Filing Pound Plates into Kilos

[Chris Rice]

The plates are cast and don't grind down easily - it won't be an easy job with an angle grinder. If you plan to do it - buy the 7 1/2" angle grinder for the increased power and speed - you'll be glad you did. You might check the cost with a machine shop - they could turn them down to exact specs probably cheaper and certainly faster and better looking in the end. And they could do it within specs as well.

[Tirzah Harper]

Half a POUND of metal with a grinder? Have fun with that....
If you have access to a metal lathe or a bandsaw, either one of those options would take far less time. Figuring out exactly how much to remove...well, if you can turn cast iron - which I'm pretty sure you can - a lathe would be easier for that.

[glennpendlay]

Concerning the MD 1kg rule plates, they are pretty good quality. IMO, they are better as far as fit and finish, and weight accuracy, than at least one IWF certified brand. We sold a lot of sets of the WFW 1kg rule plates for around $159 a set, and the MD plates are definately better looking and closer in weight than those were, and quite a bit cheaper to boot.

If you are still looking to file down pound plates, I have tried it. Its hard. If your dead set on it, using a drill press to drill holes in the plate till it weighed right was easier for me than grinding. Looks pretty bad when your done, but most of the time that doesnt matter, and it doesnt take all that long if you have a decent drill press. Would probably be a real pain with a hand drill, though.

glenn

[Patrick Donnelly]

Re: Glenn
The Muscle Driver plates look like the solution to me. Their price is good, and they'll save me a decent amount of hassle.

[Justin Chebahtah]

Instead of grinding them down you could try boring out some holes with a large diameter drill. You could make sure the holes are in a symmetrical pattern around the center for an even weight distribution. Just a thought, seems quicker than grinding...