A man made one for me about 17 years ago, but he really had trouble with the long vertical cuts to make the "half pipes" that clamp down and hold the quilt in place over the frame. In fact, he seriously cut himself while making one. (Not mine!)
My homemade one worked fine. Eventually it got thrown out - I can't remember why. I have a QSnap one now, and I like the way it can be extended so that more people can quilt at one time. The QSnap "grooves" in the "half pipes" are nice, but I honestly didn't have trouble with the homemade one (without grooves) either. I think it was because the gauge of the homemade one was heavier and it just clamped tighter to the underneath pipe. The edges of the homemade one were a bit rough in places, but you could probably smooth them out.
I have a couple of lap frames from QSnap too, with the narrower pipes. I am a BIG fan of the PVC frames. I believe they put less stress on the quilt and are much easier to use.