Mommy and Daddy have been collecting a bunch of stuff from different places. They got some of it from the hardware store, and some has come in the mail. I keep asking them what it’s for, but they said I had to be patient. I was very patient, and guess what? Today I found out it was all for me!
It was a beautiful day, so we all went outside and I watched every so carefully while they measured and cut and glued and taped. When they were all done, I had five brand new agility jumps to go with my weavepoles! I’m so excited, and I want to tell you how to make your own jumps, too, so you can have as much fun as me!
First, Mommy gathered everything she needed.
9 – Ten-foot lengths of 1″ Sch. 40 PVC
30 – 1″ end-caps for PVC (optional)
10 – Four-way connectors
10 – Jump cups
Tape measure, marker, PVC saw, and PVC glue (optional)
Mommy got four-way connectors here, and the jump cups here. She got everything else at the hardware store down the road.
Measure and mark all of your PVC pipes. You need 10 Four-foot lengths, 10 Three-foot lengths, and 20 One-foot lengths. (If you cut them right, you’ll have exactly the right amount of PVC pipe!)
Cut the PVC pipe on your marks. Be sure to use a saw made for cutting PVC.
It’s very important to watch your uprights carefully. They need supervision!
When you’re all done, you’ll have three piles of pipes.
For every jump, you need:
4 – One-foot lengths for the base
2 – Four-foot lengths for the cross-pieces
2 – Three-foot lengths for the upright posts
2 – Four-way connectors for the base
2 – Jump cups for the upper bar
6 – end-caps for the bases and uprights (optional)
Assembling the jumps
Now you’re ready to assemble the jumps! Start by putting a 4-way connector on each end of one of the 4-foot lengths. Then insert a 1-foot length into each side of the connectors. This makes the base of the jump, and it should look like a capital “H” with an extra-long line in the middle. Make sure the last open part of your 4-way connectors are facing up, and put a 3-foot length into each side. All that’s left to do clip the jump cups onto the sides and balance the other 4-foot length on the jump cups. If you want to, you can put end-caps on the base pieces (the 1-foot lengths), and the top of the uprights (the 3-foot lengths) to make it look pretty and keep the rain out.
Here’s a jump Daddy just finished. I needed to inspect it carefully.
And always remember to give a big “Thank You” kiss to your jump builder!
You can leave the jumps like this, if you want. To make them more secure, Daddy glued the 4-way connectors to the long PVC pipes on the bottom. And to make them pretty, Mommy put different colored vinyl tape on them!
When they were all done, Mommy and Daddy carried the jumps up to the agility field (Daddy made it in our backyard!) Now I have jumps and weavepoles to practice on!
Here’s me and Mommy trying out the jumps . . .
. . . and practicing the weavepoles, too!
Mommy and Daddy said making these jumps wasn’t very hard at all. Even better, it didn’t cost too much! Maybe you can get your uprights to make some jumps for you, too. Then you can have fun with agility just like I do!
Benson’s Mom chimes in — If you plan to make 5 jumps like we did, here is the best way to measure and cut your PVC pipe so there is no waste:
Measure 5 of the pipes like this: |—–3′—–|—–3′——|——-4′——-|
Measure 2 of the pipes like this: |-1′-|-1′-|——-4′——-|——-4′——-|
Measure 1 of the pipes like this: |-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|——-4′——-|
Measure 1 of the pipes like this: |-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|-1′-|
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