adjustable shovelglove

sporksmith · Post by **sporksmith** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:15 am

Hey, I'm a newb. I went out and bought a 10 lb sledge about a week ago, which was the heaviest my lowe's had.

It turned out to be a little on the light side for me. Being the poor grad student that I am, I started thinking about how to make it heavier, rather than just buying a heavier hammer. First, I duct-taped a 2.5 lb plate to the top. That works pretty well. Since I'm not actually striking anything with the hammer, I think it will stay put. As an added bonus, now the top of the hammer has a nice flat surface to rest on.

But then I thought, it would be nice if there were a convenient way to adjust the weight on-demand. As it turns out, the handle gets thicker near the head of the hammer, and I can slide an olympic plate down the handle, and clamp it securely with a standard spring collar. Presto!

I'm a little concerned about whether the handle can manage the extra weight though, depending how much I add. I wouldn't want the head to go flying off when I'm swinging it in my apartment. That would be bad.

I have a few ideas for an improved design. One way is to get a ~3.5 ft (sledge hammer length), 2" diameter (olympic plate hole diameter) metal (iron?) pipe. I'll put a permanent fixture on the end, which the plates will rest on. I can then use a standard collar to keep the plates from sliding down the handle. The diameter is a bit thicker than a sledge handle- I think it will make it more interesting by challenging the grip more.

You could go with a smaller diameter though, and maybe use some kind of fitting to get 2" diameter on the end. Actually, this is how a normal olympic bar is constructed. The part you grip is narrower (1"?), and there's an adapter to make the ends 2" thick. You might even be able to get a short bar, and then just put a standard adapter on one end of the bar. I think this route might be a little trickier, and is probably more expensive.

I'm probably overthinking the whole thing, just thought I'd share

. Feedback is welcome, of course. I think for now just clamping the weight onto the end of the sledge will work for me. I think it should be ok as long as I don't get ridiculous. Again, considering that I'm not actually striking anything with the hammer, the handle is probably still under a lot less stress than it's designed to withstand.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:07 pm

Hi sporksmith..
I actually duct taped a 3 lb rock to my sledge about a year ago, and Reinhard wrote back that it probably wasn't the best idea! LOL..
I heeded his advice...
What James, (aka "freakwitch") another SG friend here has tried is probably a safer thing to do was to use a few sand filled velcro ankle weights.. But he eventually upgraded the hammer about six months later...
What you are doing with the sledge sounds like it might stress that handle, and even if it doesn't, it will change the dynamics of some of the motions you might want to do... I think less bulk at the end of that hammer sounds better...
Is is too late to try and refund your money at the hardware store?
You can order a 12 lb hammer through the link on Reinhards home page, to Amazon, and they'll deliver it to you, plus he gets a teeny tiny cut, with no extra charge to you..
Just be safe and have fun!
Peace and Love,

Deb

Post by **reinhard** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:55 am

Weclome! Very clever idea, and thanks for the picture, but as Deb says, be careful. Yes, the handle was designed to handle more stress than you're likely to give it, but different stress. It's not really an apples to apples comparison.

Here are some links to some old group posts on the subject:

http://shovelglove.com/group/591.html

http://shovelglove.com/group/195.html

Let us know what you wind up doing!

Reinhard

sporksmith · Post by **sporksmith** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 11:16 pm

Based on your feedback and my short experience, I decided to take the extra 2.5 lb plate back off. It was a bit awkward to use. I'm not sure if that means I'm not ready for the extra weight, or possibly the 'weird' distribution of weight made it a bit more unwieldy.

More importantly, I decided it's just not worth the risk. As reinhard pointed out, it puts a diffent type of stress on the handle than it is designed for, even if only a small amount. Logically, I think the handle *should* support it. But, given the potential consequences of being wrong, even 99% sure is not sure enough. Also, I cringed every time the plate shifted slightly on the handle. Shovelgloving in fear is no fun

I'll just stick with the 10 pounder for now. It's heavy enough to be interesting, even if I think I can handle more. It'll be sufficient until I get a chance to pick up a heavier one.

Thanks for your feedback!

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:35 am

You'll get a perfectly fantastic workout with ten pounds I'm sure!
I sometimes actually wish I could "downgrade" from my 12 lbs one so I can get more of a dynamic workout with loads of Kendo like movements...
I do them to some extent with the 12 but 10 is a lot easier on the shoulder joints...

Big Phil who is "Strong as F@ck", LOL, started with a ten pounder for at least six months or so, and he is 6'4"!!!

Have a great evening and let us know how you enjoy SG!
Peace and Love,

Deb

david · Post by **david** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:54 pm

Sporksmith,

The 10-pounder can kick your butt if you play it right.

Experiment with different hand positions and different pacing. I'll bet you find something challenging in no time. At the very least, you can annihilate your forearms and abs which are really the "linkages" that allow one to build unified strength.

Let us know how it goes!

thanks,
David

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:19 am

Yeah, I wanted to do the same thing so I duct-taped an adjustible ankle weight around the business end of my 10lb sledge.... but yes, eventually I removed it and just bought a 16 pounder. Now I use both hammers in my workout for different reasons.

The benefit of the ankle weight is taht it's adjustable, and you can wean yourself up in weight gradually. I remember I settled on 13 pounds for quite a while, then I upped it to 15 pounds before I got the 16 pound hammer.

I find my form/technique is more precise with the 10 pounder, and with leverage it is very challenging. I actually prefer the 10 pounder most days, I almost think of the 16 pounder as a heavyweight exercise that prepares me to do the 10 pounder with better form.

But good luck!