Homemade Hands Free Stilts

Measure and cut two posts of 2-by-2 board according to the height you wish your stilts to reach. One post, called the stand post, will take the weight of your foot. The second needs to overlap the stand post by 8 inches with enough additional length to reach your knee as your foot rests on the stand post.

Cut the foot plate to 5 by 12 inches. Round and sand the corners. Use a sturdy wood like plywood.

Cut a foot plate support to 9 inches out of 2 inch by 2 inch board.

Bolt together the two posts with the 8 inch overlap and the brace with the long side flush to the top of the stand post using 4½ inch hex bolts. Stack these three components with the support post on one side, stand post in the center, and brace on the outside, and bolt through all three, allowing about 2½ inches from the top of the brace for the foot plate support.

Screw two 2½ inch long carriage bolts through the footplate support into the brace and stand post to secure the support. Secure with nuts.

Place one of your shoes on the foot plate and center it, marking with a pencil where the arch falls. Line this mark up with the middle of the support post and attach the foot plate at contact points (where the screw penetrates all layers) with 1¼ inch deck screws to the support, brace and stand post. Use as many as you feel makes it secure, five or more if needed.

Attach an old shoe with the laces and insole removed to the foot plate and screw to the plate with four deck screws on the outer corners of the shoe.

Cut a metal shin brace using tin snips. Or use store-bought heavy-duty knee pads. If using metal for your shin brace, glue a heavy foam inside it to make it more comfortable.

Fit the shin braces with the help of a third party as you should "try on" the stilt to do so. Place the brace at a 10 to 15 degree angle slightly lower than the knee and mark the position on the leg post with a pencil.

Mark position of the strap for securing the stilt around your leg over the center of the shin brace.

Drill a hole at your marking through the brace and post, and make a matching hole on the nylon strapping so that all three may be secured with a carriage bolt.

Cut enough length of webbing to encircle your leg, brace and stilt three times, and seal the end with a flame to keep it from raveling.

Attach a buckle at one end, using a sewing machine and heavy thread to secure the webbing to itself once passed through the buckle.

Secure the finished strap to the brace and post using a carriage bolt and nut.

Remove any wire from a 10 inch by 2 inch piece of cut bicycle tire and wrap the tire around the foot of the stilt, securing with screws 1 inch in length. This forms the protective rubber foot on the stilt that gives extra traction for your safety.