York Barbell Club

[rlundregan]

Hey, just got home after picking up some plates to refurb. What a trip, but that's another story.
I'll get some better pics, with some other shots of my better condition York stuff later, but I picked up what appears to be an ancient York bar and a couple of York 35s (milled).
I got some other plates with them that are a bit of a mystery. Can anyone tell me what the manufacturer of the 45s is? Is that some sort of old school Hampton logo? They say made in the USA on them. I'm not sure about the smaller plates, either. They don't seem to be milled like the York 35s though so I'll probably just clean them up, paint and sell them. It looks like I'll have to do a KastorTroy and clean up the bar a bit (with CLR?), but the ends spin freely so with a little love it will be nice to have a second York bar.

THe 45's are indeed made by Hofman, which was located in Reading, PA.

Edit: I just now noticed that someone else had already ID'ed them. D'Oh!

[irongrandpa]

Oh? Great news, I have a lot of that on hand. I'll give it a shot. Did you just wipe it on? Do I need to "apply" it to the bar for very long?
Do I need to be wary around the collars or is it safe to apply it liberally? I have no experience cleaning up anything aside from some plates with a wire brush drill bit.

i used a cheap spray bottle for the vinegar, 0000 steel wool on smooth parts of the (sleeves, etc.) wire brush on the knurling. i applied liberally, cleaned & wiped with a clean cloth as i went, i elevated the bar a little so the vinegar didn't run into the sleeves. after it dried , i wiped it all down with wd40.

[Vermonter]

Ok, I just babied the bar a little; wiping it down with some vinegar. After checking it out, it looks like I'll hit it a couple few more times, but I really dig the dark look on the bar so only wanted to remove the obvious orange crap. I may need to obtain some steel wool to get more thorough.
The contrast between this bar and my stainless is like Old school vs modern. I'm psyched to have both! I'm going to use the cleaner-upper for deadlifts and clean/jerk/overhead stuff. It doesn't have center knurling and the markers are set at snatch distance.
Before:



After:


Side by Side with my stainless bar (note my awesome ghetto hanging-tires "punching bag" in the background)




I haven't put any WD-40 on it yet. I think it still needs a bit more scrubbin', I just wanted to start gentle. Make the bar understand I care for it before I make it my bitch (or vice-versa)!

[Cleveland33]

looks more patina than rust, I'd still hit it with the wire wheel though.

[irongrandpa]

i continued cleaning & wiping until i wasn't getting hardly any orange color on my wiping towel. i like the look myself.

[ProtienandIron]

Your gym is awesome mate. I've got to spread some but I'll be back. That bar is exactly why I want an unfinished bar, its such a good look.

[KastorTroy]

where are you located at again?

Columbus, OH



-The bar is looking good Vermonter!

[Vermonter]

Well, I couldn't leave it well alone... but I don't think I got too overzealous.
I practically hosed it down with vinegar from spray bottle while hitting it with my wire brush drill bit.
The knurling is awesome, and didn't lose any patina. The ends cleaned a ton of gunk, and I did lose some patina there but you know what? It will come back.
This was one dirty bar for sure, giving it a real shrub has cleaned it up nice and once I give it one more cleaning and wipe down with WD-40 I'll be psyched.




Now to figure out the plan on those 35s. I can't decide whether to leave them in their current condition or repaint.

[Vermonter]

A little easier to see it in outside lighting



*Edit* one last thing I forgot to mention, I did check it and the bar is perfectly straight, so that's good news.

[AttyGuy]

Some of the original color on the bar remains, so I would be careful there. You might want to take some CLR to the bar. You can always get some cold gun blue and apply it to the bar to improve the color. You might want to take a wire brush to the sleeves. Maybe.

It looks great. There's nothing like a York bar of that era.

[pumping4life]

How much of a York junkie do you have to be for these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YORK-GLOBE-D...item2ebccf0514

[animalfan]

How much of a York junkie do you have to be for these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YORK-GLOBE-D...item2ebccf0514

I've found and sold a couple pair of them, bought at play it again for .45/lb and sold for around 1.25-1.50/lb. I've had a pair of 70s, 2 pair of 80s, and a pair of 85s. They are cool, but pretty awkward to use compared to roundheads or hexes. They just feel so long.

I do kinda wish I had kept a pair just to have them, but not for that price!

[AttyGuy]

How much of a York junkie do you have to be for these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YORK-GLOBE-D...item2ebccf0514

That's a great price and the seller is a great American.

[pumping4life]

That's a great price and the seller is a great American.

So, you're gonna buy them?

[painted_klown]

Hello York fans. Well I was finally lucky enough to score some York plates on Craigslist!

I ended up finding a full 255 lb. Set (no bar though) and a Parabody weight tree for $250.00.

The 45s look like they may be from a different set as they are dark grey color and the numbering/lettering are the same color. The others are all black with white lettering. The 45s, 35's, 25's, and 10's all have grip holes in them. They look like the G2 series plates (I believe thats what they are) and the 5's and 2.5's look like they are from the international series. I am not 100% sure.

I am at work until 5am cst but I will post pics when I get home in the morning.

I am pretty psyched about the deal, although the bar was missing, I think I still got an ok deal...I hope so anyway. Lol!

[AttyGuy]

So, you're gonna buy them?

Globes aren't how I roll, brother.

[Cleveland33]

That's a great price and the seller is a great American.

Globes aren't how I roll, brother.

I'm starting to read your posts in Hulk Hogan's voice

[painted_klown]

Hello York Barbell Club members. I am finally home from work and was able to snap some quick pics with my ipod.

Upon closer inspection of the plates, it appears that the 35s, 25s, and 10s had the numbers and lettering painted by the previous owner. They are indeed G2 series plates, it it etched into the 45s, 35s, 25s, and 10s. I think these are an older set though, as they do not look like the ones currently pictured on the York web site. I still think the 5s, and 2.5s are from the international series plates, however.

The 45s do seem to be a dark grey color, that is slightly lighter then all the rest of them. There is also no front or back to them, both sides of all the plates look identical.

As promised, here are the pics of what I picked up:















And finally, here is the Parabody weight tree:



I hope you like them, and thanks for looking!

[animalfan]

That's a great price and the seller is a great American.

I should rephrase my price comment- it is a good price, a little more than I sold mine for. It's just more than I'd be willing to pay, since if I bought globes it would be to flip them.

I will be repainting most of my plates in June, I've got 2 weeks off from work. I bought some last year that were painted gloss black and I hate it. I've also got some that were rusty when I bought them, need to make them look good too. Almost all of my plates will be in the warm up room for a powerlifting meet in July, I'd like them to look good. I just hope that they still look good when they come back home.

[AttyGuy]

I'm starting to read your posts in Hulk Hogan's voice

Yeah, or that bounty hunter dude from Hawaii. . . .

[AttyGuy]

I will be repainting most of my plates in June, I've got 2 weeks off from work. I bought some last year that were painted gloss black and I hate it. I've also got some that were rusty when I bought them, need to make them look good too. Almost all of my plates will be in the warm up room for a powerlifting meet in July, I'd like them to look good. I just hope that they still look good when they come back home.

I have some new old stock York 45s that are gloss/semi-gloss. They were still in the shipping container when I got them a few months ago. Surprising how mediocre the painting on them was. I like flat for my Yorks in pounds and semi-gloss for my Yorks in kilos. Helps me keep them separate. Most factory Yorks only had "York" and "45" painted. All the other plates were black with no painting on the numbers or letters. For competitions I gather that on the 45s all the lettering was painted. Silver is the preferred color, but some plates came with white.

Hello York Barbell Club members. I am finally home from work and was able to snap some quick pics with my ipod.

The 45s do seem to be a dark grey color, that is slightly lighter then all the rest of them. There is also no front or back to them, both sides of all the plates look identical.

Manufacturers (except for maybe Ivanko) are too busy trying to sell stuff to worry about exact shade matching on plates. Don't sweat the differences. You have York.

[animalfan]

I'll be painting them flat black with silver numbers and York if it's on there (I'm painting some standard size York plates too). I will probably paint my Schisler 45s too, they are the only plates in my gym that aren't York. Well, except my 100s, those are Caps. Oh, and the pancake plates for dumbbells- those aren't all Yorks either.

[rthawker]

I've enjoyed reading this thread and seeing all the great vintage iron but never thought I could be a club member because all I own is Ivanko plates. I almost forgot we had these sitting right next to my Powerblocks. Are these enough to get me an invite.

[AttyGuy]

I'll be painting them flat black with silver numbers and York if it's on there (I'm painting some standard size York plates too). I will probably paint my Schisler 45s too, they are the only plates in my gym that aren't York. Well, except my 100s, those are Caps. Oh, and the pancake plates for dumbbells- those aren't all Yorks either.

Pics or it didn't happen!

I've enjoyed reading this thread and seeing all the great vintage iron but never thought I could be a club member because all I own is Ivanko plates. I almost forgot we had these sitting right next to my Powerblocks. Are these enough to get me an invite.

Um, yeah. I don't know. Yeah, I just don't know. . . .

[FastCatChamp]

Found a pair of 90 and 100 pound hexes and a solo 80 pounder on CL. Guy wants $120 for all of them. The 100's are bent.

An hour drive from my house.

[ffrink]

That's a great price and the seller is a great American.

So are you discounting to bb.com members????

[AttyGuy]

So are you discounting to bb.com members????

I'm not selling!

[pumping4life]

Here we go, the pics I promised on the front page.


York, York everywhere......









And a little York on York action.....

[animalfan]

What are those handles on your bar?

[darkfact]

I'm a big fan of the york legacy in strength training and equipment, but I can't say I've used much of their stuff, perhaps plates in random gyms but don't even recall if I've used those for sure. I do like any reason for people to post pics of vintage equipment so keep the pics rolling you york club members!

(I'm just gonna lurk this thread until an Ivanko thread is started that I can contribute to lol)