Topic: Homemade Dumbbells

[whiteninja]

I saw a mention of doing this in this article, and decided to make my own today. Well, when I was finished, I realized that I could have taken photos of it as I did it, and submitted a guide for it, like the parallette guide... Being too late for that, I went back and did it postemptively. (I think I just made up a word, but that's okay. )



Here's an easy way to put together some adjustable-weight dumbbells for home use.  They're good for a ton of different exercises, and are more versatile and more compact than a barbell.  Some companies will charge over $200 for a weight adjustable dumbbell, or you can buy a whole set of hexagon dumbbells, and fill your entire basement, for a couple hundred dollars... This is a better.

Materials:
- two 12" long galvinized pipes (the diameter of these will depend on the weights you buy
- eight hose clamps
- a screwdriver
- sandpaper
- WD40 spray grease (possibly)
- weights

Firstly, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a couple weights: four each of 2.5lbs and 10lbs, it cost about $28.  You can also find these at a sports store, gym (they'll often throw out old ones), or online (beware of massive shipping charges).

The diamter of the hole in the weights you buy may vary, but try to get something around 1". Mine were 3/4", so I bought pipe from Home Depot that matched it.  To make the dumbbells:

1) Attatch two of the hose clamps, leaving 3.5 inches on both sides as a place for the weights. Tighten these ones really tight, they'll stay there permanently anyway.


2) Grab some sandpaper and wrap it around the pipe, and get sanding.  Obviously, if you have a 3/4" hole for the pipe, the pipe has to be slightly smaller. Additionally, the pipe will have some gunk on it from sitting in the hardware store.


3) Sand the inside of the weights so they are smooth; I simply spun the weight around on one of my fingers while holding a bit of sandpaper.

4) Do the second bar.

You can now slide the weights on and off the sides, and use the additional hose clamps to keep them there.



Be sure to check out all the exercises you can do with these, and the fitness article I mooched the idea from.

[PrincessPK]

That's pretty neat. Good job... And I think they look pretty cool too 

If you're interested, you can look at this article for how to build some thick handle dumbbells.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=48EC53BEE37111E857AEC1C07F5D33EB.hydra?id=1411503

The info is way down the page (it's a grip training article, and thick dumbbells are just one of the proposed methods to improve your grip).

[whiteninja]

Haha, these make work outs more fun.

[coastal96]

I'm not sure I would trust those hose clamps to stay in place on that bar . . . esspecially when any significant weight is placed on the dumbbell and when the dumbbell is subjected to extreme movements like dumbbell swings.  Those clamps aren't really designed to support any lateral loads like the way you have them working in your design.  You'd really be running the risk of them giving way on the smooth surface of the steel and the weights crushing your hands.  I'd at least use some sort of adhesive around the steel before I tightened down the clamps.

Good idea though

[whiteninja]

I checked that, and the clamps work fine... You can tighten them very tightly with only a few screwings. I put 40lbs on one dumbbell, and shook it around (outside), but nothing slid at all. 

[coastal96]

The only reason I mentioned anything is the fact that I spend a fair amount of time working on cars so I see those clamps in use pretty frequently.  I see them blow off on the intake side of engines all the time as you can only get them but so tight.  And that is usually on some sort of rubber or silicon coupler the clamp can dig into a bit as opposed to steel or aluminum.  Granted it happens most often on turbo cars but that is still usually only about 20psi.  Though, I'm not sure how that measurement of pressure relates to a measurement of force or weight.

In any case, I'd just be worried about the one time that clamp gives way when you're DB swing and 20 or 30 lbs smashes the hell out of my hand or worse.  Just trying to look out for my fellow traceurs

[PrincessPK]

Imagine that - doing dumbbell bench presses with... say... 80 lbs. You bang the weights together just a bit too hard at the top, a clamp comes loose and you have 40 lbs of plates that crash on your nose. Then the unbalanced arm comes crashing down on your ribs, and the intact dumbbell follows suite a split second after.

 

[Tsumaru]

Now somebody make me a kettlebell. I mean shit, it's gonna cost me $260 just for a 32kg one! >_<