The Barbell Thread

[Vermonter]

This thread needs more posts.

[AttyGuy]

And pics.

[User893402]

This thread needs more posts.

And pics.

I'm on it ...

[morebarbell]

Has anyone taken the rubber end caps off a Hampton bar without damaging them? (the "Hampton" sticker sits in them) Are they easy to get back on? What is under there?

There is only one hole in the sleeve, how do the sleeves come off?

I happened to receive a bar that is missing an end cap. I suspect that the end cap has a ridge that locks into the hollow part of the sleeve. I haven't taken the other side off. It's on there real snug.

...also, the bar is pinned. You can see the pin through the hole in the sleeve.

[JohnPurple]

I bought this barbell super cheap and I was wondering if it was anything special.. It's a 5ft bar with a hex bolt at the ends. The thing that made me think it was worth something was the flat head screw on it.

[morebarbell]

I picked up a 70s York bar recently and my curiosity got the best of me so I took the sleeves off to have a look. Unlike Keetman's bar, this older bar uses a small socket head bolt to secure the end cap so taking it apart didn't require much work. I just removed the socket head bolts and unscrewed the end caps.

the bar

the small socket head bolt on the end cap

Its construction is similar but slightly different than the more recent power bar in Keetman's posts so I thought I'd share a photo of the sleeves. Both ends of sleeve have a bronze bushing.



Here's Keetman's photo for comparison.

Inside of the sleeve. The circle and arrow mark the internal channels that are cut inside of the sleeve. Its hard to make out, but you can notice the elevation difference.

[morebarbell]

Also, does anyone have experience safely removing the flange from one of these bars? It also has a socket head bolt but there appears to be a threaded pin underneath.

[slimneverdies]

Are these barbells anything special? the guy wants $100 for both of them???





And then this this one

[Accutron]

@ Slim, did you even see resolution on your red Ivanko plates?

[morebarbell]

There's not much of the 3rd bar showing in the photos. It looks like it's missing an end cap. The photos are blurry. Does the inside of the sleeve look similar to the Hampton photos that I posted above? I think some of the older Hampton bars were black oxide.

Edit:
like this one: http://us.ironcompany.com/cgi-bin/md/M10514/s1.pl

[slimneverdies]

There's not much of the 3rd bar showing in the photos. It looks like it's missing an end cap. The photos are blurry. Does the inside of the sleeve look similar to the Hampton photos that I posted above? I think some of the older Hampton bars were black oxide.

Edit:
like this one: http://us.ironcompany.com/cgi-bin/md/M10514/s1.pl

It actually does look like the one you posted. What do you think its worth? All three bars are straight and spin pretty good

[slimneverdies]

@ Slim, did you even see resolution on your red Ivanko plates?

I gave up with those guys and jumped off that wagon lol.I was a fan of their stuff for about 25 years but I guess its a sign for me to look elsewhere. I was about to buy a full set of the bumper plates but Im looking for other options now.

[morebarbell]

If it's the Hampton bar, the diameter will be 32mm.

Without knowing the specifications, it's difficult to say what they are worth. They could just be 500 lb test bars or maybe something better. The first two are chrome and heavily rusted so I think $100 is probably way too much for the pair. I would pass on them but I haven't seen them in person. I don't think it's deal material. But if you need the bars that's a different story. I can't really see the condition of the third bar. If it's the same bar as the linked Hampton bar, I guess maybe $50 to $75... maybe up to $100 if it's in super condition but not more.

Edit: Keep in mind that you can get a new Cap OB-86B for around $120-130 shipped.

[Cleveland33]

If it's the Hampton bar, the diameter will be 32mm.

Without knowing the specifications, it's difficult to say what they are worth. They could just be 500 lb test bars or maybe something better. The first two are chrome and heavily rusted so I think $100 is probably way too much for the pair. I would pass on them but I haven't seen them in person. I don't think it's deal material. But if you need the bars that's a different story. I can't really see the condition of the third bar. If it's the same bar as the linked Hampton bar, I guess maybe $50 to $75... maybe up to $100 if it's in super condition but not more.

Edit: Keep in mind that you can get a new Cap OB-86B for around $120-130 shipped.

they look very rough, but I think those are salvageable bars. Probably never nook shiny and new, but I think $50 a pop is better than just about anything else in that range.

[morebarbell]

Even if the seller had cleaned up the chrome bars before selling them, I doubt he'd get more than $50 each for them. The time spent restoring them is an additional cost for the buyer. I think $25 each is a more reasonable price but I'd still pass on them unless I really needed the bars. But I can't stand bars with peeling and chipped chrome. Not because they aren't shiny. It's because I don't want chrome flakes falling into my eyes and cutting my hands.

My guess is that they were $70-80 bars when new... probably in the late 90s or 00s. The sleeves are pinned but that doesn't mean much.

Without knowing the specifications and without cleaning them up, I don't see how the seller can expect more for them. And based on the condition, the seller doesn't seem to care about the equipment. He probably just wants to unload it.

In the $50 price range, there aren't many new bars to choose from. But on CL, $100 can buy quite a bit.

[Cleveland33]

maybe I missed it, but I don't see chipped chrome - I just see surface rust.

[morebarbell]

I might be wrong but it looks peeling and chipped to me... It could just be my paranoia of chrome flakes in my eyes. And it's difficult to see much detail in the photos.

[judgecrandall]

Considering the condition of the bars, and that one of the bars is sitting on a Marcy bench, I wouldn't have high hopes for these being diamonds in the rough. At $100 + labor + cost of cleaning supplies, this doesn't really seem worth it to me when you can get a guaranteed quality bar in the Cap OB86B for around $125, unless you just want the experience of refurbishing bars. I'd be more inclined to take a chance at a lower price, say $50.

[ramonski]

didnt even think to look for a bar on amazon, I'm going to look into the Cap OB86B

[robosphere]

I never saw this thread before. Verrrrrry informative - thanks!

[jdforsy]

didnt even think to look for a bar on amazon, I'm going to look into the Cap OB86B

compare the price on wayfair as well. With a little searching you can easily find a 10% off coupon.

[ramonski]

compare the price on wayfair as well. With a little searching you can easily find a 10% off coupon.

great man thanks!

[slimneverdies]

Considering the condition of the bars, and that one of the bars is sitting on a Marcy bench, I wouldn't have high hopes for these being diamonds in the rough. At $100 + labor + cost of cleaning supplies, this doesn't really seem worth it to me when you can get a guaranteed quality bar in the Cap OB86B for around $125, unless you just want the experience of refurbishing bars. I'd be more inclined to take a chance at a lower price, say $50.

I was thinking the same thing. Reps for the cap bar. I just might grab one....

[slimneverdies]

I might be wrong but it looks peeling and chipped to me... It could just be my paranoia of chrome flakes in my eyes. And it's difficult to see much detail in the photos.

Lots of peeling. I just see that some many guys are refurbishing these bars but the chipping chrome had me thinking otherwise too. I never really like chrome bars for some reason either

[RichL1982]

Grabbing this one as we speak. My first bar:

http://www.amazon.com/Cap-Barbell-Po...pr_product_top

[lidoman]

Update on this bar.

I cleaned it up and it looks beautiful. Really nice patina

I spoke to the guys at York and they told me that the split-sleeve design with a threaded donut and a single set screw was made during the 1970's. They couldn't tell me what size set screw was used, but after trying several sizes I found a 5/16" set screw that's 3/8" long works perfectly.

Hi I am cutting in on this thread a little late lol,
I just picked up the same bar for 25 bucks, its missing one of the end caps but its 28 mm a threaded end cap but has two set screws and no name has a nice patina on it too it has no knurl in the center any idea where to get an end cap local machine shop here wants 65 dollars to make one

[rlundregan]

Bumping this thread due to folks having a lot of questions about bars lately. It would be great if this thread could be a sticky!

[DLS_222]

I have both the CAP OB-86B and the 86PB and the 86B has a better yield strength rating compared to the OB-86PB (120,000 vs 110,000 PSI). How much of a difference does this actually make? Can anyone give an example of what it would take to permanently bend one vs another.

[GarageIron]

I have both the CAP OB-86B and the 86PB and the 86B has a better yield strength rating compared to the OB-86PB (120,000 vs 110,000 PSI). How much of a difference does this actually make? Can anyone give an example of what it would take to permanently bend one vs another.

The difference would be very minor. Basically impossible to compare without destructive testing. When it comes to cold rolled specs I can only tell you what I've learned and been told by the manufacturing folks at York.

Let's say you want to make a barbell that is 160KPSI tensile steel. Chances are you would select something like ETD150 steel (which has a MINIMUM strength of 150K) you would then specify to the supplier that you do not want to receive anything less than 160K. If I'm not mistaken, each batch is shipped with a test certificate which states it's specs.

For example, York accepts steel for its elite bars at a minimum of 195K, but the steel they use is typically tested at over 200K.

So the chances your PB and B are really 10K apart in yield (or 20K tensile) is likely not accurate. I reality, they are probably the same steel sorted into different "piles" based on how they arrived.

One thing I've noticed, and this is truly a loose rule of thumb, is that typically the static test rating of a bar is 1/100 of the tensile strength of the steel. 150K+ bars are usually 1500lb bars, 120K 1200lb bars, 60K bars 600lb, etc. This all goes to hell on the 200K bars (to be honest, 200K+ manufacturers know better than to bother with the useless static ratings)

[AttyGuy]

Hi I am cutting in on this thread a little late lol,
I just picked up the same bar for 25 bucks, its missing one of the end caps but its 28 mm a threaded end cap but has two set screws and no name has a nice patina on it too it has no knurl in the center any idea where to get an end cap local machine shop here wants 65 dollars to make one

Do you have photos? I may know someone with an extra end cap.