Loosening pro dumbbells (that have threadlocker). HOW??!!!!

[r34turbo123]

I'm in a bit of a situation.
I'm in the process of getting my mis-matching single pro dumbbells eg. 22's and 27's and making matching pairs out of them eg. 25's.
The problem is opening the dumbbells up. As you all probably know pro dumbbells are held together by some sort of bolt (eg. allen or hex head) and have threadlocker applied before tightening them up....so it becomes rock solid.

Now most of the time you would want to dismantle a pro dumbbell...would be if it has become loose......and you wish to open it up, clean the threadlocker off, and apply fresh threadlocker and tighten it all up again.
My problem, is that they are perfectly tight to begin with.

Here's a sample instructions I found that tells you how to untighten them with the use of breaker bars
cemcofitness com/Care&Maintenance.htm

Unfortunately, this assumes that both bolts on each end will loosen at the same time.....which is a bit like hoping for simultaneous orgasms between you and your girlfriend.
Usually what's been happening....is that one end loosens, while the other remains tight. This is a really crappy situation.....because you have one very tight bolt on one end.....and now nothing but the handle to hold onto on the other end...which tends to be slippery as hell.

Anyone have any ideas? I've tried heating the bolts up for several minutes with a propane torch (which should supposedly loosen the threadlocker...but doesn't do jack in my situation). Even if the threadlocker was loosened....I can't get a good grip on the handle, to stop it from spinning when I try to undo the bolt.
This may sound like very dumb question.....but has anyone tried 'boiling' the entire dumbbell in a big pan? I assume if anything would loosen the threadlocker, it would be this...... but then I think of potential damage to the dumbbell handle/plates?

[donforeman]

I'm in a bit of a situation.
This is a really crappy situation.....because you have one very tight bolt on one end.....and now nothing but the handle to hold onto on the other end...which tends to be slippery as hell.

Anyone have any ideas? I've tried heating the bolts up for several minutes with a propane torch (which should supposedly loosen the threadlocker...but doesn't do jack in my situation). Even if the threadlocker was loosened....I can't get a good grip on the handle, to stop it from spinning when I try to undo the bolt.


The propane torch isn't whats failing you! You must mount the handle very tightly in a vise with brass strips or soft jaws to protect the knurl. Have your 1/2" drive breaker bar ready with a QUALITY Allen bit - snapon matco etc! Then heat your bolt with yor torch till its really hot. Grab the breaker bar and push! It will let go with a bang and all is well in dumbbell land one again. Trying to hold it with your hand is crazy, the forces are way above what you can grasp with a hand.

[Cleveland33]

I'm curious as to what an allen wrench breaker bar looks like

[KBKB]

I'm curious as to what an allen wrench breaker bar looks like
Just like any other breaker bar. You can get Allen bits for the handles that you use with your socket set.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31lDOrt5PFL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/VIM-Hand-Tools-SHM400-Metric/dp/B0002UNOME)

[Cleveland33]

ahhh, when I hear breaker bar I think of pipes on handles

[fishpat86]

ahhh, when I hear breaker bar I think of pipes on handles

lol, although i am guilty of jumping on a wrench to improvise!

EDIT: I'd go with the vice and brass jaws, it's the only way.

[yabbadabbadoher]

I used a hammer on my ratchet ... did the job after a few swings

[r34turbo123]

Ahhhh! It never occurred to me to use a vice (partially because I don't own one....but I guess beg/borrow/steal it will have to be).... I just thought it would totally ruin the handle (scratch it up and make it prone to rust) and still be slipping.
I've never heard of this brass strips approach.....I'll have to go down to my hardware store and give it a go.

Yeah it seemed impossible to me to be gripping the handle.....also tried gripping it with a piece of leather and a wrench, but nothing.
Also tried the ratchet with hammer approach.
The ones I have use a hex head bolt instead of the allen.....so theoretically it should be easier.
So now I'll be on the lookout for a vice and brass strips.......and I'll let you guys know if I have any success.
Thanks you all for replying. Your help is greatly appreciated. :)

[sherman]

The vise with brass jaws sounds like a good approach, but it might be costly , and you'll need a place to bolt down your vise. A suggestion is to use a large 'vise grip" to hold the handle while you force the bolt. You could put a pipe over the end of the vice grip for leverage, and place that leather you have between the vise grip jaws and the handle to prevent scratching.

While you are heating the bolt tap it with a hammer to help loosen the crud .

[donforeman]

I used a hammer on my ratchet ... did the job after a few swings
That may work well when the dumbbell has no loctite, but you actually have to hold the Allen bit in the hole with the force required with the loctite. If you start wacking it with a hammer - the bits going to most likely going to slip out and mess up the hex. Once you strip out the hex then you get to drill the bolt out and that really takes some work! A slow controlled push at the end of a very long breaker bar with the handle in a vise will get the job done. If you short cut it - you may be ok, or you may end up causing yourself many more problems. Ivanko handles have a larger hex for more strength - if your dealing with another brand of handle the rounding out of the hex becomes a much greater possibility.


The vise with brass jaws sounds like a good approach, but it might be costly , and you'll need a place to bolt down your vise. A suggestion is to use a large 'vise grip" to hold the handle while you force the bolt. You could put a pipe over the end of the vice grip for leverage, and place that leather you have between the vise grip jaws and the handle to prevent scratching.
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1592&step=4&showunits=inches&id=1116&top_cat=79 See the custom cut option 3"x4" is what I have
Sheet brass is not expensive and you can bend it at 90 degrees to cover the regular jaws. This takes A LOT of holding power = vise grips will not hold... I tried it with a junky handle before getting the brass sheet. The rubber and aluminum soft jaws from harbor freight just slipped and tore off the rubber. Tapping doesn't do much in this case as its the loctite that causes the problem. Once the bolt gets hot enough the loctite will soften and it can be removed. If the bolts rusted then maybe tapping will help. At least that's my experience in taking apart over 2000 lbs of Ivanco and York plated dumbbells last year. I loved the ones that didnt have loctite on them! They just took a quick pull and they were done!

[Cleveland33]

honestly at this point, I would take the handle to a machine shop and ask them if they can get the screw out for $20.

[IvankoBarbellCo]

In addition to what Don Foreman writes for taking the thing apart, you'll want to make sure the components (handle + bolt) are squeaky clean when you put it back together or you won't get that mechanical bond you need to make sure they stay together again and don't loosen up.

You want lacquer thinner or acetone for that. It's a lot of prep work but is essential to doing the job right. One good way is a drill with an attached to a steel brush that's long enough to get all the way down inside the threaded handle. Also -- the more contact (i.e. the tighter the tolerance) between the threads of the handle and the bolt, the better.

For more info on threading, we did an article mainly aimed at gym owners looking for fixed (aka pro-style) dumbbells that would hold up in a commercial environment, but there's some useful info therein for the guy who's making a set for his garage or home gym. Just little things to look for in components and assembly. Click here to automatically download the PDF:

http://www.ivankobarbell.com/press/what_makes_a_good_fixed_dumbbell_pdf.pdf

Thanks,

Vinko

[IvankoBarbellCo]

honestly at this point, I would take the handle to a machine shop and ask them if they can get the screw out for $20.

Or if you have a buddy with a drill press, you could start with a small bit and work your way up. You might destroy the handle (and definitely the bolt :) ), but you save the plates.