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What happened to dan Howard?

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funk51:
there is an article on howard in the mag pic'd below.

Gym Rat:
This was a great thread to read, excellent!!

Vince B:
Dan Howard was at the 1980 Mr Olympia in Sydney. He had a line of equipment he was promoting. He gave me several large prints of some of his equipment. I told my wife that I could build similar equipment. In 1981 I retired from teaching PE and rented a factory to make gym equipment. Dan favoured 2 X 2 inch steel hollow sections and I made most of my frames the same way. I had previously built a few pieces in a room at my gym in 1975. I acquired a mig welder, radial drill, cut off saw and a lathe and away I went, learning along the way. I never copied any equipment exactly and my policy was I would give away any equipment that was a copy. Quite the challenge designing and fabricating equipment. Early on I started using linear motion bearings for Smith Machines and leg presses. Those bearings solved the friction problem in the Smith Machine. The test was to lift the bar from the side weight holder. Previously, with chains and sprockets, that wasn’t possible. Dan used wheels on his leg press sleds but I never liked them partly for safety issues. Linear bearings delivered an almost frictionless movement.

Vince B:
Dan’s design for the 45 degree leg press influenced everyone. The vertical leg press was replaced and for good safety reasons. Dan used wheels but I saw an old hack squat in the gym I bought in 1971 that had the wheels flattened on two sides so they merely slid instead of rolling. I figured there had to be a better solution. This is where linear bearings helps. Trouble is they require absolute precision to make sure the guide rods are parallel and on the same plane. I used self-aligning linear bearings that allowed the heaviest loads. Also 1 1/2” chromed, induction hardened shafts. My apparatus allowed two options…laying flat or sitting. The seat was also on linear bearings so could be adjusted. I also installed shock absorbers as I hated users banging the weights.

jwb:

--- Quote from: Vince B on July 10, 2023, 06:41:26 PM ---Dan Howard was at the 1980 Mr Olympia in Sydney. He had a line of equipment he was promoting. He gave me several large prints of some of his equipment. I told my wife that I could build similar equipment. In 1981 I retired from teaching PE and rented a factory to make gym equipment. Dan favoured 2 X 2 inch steel hollow sections and I made most of my frames the same way. I had previously built a few pieces in a room at my gym in 1975. I acquired a mig welder, radial drill, cut off saw and a lathe and away I went, learning along the way. I never copied any equipment exactly and my policy was I would give away any equipment that was a copy. Quite the challenge designing and fabricating equipment. Early on I started using linear motion bearings for Smith Machines and leg presses. Those bearings solved the friction problem in the Smith Machine. The test was to lift the bar from the side weight holder. Previously, with chains and sprockets, that wasn’t possible. Dan used wheels on his leg press sleds but I never liked them partly for safety issues. Linear bearings delivered an almost frictionless movement.



--- End quote ---
Having linear bearings on your weight stacks also set your equipment apart from other gyms in Sydney.

That must have cost a fortune though.

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