What is the risk of barbell damage with doing rack pulls on pins? I never gave much thought about this until I recently scored a great deal on a SS Ohio power bar. If it ever warms up enough here in Wisconsin, I plan on lifting again in my garage but worry about damaging my new bar.
I have no intentions of dropping the bar on the pins, but I guess anything could happen unexpectedly. Also, would the knurling get damaged where it rests on the pins? I think I foresee myself building some blocks…
You can also just buy thick rubber mats, say 3/4". I prefer these to blocks because they are easier to obtain and the height is adjustable.
Can also put them on 10/15 kilo bumper plates if that’s your only option
Sheath your pins with some suitably sized PVC plumbing tube. Saves the knurling, cheap and easy.
Alan Thrall has a good video on youtube on making blocks for rack / block pulls if you’re worried about it. Also, consider how much weight you’ll pull. How much more will it be than you squat? If it’s a quality bar, it is designed to take a lot of weight, much more than most people move. In addition, consider your rack. How sturdy are the pins? Sometimes those aren’t nearly as solid as the hooks you rack your squat in. By the way, the knurling won’t be damaged. You’d need to put on a lot of weight and then pull the bar back and forth on the pins to damage knurling. Even then, you’d be more likely to damage the pins than the knurling.
I like the sounds of the PVC tubing, might even be able to find a rubber tubing that would hold up better. If that doesn’t work the blocks would be simple to build, just one more thing in the garage though.
$40 for 3/4” 3’x6’ at Blains Farmer Fleet and I cut 9 pieces up with a box cutter and straight edge. Like you said, easy to make height adjustments and not worry about having to use braces in the rack.
Definitely make some blocks. I made two blocks that are 18" x 24". I cut a number of 18" and 24" 2x4’s, and then stacked them flat two layers high so that the first layer is perpendicular to the second. I left about a 2" gap between the boards on each layer to make them lighter. That’s 3.5" of height right there. Then I added a 3/4" piece of void-free plywood on top, with a 3/4" horse stall mat on top of that. Total height of the blocks get the bar to mid shin for me.