Sybersnott Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 Has anyone MADE their own "thick bars"? I would like to make my own Apollon's Axle..... anyone done this? Any help would be appreciated. I've got some ideas about how to do it - but thought I'd throw this topic out to the board to get some more suggestions. I'll take pics if I do it, and post them here. IronMind and PDA were just too expensive, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdawg Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 i haven't made one yet, but it is one of my plans for the near future. basically what i have in mind is taking some 1 1/2" schedule 80 pipe (which has an OD of 1.9") and welding some cheap collars on it for plate stops. does anybody have anything better, or cheaper (i'm a poor college kid )? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyBurks Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 2 simple solutions 1. Buy 2" cold rolled steel 2. Buy thick walled 1/5" pipe. make or use reg. collars as stop collars. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat 74 Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 I've got a 2" bar that I got from a place that I was working. It was 11' long with threaded ends when I got it. With the help of a friend with a torch, it's now 6'11" long and weighs in at a slim 74lbs. Talk about heavy duty! I can break an anvil with a marsh mellow hammer, but this thing will stand up to whatever I can throw at it. I was planning to buy one at some point, but now I don't need too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 Although junk yards seem to be disappearing faster than the buffet food supply at a powerlifting meet, if there is one in your area, wander around, gather some parts. If you live in the northeast part of America you may even find some old plates etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest runchman Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 I made one with parts from home-depot: 1 1/2" galvanized pipe 2" PVC pipe I cut the 1 1/2" pipe to 7' long. Cut 2" PVC to the collar-to-collar distance (5' or so?) and slip it over the 1 1/2" pipe. I drilled a hole thru the PVC and inner galv. pipe, then tapped it so I could run a bolt thru to hold the PVC in place. Oly plates fit fine on the 1 1/2" pipe, and the PVC acts as the inner collars to but the plates against, as well as providing about a 2.5" diameter grip. Add a couple of screw-type collars and you're done. (spring collars won't work on the galvy pipe). Made some dumbbells this way too. Cheap, easy, and it works. - John (who's grip is still pathetic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 I am heading down a scapyard soon to find some stuff for my car and was thniking of looking for grip stuff. Getting 2 inch cold roled is expensive but it will last a lifetime and you will never have to worry about it. Where as if you use pipe, you will always have some doubt in your mind. With a couple of stop collars on the end the bar will still be a lot cheaper and there will be no delivery charges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted December 4, 2001 Author Share Posted December 4, 2001 One of the ideas I had was getting a galvanized steel pipe and filling it with concrete. Never thought about the junkyards - I got a whole bunch around where I live! Also, folks in the Southwest and California.... junkyard heaven! What about bumming around some rail yards? Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 If its heavy, pick it up and hang on for as long as possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 I think thats gonna be my new motto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sean Tahirali Posted December 5, 2001 Share Posted December 5, 2001 A couple of tips on using steel pipe. The outside diameter is nominally constant but as the nominal wall thickness gets thicker, the inside diameter becomes smaller. Therefore, you can sleeve a 1-1/2" (1.9"OD) inside a 2" sch. 40 pipe but a heavier wall 2" will have too small an inside diameter. Even 2" sch. 40 will be a tight fit, with nominally only .167" of clearance or .084" all the way around. The problem is that seamless, extruded pipe has a wall thickness tolerance of 12.5% with manufacturers typically erring towards more wall thickness rather than less. In other words, make sure they fit before you buy. The 2" pipe sleeve will give you a 2.375" outside diameter or gripping surface. The good news is that if you desire a stronger bar you can go with 1-1/2" Sch. 80(.200" nominal wall) or Sch. 160(.281") or go all out with XXS(.400") and the outside diameter should remain the same at 1.900". I figure if you can put enough weight on your bar to bend the XXS with a 2" sleeve around it, it's time to move up to deadlifting Greyhound buses anyhow. Needless to say, I deal with pipe on a daily basis. I even calculated out a 7' foot bar sleeved in this manner using the weight per linear foot charts for the various pipe schedules and it worked out to right around 45# if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, I do not have that info with me at the moment. Hope this helps with your ideas. Regards SDT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdawg Posted December 5, 2001 Share Posted December 5, 2001 is anyone here from nc? and if so, do you know where i can find pipe, stock, or anything else to make a bar? i've got a serious urge to incorporate a thick bar into my program, but i've searched the yellow pages and can't find anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted December 6, 2001 Author Share Posted December 6, 2001 underdawg, Try some auto junkyards or salvage yards. You're going to want a 2" diameter steel bar about 7 feet long. Then throw some Olympic plates on that puppy and start lifting!! :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 6, 2001 Share Posted December 6, 2001 What sort of price are we looking at for a 7 foot 2 inch thick colled rolled steel bar? The apollons axle weighs only 15 ks!!!....I thought it was solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 6, 2001 Share Posted December 6, 2001 I made a few calls to some places today before work and got some good prices. To buy new a 2 inch thick solid steel bar will cast me around £60. The scrappy said that the same bar will cost me about £5 at the very most!!!! :0 :p I love a bargin! Im gonna try and get a little soft knurling on it and some welded stop collars to make a beast of a bar......and not an inch of chrome in sight.....bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted December 9, 2001 Author Share Posted December 9, 2001 Kingpin, Tell me about this bargin! I decided to poke around some search engines and came up with a list of junkyards/salvage yards near where I live. I decided to go ahead and visit one nearby, and see what I could find. To make a long story short - I couldn't find ANYTHING worth what I expect to be a good solid thick bar. I did find a long steel bar (and I thought of Tom Black)..... good bending stuff. There's a steel foundry near where I live, and they do all sorts including stainless steel rounds. I'll contact them and see what happens; wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kINGPIN Posted December 10, 2001 Share Posted December 10, 2001 The bar will probably need to be cleaned up a little but at that price....who cares! I am also thinking of making some thick dumbell handles out of aluminium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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