Gymnastic horizontal bar

Claim 1

A gymnastic horizontal bar that is substantially oval in cross section with its maximum width less than its depth, the bar comprising wooden strips extending lengthwise of the bar side-byside in parallel vertical planes, laterally spaced reinforcing tapes extending lengthwise of said strips at opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the bar, each tape being sandwiched between an adjoining pair of said strips in engagement therewith and extending above and below said axis, the upper and lower edges of the tapes being spaced inwardly from the adjacent edges of said wooden strips, and adhesive material laminating said tapes and wooden strips together to form a unitary bar of increased resistance to lateral impacts, the areas of the pair of wooden strips engaging the opposite sides of each tape being compressed by the tape so that said pair of strips engage each other above and below the tape, whereby the tapes are concealed and the bar has a continuous wooden surface, the length and cross-sectional dimensions of said bar being sufficient for said bar to support the weight of an ordinary human being at such time as said human being is performing gymnastic exercises on said bar while substantially the entire length of said bar is spaced upwardly from a supporting surface.