Need Ideas To Stiffen Up A Treadmill Deck

[driz]

I get a treadmill it’s got some years on it but still works fine for my purposes. Long ago it got some rain in which God and of the back part of the deck and down in the particleboard that they use for decking. So it’s swelled and I ended up making a new one out of three-quarter inch plywood and a number of coats of Enamel paint. It worked fine except for it’s a little too Flexy and it makes it Creak ( steel side frames)which has irritated me for a long enough.
So considering the constraints of space I have a little bit more I can’t use without the belt binding, what’s the best idea that take the flex out of that deck without greatly thickening it. I’d say I have about 1/2 to work with +- What I don’t want is more particleboard and Formica if I can help it. Thanks.

 

[joecaption]

I would have used Advantech instead of plywood.
Any room under it to add 2 X 4's glued and screwed laying flat?
Angle iron would also work.

 

[elbo]

can you glue and screw 2 or 3 pieces of angle iron to the underside ?

 

[driz]

That was my best idea as I’m a fair metal mangler. Trouble is there’s not much clearance for that little trick. I think what was on there was 1” with laminate on it. Just enough stiffer I think to keep the sheet metal side rails from creaking. I even welded a brace rail along both sides years back. Better but still creaks just enough to be very annoying. Now if I had a nice piece of 1/4” plate kicking around I’d marry it to the ply but unfortunately I don’t and it’s pricy enough new to not warrant buying a sheet. I may well end up welding some stringers across the underside but that means ripping it all apartagain.

 

[oldognewtrick]

What about fiberglass resin and cloth?

 

[Sparky617]

I built a new base for my treadmill about a year ago. I used cabinet grade, 3/4" blondwood plywood and covered it with a piece of "whiteboard panel" I was able to buy at Lowe's to give me a slippery base for the belt. Much stronger than the original particle board. I did have to rabbet the edge down to 1/2" to get it down to the thickness of the original particleboard. I'd just get rid of the particleboard and start over. That's what I did.