Home made thick bars

[Guest cjmkcm]

Someone on this site, and I forget who, showed me the light.

All the equipment I have at home is standard 1 inch stuff. I have too much money and too many years invested into this stuff to convert to OLY. I converted a pair of star lock dumbells and a 6 foot bar from 1" to 21/2" for about ฟ and I had enough materials left to create a killer wrist roller. I went to home depot and purchased 10 feet of 2" PVC. The 2" actually refers to the inside of the pipe so the actual grip is 21/2". I also purchased 2" pipe insulation. It was in the same aisle. I grabbed white duct tape, stopped at the drug store on the way home for sports tape and I was ready.

I measured the inside handle on each bar from the inside of the inside collars. It was about 4 1/2" for the DBs and 43" for the 6' bar. I cut the foam to length, slipped it on and duct taped the ends real tight. I cut the PVC to the length and slipped it over the insulation. The fit was perfect. I taped the ends of the PVC down with the duct tape and then covered the whole thing with sports tape. I repeated the same steps for the 6' bar. I am thrilled with the results. The bars are solid, there is no slippage at all. If you don't have the money for custom bars from PDA, try this and you will be very pleased. The best part is that as your grip develops, you can go back to home depot for bigger PVC. It is available up to 5". Good luck.