What kind of DBs do you own/like/use?

G

Gavin LeFever

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I'm planning on making a set (or three) of DBs for the home to save some time and gas.

Fixed DBs are out for me. No way can I buy a whole DB rack when I could just make/get the adjustable kind.

The real issue is to go for Oly plates with the 2 inch hole or the "standard" style with 1 inch holes. Oly plates would be harder to find, but if I ever got an Oly bar, I would already have weights stocked.

As for the DBs themselves, if I can't find anything for cheap, I'm making my own like Ross shows in Infinite Intensity. I'll probably make a set of 18 inch long handles, and if that goes well, some 24 inch handles for things like FWs.

On a related note, has anyone tried/used the Ironmind clamps? If I can't find any, the suggestion is to use hose clamps but that's not going to be fun to adjust between sets.

If it goes well, there should be no problem making a pair of Thick handles too. The cost of handles is relatively low. The only money-sink is the weights, but some patience and time spent scouting Play It Again Sports and etc should pay off if Keith Wassung hasn't been by first.

Input welcomed, and future updates to come (no DW pics needed).
 
I'm pretty satisfied with my "standard" adjustable dumbbells. Most of my problems with dumbbells are caused by low ceilings and not having enough plates to load up two dumbbells heavily, not the dumbbells themselves...

The only problem I have is that they use screw-on stops instead of clamps to stop the plates from moving around. When I lift quickly or repeatedly, these can get loose. However, I recently found that a layer of electrical tape wrapped into the threading of the dumbbell increases the friction enough to keep everything in place. I assume this will wear out and need to be replaced.
 
XTrainer said:
I'm pretty satisfied with my "standard" adjustable dumbbells. Most of my problems with dumbbells are caused by low ceilings and not having enough plates to load up two dumbbells heavily, not the dumbbells themselves...

The only problem I have is that they use screw-on stops instead of clamps to stop the plates from moving around. When I lift quickly or repeatedly, these can get loose. However, I recently found that a layer of electrical tape wrapped into the threading of the dumbbell increases the friction enough to keep everything in place. I assume this will wear out and need to be replaced.
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i would not be surprised if you were able to lose the screw clamps and use a different pair of tighter clamps.

i'd be worried that the tape will mush up over time and gunk it all up.
 
I bought my dumbbells piecemeal so I have an assortment. I have a set of Olympic adjustable dumbbells, but I found it annoying to adjust them so I left them with a 10 on each side.
I started buying fixed dumbbells little by little and now I have:
- a plastic set 3 lbs, 5lbs, 8lbs my wife bought, but not bad for warm ups
- ****l (hex) 15lbs, 30lbs, 50lbs, 75lbs
This works pretty good, but I would like to get some 90's and 100's, but since I am working out at a gym I haven't bought anything heavier. But I would if I worked out exclusively at home.

I like the fixed dumbbells and I think you can build a nice set if you buy a little at a time and build up.
 
Well I've got 2 20 lb dumbbells and 3 adjustable dumbbell handles, 2 match and i use for curls sometimes, other 1 is for snatches because it has screw on clamps instead of clips. I have a lot of weight, but the most I can get on dumbbells is 40lbs.
 
I have some 14'' spinlock dumbells that I got at wal-mart. Now I mainly use the ironmind big boy dumbell bars and their collars; they're 24'' long and hold 10 ten pound plates per side.

The collars are great and hold very well. The 14'' spinlock only hold 120 pounds plus bar weight, using 2 25s and 2 10s per side.



IMG_2886.jpg



As far as weight plates, you missed out on a hella of a deal. When I bought mine it was dirt cheap, like $4.88 for a 10 pound plate and they covered shipping.
 
The best DIY collars that I have found can be cheaply bought at any hardware or automotive supply store--they are called either Exhaust Clamps or U Bolt clamps--and they work extremely well--I have found that I need to buy a matching wrench ( usually non-adjustable) that fits the bolt exactly and that becomes my "dedicated wrench" for collar tightening.
 
^^^I'm envious of Fatty's DBs.

I use Oly DBs for everything except Farmer's walks and DB Deadlifts, in which case I use a cut down Standard bar that I have rigged up. They are about 20 or so inches long and can accomodate 200 lbs or so of the Standard weights I have on hand. I can thickbar them with the set up I have for additional challenges.

The oly bars I bulked up the handle a little bit by wrapping a 108 inch boxing handwrap around ans some athletic tape. It gives it a slight thickbar effect and makes it so I don't cut myself everytime.
 
XTrainer said:
I'm pretty satisfied with my "standard" adjustable dumbbells. Most of my problems with dumbbells are caused by low ceilings and not having enough plates to load up two dumbbells heavily, not the dumbbells themselves...

The only problem I have is that they use screw-on stops instead of clamps to stop the plates from moving around. When I lift quickly or repeatedly, these can get loose. However, I recently found that a layer of electrical tape wrapped into the threading of the dumbbell increases the friction enough to keep everything in place. I assume this will wear out and need to be replaced.
Click to expand...

I have this problem as well. I use standard dumbells with standard plates and shit is always getting unscrewed and loose. It's pretty annoying.
 
ThinkGreen said:
I have this problem as well. I use standard dumbells with standard plates and shit is always getting unscrewed and loose. It's pretty annoying.
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My dumbells have this little piece of rubber on the inner side where the weights go. When it gets tightened down, the rubber squishes in a bit, causing the weights to stay on better.
 
magicman531 said:
My dumbells have this little piece of rubber on the inner side where the weights go. When it gets tightened down, the rubber squishes in a bit, causing the weights to stay on better.
Click to expand...

Nice. Unfortunately my shitty dumbells do not have this cool little contraption. *cries
 
ive been lifting spin locks since forever,there a pain in the ass to add weight and losen a bit every time i do a rep, still they provide a decent work out and do the job.
 
Fight_Song said:
details? where did you get those?
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The dumbbell was a $30 Craigslist barbell. I chopped it down w/ my recip saw, redrilled and tapped threads into the freshly cut end, then reattached the sleeve.

The collars are Lockjaws. You can get them on Ebay for the best price. I bought two sets for farmers and they're seriously the best collars I've ever used.
 
It would be too hard for me to justify not going with oly plates. It is more expensive, but a standard bar can't handle any weight, should you choose to buy a bar and do deadlifts and such at home. Even 250lbs will put a lot of pressure on most crappy 1" bars.
 
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I hacked a standard (5') bar in half and used some knurled collars from a regular set. I made them for farmer's walks, but they work well for lots of other heavy stuff so long as bar length doesn't get in the way.
 
joshetc said:
It would be too hard for me to justify not going with oly plates. It is more expensive, but a standard bar can't handle any weight, should you choose to buy a bar and do deadlifts and such at home. Even 250lbs will put a lot of pressure on most crappy 1" bars.
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My ironmind bars can handle more than 250 pounds. They'll easily do 300 pounds. The bars are 1 and 1/16 inch thick I believe.
 
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