Budget DIY Adder Weights for Adjustable Dumbbells (Powerblock®, Bowflex®, etc) and Other Equipment

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Hi folks, above is a relatively quick and easy way to make your own adder weights. You can definitely make these for $5-10 each (or less) per 1lb plate. And of course you can make them in any increment that suits your exercise regimen. I just happened to choose 1lb increments for this video. The amount of steel and quality of the magnets will influence the cost per weight. I'm not the first to make homemade adder weights. And there are quite a few retail options if you just want to buy some and be done with it. For example, here's a set of 4 pairs of fractional weights 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1lb for under $30: www.amazon.com/HoPro-Olympic-Fractional-Weights-Plates/dp/B09JF9M9HX (I don't know the seller and cannot vouch for quality.) Just epoxy on some rubber covered magnets, and voila, fractional adder weights. Still, I do cover a few points in the video that I haven't seen in other DIY adder weight videos so I think it's worth watching. Think of this video simply as some inspiration to make your own. You may come up with an even better and cheaper way to do it. If you do, I hope you'll share it too. Heck, get your circle of friends together, buy in bulk to save a few bucks, and throw a DIY adder weight party with the money that you saved. Get an assembly line going to make enough adders for all of you. I'm not kidding. Beer, pizza, epoxy, belt sanders...you know, a cheat weekend. If you have any questions, about what I did or how I did it, send an email to [e-mail]. Cheers, Joe [Correction: In the video I forgot to cover whether or not you really need to add a finish to the adder weights. That's entirely up to you. I chose not to. You could definitely sand, prime and paint the adders. Maybe even add stickers or paint stencils of the weight in lbs/kgs. It adds time and cost but you could easily make them look as good as any piece of equipment in your home gym. Even small gym owners could make a few dozen of these for members to use with any of the equipment.]

[@atamidnight]

Wow you are such a nice person. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate ya!

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Thanks Doctor, I appreciate your kind words, but folks like you make this all worth while. I just wish I had more bandwidth to create new content on a more regular basis.

[@btarb242]

brilliant. Thanks for the tip on buying the steel round stock from ebay. 3" round steel disc.. Small enough dia to fit on dumbbells of any size. 1/4" thick = .5# 1/2" thick = 1# 5/8" thick = 1.25# 3/4" thick = 1.5# 1" thick = 2#

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Awesome! That's one of the beauties of material density. Finding that sweet spot dimension that you can then just double, triple and quadruple as you have to get clean increments. Thanks for sharing those dimensions in case others are interested in making some pucks of their own. Wishing you and your family Happy holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and all that good stuff!

[@dcosio97]

Great info. Thanks for your service for us PowerBlock users

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Hey hey, Daniel. My pleasure. I'm looking into creating a Powerblock specific micro-adder weight system to supplement or replace the clunky OEM mechanism. I haven't found an approach that I like yet, but when I do you all will definitely be the first to hear about it.

[@markelcj]

I've been looking for this solution. Ty.

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Fantastic, I am glad you found it, Mark. Thanks for watching. Of course there are many ways to approach creating adders. Mine is just one of them. You could also buy a set of micro plates from Amazon for under $30 and attach magnets to those. I just like DIY projects like this. Cheers.

[@jessicavotran]

Great quality video as always

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Glad you liked it, Jessica. There are also some interesting ready-to-use adder weights out there with increments as low as 1/4 lb for folks who don't want to go the DIY route. Here's one example: www.amazon.com/HoPro-Olympic-Fractional-Weights-Plates/dp/B09JF9M9HX I have no experience with that seller or those adders, but for something like a Powerblock those could be a decent solution.

[@MrSilvervw]

Fantastic content 👌 👏 👍

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to comment, Mr. S. I appreciate it.

[@josef5962]

Hello, very nice and informative video! How do the plates with the magnets behave, if you put the powerblocks on your lap for ex. a dumbell bench press? Wouldn't the plates come off, especially the one with the middle magnet, or do they still stick?

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Excellent question, Josef. Depending on the way you use your dumbbells--for example, staging them on your legs/lap as you mentioned--you should definitely consider more than one magnet. Only because the single center magnet will act as a fulcrum, allowing the adder weights to tip side to side. The adder plates won't necessarily come off, but they would definitely make the dumbbells feel unstable/wobbly in your lap in that scenario. You can get creative here. You could use 3 magnets per plate and choose a weaker magnet to achieve the same holding power. You could use 2 bar magnet in parallel. Definitely worth experimenting with it. You could even start with some readily available inexpensive micro weights (for example, something like this: www.amazon.com/EVERYMATE-Fractional-Barbells-Strength-Training/dp/B09QM3XP11/ ) and add 3 small magnets equally around the circumference of each one. But yes, you should consider how you plan to use the dumbbells when thinking about making your own adders.

[@josef5962]

@@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC Thank you for the detailed answer! I will keep the advice in mind

[@zaineridling]

Or just buy the U-90 handles that includes the adder weights. The U-90 handles fit the newest PowerBlock Pro sets better than the originals. 😉

[@AverageJoeInnovationsLLC]

Hi Marquis, do you mean the standard 2.5 lb adder weight handles of the type show in the video (but for Urethane Series)? You can absolutely do that, though I have no idea how much two full replacement handles cost these days. This DIY is more for sub-2.5lb increments for people who want that level of granularity. But also for the convenience, for people who don't want to mess with pulling out their handles and locking/unlocking adder weights just to go up/down an increment.

[@mrbutterstotch]

As mr joe said, you can easily fine-tune weights, instead of being stuck with 2.5 increments. And besides, I'd MUCH rather slap on magnet weights than have to put in and empty those cylinders after EVERY set. I'd much rather leave the adders in permanently and mess with the magnets.