So, I found myself needing the exact sizes of my dumbbells the other day. Not just the weight, you know, but the actual physical dimensions. Why? Well, I was thinking about building a better storage rack, something a bit more custom than the pile they sometimes become in the corner. Couldn’t find reliable specs online for my specific set, everything seemed kinda generic.
Getting Started – The Why and How
First thing, I grabbed my trusty tape measure. The metal kind, you know, the one that snaps back if you’re not careful. I figured it would be straightforward. Lay the dumbbell down, measure length, width, height. Easy peasy. Turns out, round things and flexible tape measures don’t always play nice, especially when you’re trying to get diameters.
I started with the overall length. Placed one end against the wall, laid the dumbbell flat on the floor, and measured to the other end. That part was simple enough. Got about 14 inches for my main pair.
The Tricky Bits – Handles and Plates
Then came the handle. Measuring the length between the weight plates was okay. I just hooked the tape measure on the inside edge of one plate and stretched it to the other. That gave me the grip area length.
But the handle diameter… that was a pain. Trying to wrap the tape measure around it gave me the circumference, sure, but then I had to do math. Ugh. And just holding the tape across the diameter? It kept slipping, and it was hard to be sure I was measuring the widest part. I tried it a few times, squinting, trying to hold it steady. Got something like 1.1 inches, maybe a bit more? It felt thicker than that, honestly.
I even tried using a piece of string, wrapping it around, marking it, then measuring the string flat. Still felt kinda guessworky. I don’t own fancy calipers or anything, just basic garage tools.
Next up were the weight plates themselves. The diameter was easier than the handle. I laid the dumbbell flat again and measured straight across the widest part of the plate. Did this for both the inner and outer plates, just in case they were different (they weren’t, thankfully).
Then the thickness of the plates. Measured one, then measured the stack on one side. Divided the stack measurement by the number of plates to get an average. Seemed reasonably accurate.
My Findings (Roughly!)
So, after all that fiddling around, here’s what I jotted down for my most-used pair (I think they’re 20-pounders each):
- Overall Length: Around 14 inches
- Handle Length (between plates): About 5.5 inches
- Handle Diameter: Somewhere between 1.1 and 1.2 inches (This is my best guess!)
- Weight Plate Diameter: Roughly 6.5 inches
- Weight Plate Thickness (each): Just under 1 inch
Final Thoughts
It took longer than I expected, mostly because getting that handle diameter felt so imprecise with just a tape measure. But hey, now I have some numbers to work with for my rack idea. It wasn’t rocket science, just required a bit of patience and accepting that ‘close enough’ might have to do without better tools. Definitely reminded me that sometimes the simplest tasks have their own little challenges. Now, onto sketching out that rack!
