Mutant Metals Custom Rack Attached Bench Dock Review
Last updated on January 11th, 2024 at 11:55 am
In 2019 I laid out a plan to achieve a goal of being 240 with an Elite Total. I started detailing out the changes I would make each year to progress towards that goal. Technique fixes, gear changes, supplements, mind set changes, and more. Part of benching big weights, is having the right set up. I started with having my bench cut down to IPF specs. Then removing part of the front foot so I had plenty of space to get my feet set. One additional issue we had to address was the bench position. This is where the Rack Attached Bench Dock came into play.
Key Notes
Chris from Mutant Metals made me this bench dock BEFORE he officially started Mutant Metals. I believe myself and Josh Sutelman are the only two to have them (I ordered his for him). You can always ask Chris for a custom quote.
First Draft
I had markings on my platform for where the bench belonged so I could get it set up square. Tthe problem was that as you arched or even just slightly bumped the bench, it would move out of position. Not good. We ran into additional issues with stability. Mostly because of how my bench had to hang off the front lip of my platform. The little bit of moving introduced a lot of potential issues with additional wobbling.
I ended up making a REALLY super-duper DIY bench dock out of some scrap wood. It popped in, locked in place, and held the bench in the right position, every single time. No moving, no wobbling, no adjusting. The problem of course was it looked like crap, and my shotty craftsmanship wasn’t going to hold together for the long term.
Luckily my buddy Chris Mosley mentioned he could fabricate up a pretty piece for me. So, we began the back and forth that is a custom piece.
Design & Discussions
The initial idea was to recreate my DIY Rack Attached Bench Dock, but from something much more permanent. In discussions with Chris we decided we wanted the “docking” piece for the bench to be adjustable. This meant that if I ever swapped benches, or say I sold my rack and someone else bought it, it could be adjusted appropriately instead of being a one and done attachment. I also was pretty keen on keeping my rack a Walk-Through design, so I wanted the piece to be detachable with the pins still.
Chris had me send over measurements, which I took pics of to be safe. From rack to rack, from rack foot to rack foot, from platform to rack hole, from rack foot to rack hole. Chris took the measurements, plus the details from Rogue on the R-3, and was off to the races.
I paid him for materials up front, then shipping after, and in a few weeks, I had my bench dock.
Use and Experiences
The Rack Attached Bench Dock showed up well packaged and protected and even came with nuts, washers, and bolts if I wanted to permanently attach it to the rack. Chris gave me a really good tip. Knowing it was going to be a very TIGHT fit, I likely needed to loosen the feet on one side of the rack, slip it in, then tighten back down. This worked perfectly as it was probably a 1/2mm too tight to start, and was perfect with just the slight adjustment.
The adjustable bench pieces are a nice heavy block, welded to a U channel piece that has a bolt for “locking” in place (excuse my mistakes on pieces here, I’m not a fabricator). This allows you to set them up appropriately, lock them down, and go to work. Only issue I had here was that the tighter you got on the bolt, the more the piece tried to “warp”. Chris had ideas on an improvement for future builds, so make sure you ask him about this. It doesn’t impact the actual use of the unit, just a concern of what is too tight versus the right amount of tension. A small tweak would likely fix this small concern.
Boom!
I now had the adjustments set up, I had my rack right, I popped it in place, docked my bench, and gave it a test run. We now entirely eliminated the need for proper placement of the bench, no more wiggles, no more back and forth movement, etc. It managed to do what my DIY dock did, but better. It looked better, functioned better, and will last a long time.
The cool thing with working with Chris, is that if you have an idea, he can likely do it. He is not only talented in fabrication; he is a garage lifter. So, he knows our struggle. Josh Sutelman, member of the 2020 Garage Gym Competition Council, ordered his bench dock but additionally wanted spotter stands. No worries. Chris worked with him on ideas to trim the fat and improve shipping costs while still meeting performance expectations.
If you wanted this bench dock to serve multiple purposes, say you wanted it to be a foot hold for split squats, or add a pad for hip thrusts, or a step for Step Ups… I’m pretty sure Chris could work with you on modifications and expectations.
Wrap Up
The only other item I’d mentioned to Chris, is that on the pins, if the dimple is faced down when inserted into the rack, it has a tendency to scrape the bench dock.
After spending years working on getting my bench just right, dealing with it shifting between sets, and watching my wife struggle with the same… for a few bucks I’m now much happier and on my way to bigger lifts!
If you are interested in working with Chris, contact him directly on Instagram. He currently works via Paypal for payment. Stay tuned for more from him, big things coming.
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Joe Gray
My name is Joe Gray - aka Gray Matter Lifting - and I've been lifting at home since 2013. In that time I've built a badass gym, deadlifted over 600lbs, helped grow r/Homegym to over 1 Million subscribers, created the Garage Gym Competition and written a ton of posts here on this site. I love the Garage Gym Community... If you do too, I hope you stick around.
