Punching Bag From Complete Trash (Weeds and Feed Bags).

So, it just so happens that I made a punching bag, to test weapons (and my fists) on, but I neglected to wrap it in duct tape, so it actually fell apart (bad construction). So in this never-before seen I'dible, I'll be teaching ya'll how to build a punching bag from absolute junk.

Funny enough, there's a Trash-to-Treasure contest right now. Hmm...I wonder why I brought that up... Oh well, I'll remember later.

Let's go build a punching bag.

So here's the supplies you're going to need.

3 feed bags. I made these from some 50-pound feed bags (before they were emptied, they're not 50 pounds now), some hay twine (any other sort of durable rope will work, though), and so few tools, it actually surprises me. Duct tape, a knife/scissors, and literally nothing else.

First things first. Take one of the feed bags and stuff it inside the second one. I did this to reinforce it, and it honestly worked fine. I've hit this thing with a lot, and it's held up fine.

The pictures might be a little confusing, but I just lined each bag up, so that they weren't bunched up against each other.

Honestly, I was wondering what on earth I was going to fill the bag with. Dirt seemed like a good idea, but if any moisture or anything got inside, it would bunch up and be all sorts of bad. Also, it'd weigh a bajillion pounds, so that's a downer.

But then my mom pointed at the garden, where the cheeseweed (a very nasty weed that has a habit of exploding across the countryside during spring) was taking over her flower beds. I was skeptical at first, but I decided to give it a go. So I filled it up.

Naturally, I messed up the first time around, and didn't fill it up all the way. This made the bag floppy, so when you punched it, it would give and move a lot, which really hurt your wrist.

This time around, I stomped down on it (a stick can act like a ramrod), and crammed as many weeds as I could into it.

Absolutely stuff it full, the thing's got to be as full as possible.

At this point, once it was full, I got out the third bag and pulled it on. It was a little difficult, but tug around on all the sides, and with a little effort, you've got the most cumbersome and heaviest feed bag you've ever had.

And yes, this thing is no where near as heavy as a real punching bag, but I can kick this thing with all my body weight, and it won't swing any more than two-ish feet. Point is, it's very heavy.

Don't forget those Sea Shanties.

I'd really recommend looking at the photos for this, but I basically made a baby harness-thing for the bag. Yup, it's happening here folks.

This is why all that string is necessary. I did two vertical lines, then tied more cord, to wrap around (three times) horizontally. Again, the pictures are a lot more helpful, but I did my best.

I did the harness for two reasons; one, I was terrified the bag would rip and drop on my toe (and that there toe has already sustained enough damage), but the harness also acts as a way to distribute the weight. That way, the top part of the bag isn't holding all the weight (and it would most definitely rip, if it was).

Also, tie the vertical string tightly (do all of them tightly, obviously, but especially those ones). This 'seals' the top of the bag, and it's hard to pull any of the weeds out anymore.

At this point, you're ready for the duct tape. I had one heck of a roll (like two inches thick or something ludicrous), and started wrapping the bag. Easiest way to do this? Put it up vertically, and just wrap it with duct tape. I tried to overlap as much as I could. Don't do anything excessive (lol, this whole build is excessive), but definitely wrap those strings up.

This evens out the weight even more, and also makes it a lot stronger.

Leave the tippity-top part of the vertical strings open. This gives you some rope to actually hang the bag up with. More explanation in the pics.

There ya go.

I had to use a quad and a sister to hang the bag up, but it's up there for good, probably.

I also spaced out my strings, so that is doesn't spin a lot. There's a banana for comparison in the third picture.

Anywho, I went at this thing with my tonfas (really cool thingies, you should definitely make some) and it didn't take any damage at all. Fists? This thing laughs at your blows (mine, at least). This thing is perfect for testing homemade weapons on, I've tried a lot of my previous builds on it (buckler, hammer, and orc club included, as well as some others).

Basically? This thing ain't gonna break from human hands. And it can be made in an afternoon, with no tools and super, super basic materials.

Since this I'dible is conveniently a perfect candidate for the Trash-to-Treasure contest, please vote for me (funny how that works, isn't it?)

Thank you very much for reading, but if you'll excuse me, I've got a bag to punch.

So I decided to update this Instructable and let you guys know: this project is a terrible idea. It really is the worst. Even if we're overlooking how ugly this thing is, after a couple weeks, the strings snapped, so the hay twine is clearly not up to snuff.

A little while past that, I started to notice the smell. Since the weeds couldn't dry out (with no place for the moisture to go), they started to smell super bad as the weeds were basically mashed to a pulp over time.

Past that, this bag probably isn't heavy enough to box with, and if you don't have straps or gloves, you're probably going to break a wrist. So I'd advise people to past this project by. I would delete this project, but I can't, apparently, so I just wanted to leave this update as a sort of warning.

See you, and keep building.