How to make your Own Concrete Weight Plates
Ingredients
- 1x 80 lb high-strength concrete ( home depot, lowe’s )
- Concrete weight molds ( Concrete Molds - ProKit )
- Black Iron Pipe and Caps, your choice of 1" or 2"(Pipe Fittings)
- Your choice of pipe 1" or 2"( 1 in. x 10 ft.Steel Pipe )
Optional Tools or any available alternatives
- Concrete Mixing Tub or any similar tub (home depot)
- 5 in. x 2 in. Margin Trowel or anything similar tool for mix it could be a piece of scrap wood (home depot, lowe’s)
- Wood-Handle Mortar Hoe (home depot, lowe’s)
Warning! Concrete is highly basic. Use skin protection and gloves when working with concrete, and do not touch it directly!
1x 80 lb bag makes 2x 45 lb weights, if you are making a single one, use half of one bag.
Step 1. Pick appropriate workspace:
Pick an appropriate workspace i.e. balcony, garage backyard etc
Step 2. Mold Preparation:
Place your molds and your PVC holes on flat and dry surface. Make sure the PVCs holes centered as much as possible
Step 3. Mixing Concrete
Firstly, read the instructions on the concrete package. You can mix concrete however you prefer, but we recommend using a concrete mixing tub and mixing implement (e.g. mortar hoe).
Pour concrete mix into the tub, and create a small volcano (mound with a crater) in the center of the tub. Pour the package-directed volume of water into the center.
Use mixing implement to carefully move dry concrete into wet center. Continue mixing until homogenous.
This may require more water than instructed on the package. Too dry, and the surface will have voids that can’t be removed by agitation. Too wet, and the strength of the final product will be compromised. It may take some trial and error to get the consistency exactly right.
Step 4. Troweling
Trowel in concrete, about a one-inch layer. Smooth out this layer to press concrete into the lettering.
Step 5. Curing
Leave concrete weights in a cool, shaded area. Excess water may seep out from the top as the concrete settles, but this is a normal and helpful to the curing process. If the surface of the concrete dries out too soon, gently wet with a damp towel or spray bottle.
Curing depends on the concrete formulation, 24-48 hours should be ideal.