W. A. Pullum Patent Barbell

[Handson]

I have owned a WAP barbell and asociated Camberwell Weightlifting Club weights for about 60 years.

I have used the bar mainly for those exercises requiring relatively lighter weights.

I understand that the kit is almost 100 years old.

I have attached a photo of the bar.

I'd be interested to hear from members with any information on this equipment and whether it is quite rare to come across nowadays.

[DannyBoy]

Wow, that's really great Handson, I've never seen a Pullum Patent Bar before! I don't have any further information for you, sorry, but I have absolutely no doubt that your Pullum Patent Bar & the Camberwell Weightlifting Club plates are indeed quite rare. All I can say is that's a wonderful iron game treasure you have there and I thank you for sharing the photo of the bar! Could/would you post a photo of the Camberwell Weightlifting Club plates? I'd love to see them too.

By the way, (though you joined back in November) let me welcome you to the forum Handson!

[Handson]

Hi Dannyboy

Thanks for the welcome and your reply -I'd completely forgotten that I'd joined back in November -the arthritis must have spread to my brain!

I've done a quick pic of one of the Camberwell Weightlifting Club; CWLC discs [disks if you like] see attached.

For the first time in almost 60 years I've just noticed the missing "L" on the "LBS". There's no such error on the 50 pounders and smaller discs however.

20 Pound CWLC Disc.jpg (43.98 KiB) Viewed 14323 times

I surfed the Web way back in November for any mention of the Pullum Patent Bar and noticed on the USAWA site that someone had made a copy of the Pullum bar allegedly "to the exact specifications" and had posted a photo -see attached here.

The attachment USAWA Copy of Pullum Bar.jpeg is no longer available

However the 'USAWA' bar does not have the handwheel collars and the collars shown are not brass, that my bar has.

Also from the description of the sleeve given for the USAWA bar it appears that the sleeve is in one piece whereas my bar has 5 individual sub-sleeves which all move independently as smooth as silk.

I sent a couple of emails to the USAWA to hopefully elicit a reply and have a discussion about the bars but got no response so I gave up at that point. BTW I wonder if someone across 'the pond' has contacts with the USAWA and could see if any useful discussion is possible.

I would have liked to get details of the patent[s] from which the American poster had worked to as I wondered if the bar I have is a prototype & perhaps a one-off. Interestingly the diameter of my bar is 7/8 inches in 'old money' which is why I never loaded it beyond about 150 lb.

Best Wishes
Handson

[sticksb]

Work of art is right . Beautiful piece of work . The brass sleeve must be bearing loaded the length of
the bar for smooth rotation . Was this the case with the original ?

[Mobster]

Does anyone know the actual address of the old Camberwell Club? I was born and lived here until my mid-20's.

[peter yates]

HI HANDSON,
YOU NEVER DID A SELF INTRODUCTION BEFORE SO WELCOME TO THE SITE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS BEAUTIFUL SET. I HAVE ONLY SEEN THE BAR IN ADVERTS AND PULLUM'S BOOKS NEVER A REAL ONE. WE DID HAVE SOME PULLUM PLATES AT THE CLUB WHERE I TRAINED AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE. HOWEVER TO HAVE A FULL SET IN GOOD CONDITION IS INCREDIBLE. YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A COLLECTORS ITEM THERE. WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SEND PHOTOS OF THE BAR AND SET TO DIANE FOR INCLUSION IN THE HOPC NEWSLETTER COLLECTOR'S CORNER? I AM SURE USING AND OWNING THIS SET BRINGS YOU MUCH PLEASURE AS IT SURE WOULD ME. ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE GOT ONE?
REGARDS, PETER.

[Handson]

Hi Peter

Thanks for the welcome and your interest.
I'll be happy to tart up the kit and take some photos in the near future.
Incidentally I'm not too sure what constituted a full set of discs though as I mentioned earlier I have never taken liberties by adding more than around 150 lb for fear of bending the bar however slightly and ruining the slick running of the sleeves.

I left the 'rough stuff ' to bog standard Body Sculpture and Weider kit!

Best Wishes

Handson

[sticksb]

Does anyone know the actual address of the old Camberwell Club? I was born and lived here until my mid-20's.

Listed as : # 5 Church Street (Camberwell Weightlifting Club) run by "Pop" Pullum .

[sticksb]

IMG_0002.jpg (81.57 KiB) Viewed 14253 times

#5 Church Street , Camberwell . Image came up
during search . Sticks

[DannyBoy]

Hi Dannyboy

Thanks for the welcome and your reply -I'd completely forgotten that I'd joined back in November -the arthritis must have spread to my brain!

I've done a quick pic of one of the Camberwell Weightlifting Club; CWLC discs [disks if you like] see attached.

For the first time in almost 60 years I've just noticed the missing "L" on the "LBS". There's no such error on the 50 pounders and smaller discs however.

20 Pound CWLC Disc.jpg

I surfed the Web way back in November for any mention of the Pullum Patent Bar and noticed on the USAWA site that someone had made a copy of the Pullum bar allegedly "to the exact specifications" and had posted a photo -see attached here.

USAWA Copy of Pullum Bar.jpeg

However the 'USAWA' bar does not have the handwheel collars and the collars shown are not brass, that my bar has.

Also from the description of the sleeve given for the USAWA bar it appears that the sleeve is in one piece whereas my bar has 5 individual sub-sleeves which all move independently as smooth as silk.

I sent a couple of emails to the USAWA to hopefully elicit a reply and have a discussion about the bars but got no response so I gave up at that point. BTW I wonder if someone across 'the pond' has contacts with the USAWA and could see if any useful discussion is possible.

I would have liked to get details of the patent[s] from which the American poster had worked to as I wondered if the bar I have is a prototype & perhaps a one-off. Interestingly the diameter of my bar is 7/8 inches in 'old money' which is why I never loaded it beyond about 150 lb.

Best Wishes
Handson

Thanks for posting the photo of the 20lb CWLC plate, Handson! The guy who made his own Pullum Patent Bar which was featured on the USAWA website is Roger Davis, he's a stone lifter and an expert on stone lifting feats & history. I have no idea how to get in contact with him, but maybe David or Steve do.