Making your own Leg Stretchers

As I continued on my journey of learning how to become a Pole Queen. I saw talk about leg stretching machines. Someone, on another site I belong to, has this fancy gizmo for helping you stretch your legs so they will be more flexible for say doing the splits, among other things. Now these gadgets run quite a pretty penny, if you do a search for them. I honestly couldn't justify the money on purchasing one. Now on the dancing site I belong to, the topic of leg stretching came up again and someone linked this nifty video of how to create your own!!! Talk about a dream come true! So with a quickie trip to one of your local thrift stores, and this how to video below , you can make some of your very own

Powder coating your pole

Yes you read that correctly, this will be discussing powder coating your pole. Oh you didn't realize it could be done yourself, without having to actually buy a whole new pole? OF COURSE YOU CAN!!!

Last year I had been reading threads discussing having your pole powder coated, for extra grip. Talk about an exciting thing to learn! Getting my pole coated in any shade I want. WOW!!! But lets slow down there zippy. There are a few things you need to do first before dashing out and having your pole coated.

First you should http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4567887_powder-coating-work.html" read up about how the powder coating process works, so you have an understanding of what is going to be done to the pole. This should give a simple run down on what is happening.

The next thing you do is look in your local phone book, online yellow pages or whatever for powder coating places in your area. Call around and tell them what you have XX metal pole that is XX in diameter and XX feet long. Make sure to call several shops before having it done so you can get the best price possible. They charged me $65 to have it done. If they try and tell you it will be more than $100, I'd shop around.

Now that you have decided on a place to get your pole coated at, there are a few more things left to do. Break down your pole and put it into pieces, if possible, unless it's a one-piece, then of course you'll only be removing the dome and base. Those they will not be powder coating since they have rubber on them and would melt in the oven during the curing process. The day you go in you will meet with one of the techs. You'll show them your pole and where the movable pieces are, so they can tape those off properly so they won't get coated. Also ask them how long it will take them before you get it back, that way you get an idea for how backlogged they are. Really it should take about 3 days if they're not slammed.

This was the fun part about getting the coating done, PICKING OUT THE COLOUR!!!!!! You will be shown books and computer files of all the colours available for your choosing. They can even do custom colours at some shops, but that can cost extra. Also ask them if they have any custom ones already mixed that was used for a prior job, sometimes you can get a discount on that. I chose a purple called Dixie Purple. When they brought out the box to show me what it looked like, I fell instantly in love. What's funny is the coating stuff looks like mineral eye shadow.

The toughest thing for me was leaving my pole at the shop for a few days. It's like leaving a child at camp; you do so with excitement and trepidation! The day they called me to tell me it was ready I was shocked. It was ready a full day before I expected it to be. I couldn't wait to pick it up. When they brought it out, my jaw hit the floor. She was so beautiful, shiny and purple!!!! Sadly pictures do not do her justice. The purple is much deeper than what the pics show.

I was happy with my journey and would actually do it again if I needed something powder coated!!! And if anyone decides to have theirs done, I would love to see your pictures.