Thanks, my original thought was a bolt or two through the wall, but I didn't understand there's a header in there, so I thought it they would only be supported by drywall. I would blame that on sleep deprivation but I'm kind of an idiot fully rested as well.

I don't understand the part about 3/16 & 3/8 holes for 1/4" rod but I'm sure it will make sense after some thought and more learning.

My first try at posting this was more... nuanced, but I broke every rule of the sub. Brainstorming ideas, how to "get started", best method or approach, whether or not I should do a project...

I rewrote it to ask specific questions and it came out wrong. I promise not to harm the boy until he's a teenager. After that he gets the Homer Simpson treatment.

Yep, thanks to everyone who commented, that's what I'm going to do.

Thank you, I'm not great at wall repair so that's definitely a consideration. We just repainted the whole house after some professional drywall help so I'm not in a rush to put too many holes in the wall that I can't fix nicely. But I do think I can patch the drywall better than the jamb a year from now.

Oh, right, because unthreaded is stronger sheer strength than threaded. Believe it or not I worked in the fastener dept. of a hardware store not long ago. I was hoping to learn some home repair while I looked for a better job but I didn't learn much at all.

I did learn to try to steer people to a through bolt with nut/washer instead of a wood screw when hanging overhead. It's amazing the things people tried to hang from the ceiling with an eye screw...

Yep, you nailed it. I called it a 1x6 for simplicity, but yes, it does measure 4-5/8. I figured it was a 1x5 nominal (if there is such a thing) and wondered why they used such an odd dimension. I get it now. The board is just ripped to fit the frame.

I think you're saying the sides of the entry are framed with 2x4 wall studs, and there's a single 2x6 above the entry, with the 2" edge centered on the 4" faces of the studs.

Omgosh, and that's why on a separate project hanging curtain rods, I was going through drywall, finding open space behind it, but then kept hitting solid wood no matter where I drilled. I wasn't hitting vertical studs, I was hitting the horizontal window header. Which is probably a 1/2 inch back from the drywall... Thank you.

Yep, and I expect he's not done growing, either! I was looking at the tall / wide metal frame models but kiddo got this one as a christmas gift. I'm grateful and trying to make it work, but the ones you're describing do sound appealing. Thanks for the tip. I've seen pictures of myself in the old school wheeled ones and I looked pretty happy.

I can't believe how strong this baby is... if he doesn't want his leg to bend, you're not bending it. If he doesn't want his bottle, you're not getting it into his mouth. And during diaper changes, he's a BJJ blackbelt.

If you stand in the entryway and look up, it's clearly a single board of wood, so there's the 6. And if you step back and look at the face of the entryway, you can see the faint outline of the 1" where the drywall isn't completely flush with the edge of the board.

The house was built in the 50's and had some work done in the 70's, and I don't always understand why things were built the way they were. I hope I didn't misunderstand your question. But it's kind of irrelevant now, I'm taking some sound advice here and looking for framing members in the wall rather than fastening to that board.

Thank you, I'm not very experienced and I was having a hard time imagining the structure behind the wall. But after googling header board :) I see what you're saying. I might try probing with my 1/16 drill bit first, if it's long enough. If I can find something solid to fasten to, I don't have to use door trim, I can use good 2x2 or maybe something like a french cleat. Thanks for looking out for my kiddo with your advice.

Yeah the whole "hang it from the door trim" design has me nervous but I haven't seen any reports of mishaps. I had been thinking wide L brackets or maybe the right beam bracket, but after some thoughtful comments here I'm going to avoid screwing up (no pun intended and yet, there it is).

Yeah... small target, thin screws, and not much wood supporting them even if I hit dead center of the 3/4" edge. Thanks for weighing in. I guess I need to poke through the drywall and find that 2x4...

No, you're right. The jumper was designed for trim fastened to a door frame, not my 1x6 ideas. And I'm asking for help because I absolutely don't want to risk anything with kiddo. So, thank you.

My magnet says there are studs up there, but they are offset depending on which face (the one you see and the one in the far room). I was trying to avoid adding trim around the entire opening to span multiple studs, when I just need a couple inches in the middle to hook onto. But I don't think it's gonna work.

Thanks for confirming horizontal - screwing straight up is literally hanging by a thread.