Dbollar Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 So I want an inch dumbbell but I'm sure I'm unable to lift one yet. I decided I would try and make something to use to train up to an inch. Once I get closer I will shell out the money and purchase one from the company that makes them in Rhode Island. Until then I wanted a loadable dumbbell with a rotating handle. Tried it out today and it seems to be a success. this is more of a prototype for now until I finally decide if I want to go the extra mile to make it pretty. Planned it in my head and surprisingly it worked out the way I wanted. It didn't require any welding or grinding. I didn't even have to cut the pieces as I ordered them to the size I was going to use. assembly time was about 30 minutes. The following are the parts I used. Also all parts were purchased through amazon. - 2 one inch stainless collars 20.32$ - 2 ball bearings 5.20$ - one 24 inch piece of steel round bar 35.44$ - one 6 in piece of stainless steel tube ID 2" OD 2.5" 15.25$ - 2 one inch quick release barbell clamps 16.99$ TOTAL - 93.20$ All of it was an easy install with a mini sledge and a couple blocks of wood. Sure I could have been a little more careful pounding on the ball bearings but it still functions fine. the order of install went as follows. 1.) I fit in the first bearing into the 6" handle. 2.) pushed the 24" steel rod through the handle assembly. 3.) evened the space of remaining 1" steel rod on each side of handle. This left 9" on each side. 4.) installed steel collar on the handle side with the bushing already installed to prevent movement when installing second bearing. 5.) installed second bearing on other side of the handle. 6.) installed second steel collar. The steel collars just prevent the weight plates from pushing against the handle/bearing that could prevent handle rotation. I thought about buying large fender washers that would be the same diameter as the handle and welding them in place but then it would be a pain if I ever needed to change the bearings. I doubt they will ever need changed though. I left roughly 1/16" between bearing and steel collar on both sides. After assembling I tested it out with the weights I have available and found it to work as well as expected. I was unable to lift as much as I can with a rolling thunder style implement. The handle itself weighs in at 10 lbs. There is enough room on each side for nine 10 lb. plates. This would put the limit of weight to 190 lbs. Of course it can go higher with larger plates but I wanted to use 10 lbers as they would be closer to the inch's globe size and keep the dumbbell lower to the ground. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbollar Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 Plan on polishing the handle to make it harder to grip. Also thinking about replacing the steel round bar with stainless steel round bar so rust wouldnt be an issue. Until then just going to sand smooth, polish it, and give it a little oil. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 That thing is way cool l love homemade equipment 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aroostook Barbell Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 Very cool! Nice work man! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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