowe’s as 8 foot lengths. I’d prefer 10 feet for a home arena jump rail.
That all is why I choose to pay more for my jump rail lumber and make octagons from 4x4x10 kiln dried pressure treated sticks. Better grade wood, stronger, less likely to deform, and paintable much sooner.
I never had any trouble using landscape timers for jump rails. The only part that is annoying is they are typically only 8’ long, which in my case was a good thing since the ring was small.
I recently got a big set of metal standards and do like the keyhole tracks. But prior to that I had wood standards with holes drilled in them. I had the one-piece jump cups like these:
[Dura-Tech® One-Handed Jump Cup | Schneiders] (https://www.sstack.com/dura-tech-one-handed-jump-cup/p/02448/?variant=true)
I absolutely loved them, and do actually still like them better than the keyhole tracks.
I do not hate the keyhole tracks but I find them very frustrating to use and prefer the other style myself. I am glad I am not the only only one.
Almost all of my poles are landscape timbers and some are 10 years old. I also love that they are shorter so you can fit more fences in a smaller at home ring.
The keyhole tracks I build with allow for adjusting rail height in two inch increments. I have never encountered any jump standards with holes for pin-type cups spaced at two inches. Three or sometimes even four inch increments between holes are what I see.
While on holes, I use a drill press rather than trying to freehand drill holes for pins. A drill press ensures that drill bit exit holes are the same distance apart and all aligned down the center of the standard on the exit face. It also reduces the chance of wood splintering on the exit side. This gives a more professional and finished appearance to each jump.
yeah I’m in Ontario so probably not the same moisture lol
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