How much weight can a 1" barbell handle?

Hobbes wrote:
> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
> <ignoramus8911.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>>I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>
>
> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>
When I asked the question, most people figured that I was good up to 300
or so, after that, be prepared to see it bend at some point.
rm
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

I use a six-foot, one-inch bar. I have loaded up to 300 pounds on it
without it flexing noticeably or bending. If I were *strong, I'd invest
in an olympic bar.

If your bar is only five feet long, it will handle that much weight
more easily.

Kermit
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

"Hobbes" <khobman.RemoveThis@sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:khobman-1902051137550001@192.168.1.100...
> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
> <ignoramus8911.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>
> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>
> --
> Keith

Check out this article, "How to Break an Olympic Bar"- it has a gory OL
death story as well as some interesting info on chrome plating and hydrogen
embrittlement-

http://www.ivanko.com/article5.pdf
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

"ATP*" wrote >
> "Hobbes" <khobman RemoveThis @sasktel.net> wrote in message
> news:khobman-1902051137550001@192.168.1.100...
>> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>> <ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>
>> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
>> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>
>> --
>> Keith
>
> Check out this article, "How to Break an Olympic Bar"- it has a gory OL
> death story as well as some interesting info on chrome plating and
> hydrogen embrittlement-
>
> http://www.ivanko.com/article5.pdf
>
Thank you sir.

I have always been suspicious of chrome finished bars due to my experience
with some small manufacturers. But I never knew about hydrogen
embrittlement. One more reason to just say no to chrome.
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

"Ignoramus8911" <ignoramus8911.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote in message
news:cv8jqh$mu2$0@pita.alt.net...
> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:37:55 -0600, Hobbes <khobman.RemoveThis@sasktel.net> wrote:
>> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>><ignoramus8911.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>
>> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
>> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>
>
> Thanks. I am not anywhere close. It is also nice to know that they
> bend and do not break.
>
Although cheap chrome will break off a bar if bent too much. Or flake off is
used very much.

Some bars are actually made to bend with a heavy weight. But I don't like
it. The more the bend, the more unstable it feels to me.
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 23:53:32 -0500, "Lee Michaels"
<leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote:

>
>"ATP*" wrote >
>> "Hobbes" <khobman RemoveThis @sasktel.net> wrote in message
>> news:khobman-1902051137550001@192.168.1.100...
>>> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>>> <ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>>
>>> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
>>> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>>> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>>> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Keith
>>
>> Check out this article, "How to Break an Olympic Bar"- it has a gory OL
>> death story as well as some interesting info on chrome plating and
>> hydrogen embrittlement-
>>
>> http://www.ivanko.com/article5.pdf
>>
>Thank you sir.
>
>I have always been suspicious of chrome finished bars due to my experience
>with some small manufacturers. But I never knew about hydrogen
>embrittlement. One more reason to just say no to chrome.

I had to take a intro materials engineering course once, which is the
primary reason I've heard of it before now. The only other time I've
noticed it mentioned was as part of an argument against hydrogen fuel
cells.

Some of the other stuff he mentions like the "suicide grooves", well,
maybe. Actually, any sharp edges (like say knurling) are a place to
concentrate forces, and it's there that hairline cracks will first
start to form. Otherwise, I just have to say "DUH!", of course
materials tend to break at their weakest points, which in this case
just happens to be the section of the bar with the smallest diameter.

But still, I'm pretty skeptical that any of this applies to most of
us. In general, the "stronger" a steel is, the more brittle it is.
And the more brittle it is, the more likely to fail with a sharp break
like in that pdf. Your cheap, made-in-china bar is likely not nearly
as strong as an ivanko, and the failure mode is more likely to be a
bend, not a break.

-----------
Proton Soup

"Thanks for noticing that I didn't actually say anything." - Mike Lane
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

On 20 Feb 2005 00:31:17 GMT, Ignoramus8911
<ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:

>On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:18:38 -0500, Lee Michaels <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> "Ignoramus8911" <ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:cv8jqh$mu2$0@pita.alt.net...
>>> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:37:55 -0600, Hobbes <khobman RemoveThis @sasktel.net> wrote:
>>>> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>>>><ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>>>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>>>
>>>> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
>>>> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>>>> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>>>> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks. I am not anywhere close. It is also nice to know that they
>>> bend and do not break.
>>>
>> Although cheap chrome will break off a bar if bent too much. Or flake off is
>> used very much.
>
>That's fine with me.
>
>> Some bars are actually made to bend with a heavy weight. But I don't like
>> it. The more the bend, the more unstable it feels to me.
>
>English is not my native language, but to me, "bending" sounds
>permanent (the barbell would stay bent when strain is removed),
>whereas what you are described could be called "flexing".
>
>Does it make sense?
>
>i

Yes, they mean flexing. But I wouldn't worry too much about seeing
the bar flex, a little bit is normal.

-----------
Proton Soup

"Thanks for noticing that I didn't actually say anything." - Mike Lane
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

"Ignoramus8911" <ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote in message
news:cv8lol$qlm$0@pita.alt.net...
> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:18:38 -0500, Lee Michaels
> <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> "Ignoramus8911" <ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:cv8jqh$mu2$0@pita.alt.net...
>>> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:37:55 -0600, Hobbes <khobman RemoveThis @sasktel.net> wrote:
>>>> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>>>><ignoramus8911 RemoveThis @NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>>>> is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>>>
>>>> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much.
>>>> It
>>>> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>>>> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>>>> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks. I am not anywhere close. It is also nice to know that they
>>> bend and do not break.
>>>
>> Although cheap chrome will break off a bar if bent too much. Or flake off
>> is
>> used very much.
>
> That's fine with me.
>
>> Some bars are actually made to bend with a heavy weight. But I don't like
>> it. The more the bend, the more unstable it feels to me.
>
> English is not my native language, but to me, "bending" sounds
> permanent (the barbell would stay bent when strain is removed),
> whereas what you are described could be called "flexing".
>
> Does it make sense?
>
I have heard it both ways.

But bent bars are starightened all the time. But it takes some effort and
applied force to do so.
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

Ignoramus8911 wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:37:55 -0600, Hobbes <khobman.RemoveThis@sasktel.net> wrote:
>
>>In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
>><ignoramus8911.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
>>>is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>>
>>Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
>>also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
>>center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
>>problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>>
>
>
> Thanks. I am not anywhere close. It is also nice to know that they
> bend and do not break.

BTW, if it bends and stays bent, it's time to get a new bar.

Bruce
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

Does anyone have more information on these "suicide groves?"
Apparently my OL bar has them About 1ft from the plates on each
side. I guess I'll think about getting a new bar when I'm closing on
500lbs. I kinda have an eye on a DL/trap bar.

Eric
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle? 

Three or four years ago, at a National master's Championship meet in
Delaware, a new Olympic York bar ( vetted for championship use) broke right
in the middle upon being dropped after a snatch. It flailed about and the
jagged ends could have cut the lifter in half if they had swung his way.
Luckily they did not. We were about forty miles south of the York factory,
and I thought we should have marched on them in protest!
Rare, but it can happen with the "best."
rjf


"Hobbes" <khobman.DeleteThis@sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:khobman-1902051137550001@192.168.1.100...
> In article <cv7l4k$uav$0@pita.alt.net>, Ignoramus8911
> <ignoramus8911.DeleteThis@NOSPAM.8911.invalid> wrote:
>
> > I have a barbell with a chromed 1" handle. I would like to know what
> > is the safe weight limit for this barbell, to avoid accidents.
>
> Worse case scenario is bend, not break. So I wouldn't worry too much. It
> also depends on so many factors - metal, how far the weights are from
> center, how far it is dropped, etc. Bottom line - you should have no
> problem going up to 400 lbs or so.
>
> --
> Keith
 >> Stay informed about: How much weight can a 1" barbell handle?