Equipment Crew- Part II

[animalfan]

I just stuck 495 on the bar and they all fit, but barely. This is what I call quality:

those are sexy, congrats!

Thanks all you guys for the well wishes.

@ darkfact-yes its my left knee.

i wish you a speedy recovery, bro. definately do whatever is recommended to you- i can't seem to go a month without my knee f*cking me up these days. i should get mine looked at soon, but mine won't be worker's comp. it's been messed up so long i don't really know what i did to it. i know it started bothering me again at work, but as far as the original injury...

Oh, I did pose a question in a thread, but hate to bump it so here is the link:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=132214143

Basically I have a chance to get a new elite spider bar, but don't really know if I need to and want to know its general benefits. It is $300, which is $200 off new, so its not like a steal, but it is something that isn't going to pop up much. Just curious and looking for some opinions.

i replied with a no-risk solution for you.

[yankeemarko1]

i wish you a speedy recovery, bro. definately do whatever is recommended to you- i can't seem to go a month without my knee f*cking me up these days. i should get mine looked at soon, but mine won't be worker's comp. it's been messed up so long i don't really know what i did to it. i know it started bothering me again at work, but as far as the original injury...

Even if it's not workers comp, wouldn't your normal insurance cover an issue with your knee? It doesn't have to be work related for your insurance to cover surgery if you need it.

[darkfact]

i replied with a no-risk solution for you.

With that I changed my mind then, I'd buy it with that kind of guarantee.

[animalfan]

Even if it's not workers comp, wouldn't your normal insurance cover an issue with your knee? It doesn't have to be work related for your insurance to cover surgery if you need it.

yea, my insurance would cover surgery and rehab. the time off work would be rough though. also, it seems that it's getting better for a while then craps out on me. my squatting has been pretty much nonexistant, except box squats with the cambered bar.

i kinda miss the leg press i sold a while ago now, i didn't use it at all when i had it, but i could squat well then. i'm not sure the leg press would be any better, though, in all honesty. i should try one out at a gym- i've got a couple memberships

With that I changed my mind then, I'd buy it with that kind of guarantee.

lol, i have wanted one of those spider bars from elite for a long time. if i found one here i'd buy it for 300 for sure. i'm sure keet could sell it for more than he's gonna pay for it if he put it on ebay or craigslist and waited it out a bit.

[jfindon]

Knee injuries are a pain in the dick, best of luck buffbrown. Two of my uncles went through knee surgeries and they had a lot of trouble with the rehab portion, but those were full replacements.

In other news, my shoes came in today too



They feel awesome, I did a quick warmup set of squats and my feet felt glued to the floor. I'm paranoid about sizing and fitment though, not sure if my toes are too close to the front. I don't think they are but it's another one of my stupid quirks, I'll have to double check them again.

[JJ-]

Awesome plates JF. I know you must be proud. I would love to upgrade one day. I bet your glad now you finally pulled the trigger on em

[yankeemarko1]

yea, my insurance would cover surgery and rehab. the time off work would be rough though.

You build cars, right? That means you're in a union. You must have short term disability. Why would missing any work be an issue? Normally, the longer you work for the company the more weeks STD you get. I go back to work Monday from my surgery. I've been off 4 weeks and got paid the whole time. I'm also in a union, the CWA.

[Wildtim]

Man JF you are set!!!! now just go and hit the next meet near you and lets see how you do, bet it would kick ass.


Keeman,

I'm a pretty minimilist type of guy so the only thing that would have me buying that bar would be the Animal Gaurantee. especially since you already have a leg press and your leverage squat, right? The spider bar kind of makes me think of the way the leverage squat distributes the weight.

[Keetman]

I'm not necessarily a minimalist, Tim.....but space wise, I have plenty to keep me occupied. If I do some reading and determine there's something else I want, then a purchase would be in order or if it were dirt cheap. This bar is not necessarily either so I agree with you.



Animal.....if you are sure that's what you want to do, let me know. I'll have to make up my mind by Wednesday. Thanks man.

[mensagitatmolem]

Buffbrown - Sorry to read about the knee problems. Unfortunately, if you have questions, I might be able to answer them. First knee surgery was 33+ years ago, and have had quite a few others since then. Been bone on bone for a long time now.

[darkfact]

Knee injuries are a pain in the dick, best of luck buffbrown. Two of my uncles went through knee surgeries and they had a lot of trouble with the rehab portion, but those were full replacements.

In other news, my shoes came in today too

They feel awesome, I did a quick warmup set of squats and my feet felt glued to the floor. I'm paranoid about sizing and fitment though, not sure if my toes are too close to the front. I don't think they are but it's another one of my stupid quirks, I'll have to double check them again.

Did you order your normal shoe size like the rogue site suggests? I thought I always heard people would order like a .5 size less than normal. I just bought a pair of adidas sambas but I'm interested in trying these out as well for leg day.

[animalfan]

You build cars, right? That means you're in a union. You must have short term disability. Why would missing any work be an issue? Normally, the longer you work for the company the more weeks STD you get. I go back to work Monday from my surgery. I've been off 4 weeks and got paid the whole time. I'm also in a union, the CWA.

we do have short term disability, but it's not full pay. normally wouldn't be too bad, but my wife is gonna go off on medical leave soon. she's getting a breast reduction really though, they got bigger with my daughter, never went down, and got bigger with my son- and still didn't get smaller afterwards. she's having back problems and neck pain.

Keeman,

I'm a pretty minimilist type of guy so the only thing that would have me buying that bar would be the Animal Gaurantee. especially since you already have a leg press and your leverage squat, right? The spider bar kind of makes me think of the way the leverage squat distributes the weight.

lol, i like that.

I'm not necessarily a minimalist, Tim.....but space wise, I have plenty to keep me occupied. If I do some reading and determine there's something else I want, then a purchase would be in order or if it were dirt cheap. This bar is not necessarily either so I agree with you.



Animal.....if you are sure that's what you want to do, let me know. I'll have to make up my mind by Wednesday. Thanks man.

it works for me. i should be able to sell mine to make up some of the cost- if you don't like it, of course. not sure when the next time i'll make it down is, but if you get it and want to sell it, i'll tuck the cash away for the next trip.

[jfindon]

Did you order your normal shoe size like the rogue site suggests? I thought I always heard people would order like a .5 size less than normal. I just bought a pair of adidas sambas but I'm interested in trying these out as well for leg day.

Yep, normal size. If I bought .5 smaller they'd definitely be too small.

And here are some pictures of some of the "damage" I mentioned on my plates. I know RemainDieHard (think it was him) told me not to expect perfect plates, but I need to hear that it's normal again because I have OCD and I'm a moron. The flash made it look worse than it is, but do you think I should try to put some sort of paint over the spots or just forget it? I have a dehumidifier down there that should keep any rust from forming on the unprotected parts.

[KBKB]

Yep, normal size. If I bought .5 smaller they'd definitely be too small.

And here are some pictures of some of the "damage" I mentioned on my plates. I know RemainDieHard (think it was him) told me not to expect perfect plates, but I need to hear that it's normal again because I have OCD and I'm a moron. The flash made it look worse than it is, but do you think I should try to put some sort of paint over the spots or just forget it? I have a dehumidifier down there that should keep any rust from forming on the unprotected parts.

My two cents...

I'd be tempted to try to touch it up with paint. I repainted my mailbox recently; my wife found a nice paint which gives a sort of mottled / stony look. I'd get a can of two of something that looks like it might match and then try it on something else first. If it looks okay, then give it a go. Otherwise, leave your plates alone as a bad touch up job could look worse than what you have now.

Take a look at the products in Krylon's Outdoor Spaces line, especially the Hammered Finish and the Textured Finish. Your local hardware store might have something else suitable from some other manufacturer too.

[buffbrown21]

i wish you a speedy recovery, bro. definately do whatever is recommended to you- i can't seem to go a month without my knee f*cking me up these days. i should get mine looked at soon, but mine won't be worker's comp. it's been messed up so long i don't really know what i did to it. i know it started bothering me again at work, but as far as the original injury...

Knee injuries are a pain in the dick, best of luck buffbrown. Two of my uncles went through knee surgeries and they had a lot of trouble with the rehab portion, but those were full replacements.

Buffbrown - Sorry to read about the knee problems. Unfortunately, if you have questions, I might be able to answer them. First knee surgery was 33+ years ago, and have had quite a few others since then. Been bone on bone for a long time now.

Thanks for all the well wishes guys. My knee actually feels good today....but thats the trick, it will feel fine and then tomorrow I cant walk without pain. It seems to do as it pleases.

I will keep you guys updated.

[RemainDieHard]

And here are some pictures of some of the "damage" I mentioned on my plates. I know RemainDieHard (think it was him) told me not to expect perfect plates, but I need to hear that it's normal again because I have OCD and I'm a moron.

That wasn't me who said that, but I would not be worried about what you posted since they're gonna get chipped here and there anyways with normal use. I got my OMs and my OMEZH 45s all used so there was probably some dings on mine as well. I never inspected them up close.

Still want to refinish my Ivanko 1.25s with powdercoat. These are the closest matches I have seen so far:

EMERALD HAMMERTONE


GREEN METALLIC ENVY VEIN


SHAMROCK GREEN METALLIC

[jfindon]

My two cents...

I'd be tempted to try to touch it up with paint. I repainted my mailbox recently; my wife found a nice paint which gives a sort of mottled / stony look. I'd get a can of two of something that looks like it might match and then try it on something else first. If it looks okay, then give it a go. Otherwise, leave your plates alone as a bad touch up job could look worse than what you have now.

Take a look at the products in Krylon's Outdoor Spaces line, especially the Hammered Finish and the Textured Finish. Your local hardware store might have something else suitable from some other manufacturer too.

I'll consider it, thanks.

That wasn't me who said that, but I would not be worried about what you posted since they're gonna get chipped here and there anyways with normal use. I got my OMs and my OMEZH 45s all used so there was probably some dings on mine as well. I never inspected them up close.

Still want to refinish my Ivanko 1.25s with powdercoat. These are the closest matches I have seen so far:

EMERALD HAMMERTONE


GREEN METALLIC ENVY VEIN


SHAMROCK GREEN METALLIC

I inspect everything up close I'm sure it's bound to happen with them rubbing around on eachother during shipping, they had a piece of plastic film in between them but that was it. I know it's going to happen eventually, I just always feel this way when I get something new. In a few days I'll stop caring because it was out of my control. I really think I have OCD with stuff like that.

Anyway, I'm psyched to get to use them tomorrow. I can't wait to be able to load the bar with a bunch of 45s instead of slapping 50 different sized plates on there to get to my working weight. It's going to be so nice just throwing 4 45s on each side and already being at 405, rather than two 45s, two 35s, one 10, and two 5s on each side. Man I hated that.

I've had a 25lb one sitting up here with me in my room just so I can look at it while I'm up here

[darkfact]

Yep, normal size. If I bought .5 smaller they'd definitely be too small.

Alright you sold me, those shoes look awesome so I just ordered a pair. I needed another pair of hg lockjaw collars from rogue anyway so that gave me a reason to order both!

[jfindon]

Alright you sold me, those shoes look awesome so I just ordered a pair. I needed another pair of hg lockjaw collars from rogue anyway so that gave me a reason to order both!

I was surprised how comfortable they are, they feel really good. Heavy too, around 1.5lbs each. I thought the suede upper would be stiff, but it's extremely soft as you can see in the picture.

[animalfan]

Alright you sold me, those shoes look awesome so I just ordered a pair. I needed another pair of hg lockjaw collars from rogue anyway so that gave me a reason to order both!

olympic shoes are something else i've wanted for a long time. i almost bought a pair at the arnold, but the sales chick was too much of a c*nt. i probably should have bought them anyway, because i liked them. i like the nikes that rogue has, too, but those are very expensive.

[darkfact]

olympic shoes are something else i've wanted for a long time. i almost bought a pair at the arnold, but the sales chick was too much of a c*nt. i probably should have bought them anyway, because i liked them. i like the nikes that rogue has, too, but those are very expensive.

yeah the nikes are always too colorful for me, almost everything I own is black so when I saw jfins pics of the black dowins I was sold lol

[Kodokan]

Hey Keetman,

I have an EFS yoke bar, which has some similarities to the spider bar. The big difference between those two is the spider bar also has the weight cambered in a much different position.

For me, the biggest benefit to this type of bar was that it gives your shoulders a break. Although I've recently started working back in regular squats...the yoke bar immediately let me get back to squatting even at a time when my shoulders were pretty screwed up. So...that's one reason you could go looking for that bar.

The weight is cambered differently, so from what I've ready this will increase the difficulty and make your low back work more for this bar. That might sound like a bad thing, but intentionally switching between squat variants for the purposes of recovery is part of several popular programs out there.

The only downside at all IMO for this type of bar is that it's a pain to navigate it around a small gym. I think you would like it better than a regular safety squat type bar because the yoke handles let you position the bar further into a 'low bar' type position if you want it as well.

...I'm not sure if he's commented on it yet, but I think the user dumb.bell actually has this very bar.

[darkfact]

I was surprised how comfortable they are, they feel really good. Heavy too, around 1.5lbs each. I thought the suede upper would be stiff, but it's extremely soft as you can see in the picture.

Bah! Rogue just cancelled the order for my shoes, apparently they're selling too fast and my size is out of stock now. Guess I'll be waiting for the new shipment next month or whatever.

On another note, some good and bad today, my legend lat/low row was delivered today, WHAT A BEAST... that thing was no joke to get around to my backyard to bring into my basement gym. I asked them to ship the machine with the 300lbs weight stack separate (they said they could do that so I requested it) but they didn't, and to take it all apart apparently I'd have to cut the cable etc and would just be a huge pain in the ass. So a couple buddies and I muscled it around back and after a couple hours finally had it inside.

But the bad news is, it seems one of the pulley wheel holes was drilled a little off and the cable in that spot that leads down to the weight stack drags across the edge of the hole instead of going through the middle of it, this will no doubt lead to the cable fraying and breaking way sooner than it should, and it also creates another problem which is a little hard to explain without pictures, but causes the weight stack to not slide back to the bottom evenly. There's just no way in hell I'm dealing with a replacement unless they hire someone to move this one out and a new one in, it was just that insanely hard to move inside. So looks like I'm faced with getting them to hire someone to come over to my house and fix it, or I'll have to hire someone on my own if they refuse to fix the mistake without just replacing the whole thing. I'll find out tomorrow when I call them but I'm worried this isn't gonna go the way I want it to.

Besides that bit of problem though the finish and build is awesome, I'll do a proper review once I get everything straightened out.

[KBKB]

But the bad news is, it seems one of the pulley wheel holes was drilled a little off and the cable in that spot that leads down to the weight stack drags across the edge of the hole instead of going through the middle of it, this will no doubt lead to the cable fraying and breaking way sooner than it should, and it also creates another problem which is a little hard to explain without pictures, but causes the weight stack to not slide back to the bottom evenly. There's just no way in hell I'm dealing with a replacement unless they hire someone to move this one out and a new one in, it was just that insanely hard to move inside. So looks like I'm faced with getting them to hire someone to come over to my house and fix it, or I'll have to hire someone on my own if they refuse to fix the mistake without just replacing the whole thing. I'll find out tomorrow when I call them but I'm worried this isn't gonna go the way I want it to.

Is it the hole that the cable runs through that is a little bit off? Or is it one of the holes which hold the pulley axle that's off?

If it's the former and the hole is through sheet metal, I have an idea for fixing it. If the pulley axle is askew,... well that would be bad.

EDIT: Post a photo of that area if you can...

[darkfact]

Is it the hole that the cable runs through that is a little bit off? Or is it one of the holes which hold the pulley axle that's off?

If it's the former and the hole is through sheet metal, I have an idea for fixing it. If the pulley axle is askew,... well that would be bad.

EDIT: Post a photo of that area if you can...

You raised an interesting point so I went down to double check the problem. I initially thought it was the pulley that was too far forward but it's actually the hole in the frame that the cable runs through. The hole is not centered between the 2 guide rails, and that's why the cable rubs it. So I guess the pulley's don't need to be redrilled but somehow I need to enlarge the hole that's off. Sounds like a bigger problem now, because the hole would need to be recut on the bottom and the top where the pulley's are now welded on top of.

the hole between the guide rods:


this is the issue it creates by pulling the pulley to the side a bit because the cable isn't allowed to hang straight down, when weights are lifted up the inner pin thing pulls out a bit and hits the side of the hole on the way down:

[KBKB]

You raised an interesting point so I went down to double check the problem. I initially thought it was the pulley that was too far forward but it's actually the hole in the frame that the cable runs through. The hole is not centered between the 2 guide rails, and that's why the cable rubs it. So I guess the pulley's don't need to be redrilled but somehow I need to enlarge the hole that's off. Sounds like a bigger problem now, because the hole would need to be recut on the bottom and the top where the pulley's are now welded on top of.

the hole between the guide rods:


this is the issue it creates by pulling the pulley to the side a bit because the cable isn't allowed to hang straight down, when weights are lifted up the inner pin thing pulls out a bit and hits the side of the hole on the way down:

Okay, so definitely talk to Legend before doing anything, but...

I'm wondering if you could simply make the hole a bit bigger in the necessary direction by using a rat tail (round) file. You would, of course, hold the cable off to the side while doing this.

But, that said...

I'm staring at the pictures you posted and it looks to me like the hole between the guide rods is centered. Maybe it's just an optical illusion.

Is that bottom photo taken from the same side of the machine as the top photo?

EDIT: As I look at it some more, I think you might be right. The hole does appear to be too far to the right.

EDIT AGAIN: This is puzzling. While it might be the case that the hole is a little bit off to the right, it also appears to me that the hole should be big enough to accommodate that error. And, in fact, it looks to me like the cable is way too far to the left. I'm guessing that the second photo was shot from the other side of the machine. If so, that would suggest to me that your original hypothesis about the pulley being off is correct.

[darkfact]

Okay, so definitely talk to Legend before doing anything, but...

I'm wondering if you could simply make the hole a bit bigger in the necessary direction by using a rat tail (round) file. You would, of course, hold the cable off to the side while doing this.

But, that said...

I'm staring at the pictures you posted and it looks to me like the hole between the guide rods is centered. Maybe it's just an optical illusion.

Is that bottom photo taken from the same side of the machine as the top photo?

EDIT: As I look at it some more, I think you might be right. The hole does appear to be too far to the right.

EDIT AGAIN: This is puzzling. While it might be the case that the hole is a little bit off to the right, it also appears to me that the hole should be big enough to accommodate that error. And, in fact, it looks to me like the cable is way too far to the left. I'm guessing that the second photo was shot from the other side of the machine. If so, that would suggest to me that your original hypothesis about the pulley being off is correct.

Yeah it's the same side for both pictures. The hole is definitely off center, by eyeballing only it's probably 1/8" off or more, but I also know what you mean by the size of the hole and that it should accommodate being off a little. It seems that all the other holes (there's 3 total for cables) all have the cable hanging much closer to that same side of the hole as the one I pictured, but they don't actually rub the side of the hole like this one. It could very well be a combination of the hole and the pulley being off, and if that's the case then making the hole larger might not fix the problem with the weight thing being pulled to the side I'm guessing?

There's about an inch or two of slack on the end of the cable where you attach a bar so originally I thought if you just redrilled the hole for the back pulley to let the cable hang more in line with the hole (maybe 1/2- 3/4"), then that would solve the problem. I don't know how bad it would be on the steel to drill another hole that close to the first one though, I just don't have any experience with metal work.

[KBKB]

Yeah it's the same side for both pictures. The hole is definitely off center, by eyeballing only it's probably 1/8" off or more, but I also know what you mean by the size of the hole and that it should accommodate being off a little. It seems that all the other holes (there's 3 total for cables) all have the cable hanging much closer to that same side of the hole as the one I pictured, but they don't actually rub the side of the hole like this one. It could very well be a combination of the hole and the pulley being off, and if that's the case then making the hole larger might not fix the problem with the weight thing being pulled to the side I'm guessing?

With what I can see from your photos, I'm guessing that making the hole bigger will not solve the problem. What happens if you push the cable a little to the right - i.e. more towards the center of the hole - with your finger? When you do this, are you able to make the carriage spindle (or whatever it's called) line up with the holes in the plates?

There's about an inch or two of slack on the end of the cable where you attach a bar so originally I thought if you just redrilled the hole for the back pulley to let the cable hang more in line with the hole (maybe 1/2- 3/4"), then that would solve the problem. I don't know how bad it would be on the steel to drill another hole that close to the first one though, I just don't have any experience with metal work.

I only have limited experience with metal work. If the hole needs to be moved by as much as 3/4", then it might be doable depending upon how big the hole needs to be. (The smaller, the better.) My worry would be that if the holes were too close together, the material in between might not be strong enough to prevent the pulley axle from being pulled over into the original hole. (It may take a while for this to happen, but remember that there's quite a lot of force involved.) So, obviously, the further apart those two holes are, the better.

The other problem is that it might be hard to drill the holes in the correct location using hand tools. Ideally a drill press would be used, but I don't think that's a possibility here. Maybe some really careful measuring, followed by the use of a center punch, followed by a small pilot hole, etc? (Using a center punch is important so that the bit doesn't walk when starting the hole. I tell you this not so that you can do it, but so that you make sure that whoever does do it uses one.)

I found a video of the Legend PRO SERIES Lat/Low Row Combo #971. Here's the video, followed by a snapshot that I took of a bit of it from around 5 or 6 seconds in.



Here's my snapshot. Note the red circled area:



I want to know what those things are that I've circled in red? Are they some sort of cable guides? Maybe if you had something like that on your machine, it'd fix the problem??

[darkfact]

With what I can see from your photos, I'm guessing that making the hole bigger will not solve the problem. What happens if you push the cable a little to the right - i.e. more towards the center of the hole - with your finger? When you do this, are you able to make the carriage spindle (or whatever it's called) line up with the holes in the plates?

Yep, I had my brother push it over earlier and the weight drops down just fine.

I want to know what those things are that I've circled in red? Are they some sort of cable guides? Maybe if you had something like that on your machine, it'd fix the problem??

Honestly I have no idea, they aren't on my machine but I did notice them in the pic on the website, so maybe it is something missing.

Edit: I went down to look again, to see if the placement of where the pulley's are welded to the frame is the same on mine as the pic you posted, and assuming all the measurements are the same between the two the placement appears to be identical on mine to the one you posted in the vid. That piece near the top looks like it could just be a guide for the cable to ensure a smooth up and down motion everytime, and that's probably exactly what my problem is. So now it's really a matter of figuring out how to get them to send or hire a technician to come install that part.

[KBKB]

Yep, I had my brother push it over earlier and the weight drops down just fine.

Seems like the pulley needs to be moved over then. Hopefully Legend can send someone over to make that adjustment...

If those other things are some sort of cable guide, that seems like a kludge to me.