Ready to learn how to make a homemade adjustable kettlebell? You’ve come to the right place. This step-by-step guide (with pictures) will teach you how to make a DIY kettlebell for your home gym.
At the time I’m writing this, social distancing and self-quarantine measurements during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic are still in full swing. Gyms are closed and traditional gym equipment is completely sold out in all the surrounding stores in our area.
People (including many of my personal training clients) have been trying to find creative ways to stay active at home. My husband and I have been getting a lot of use out of our homemade adjustable kettlebell, so I wanted to provide an easy step-by-step guide for my clients to make their own homemade t-shaped kettlebell.
Jump ahead to:
Why I Created a Homemade Kettlebell
I first learned about kettlebells back in 2011, when I read the book The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris. It talked about the benefits of working out with kettlebells and that you could create your own DIY kettlebell at home with some weight plates and a few inexpensive items from the hardware store.
I was in college at the time and the school gym was very small and had very limited equipment (no kettlebells). So I decided to build my own t-shaped kettlebell to workout with in my dorm room. Nine years later, that homemade kettlebell is still going strong and a part of my home gym equipment.
Gym equipment is scarce right now. Gyms are closed and stores are sold out of most traditional gym equipment. Aside from that, exercise equipment can be expensive and take up a lot of space.
Particularly items like kettlebells, which typically require you to have an assortment of differently sized and weighted kettlebells for variety.
For a piece of home gym equipment, an adjustable kettlebell is fantastic.
My husband and I can alternate using it in our workouts by adding or taking away a few weight plates and it doesn’t take up much room for storage. We’ve been getting a lot of use out of it these days.
Here’s what you’ll need to make a homemade adjustable kettlebell.
What You’ll Need to Make a DIY Kettlebell
From Home
- Loadable weight plates
- Duck tape or sports tape (I used sports tape)
From the Hardware Store:
- One 3/4″ by 12″ pipe nipple
- Two 3/4″ by 5″ pipe nipples
- One 3/4″ tee joint
- One 3/4″ floor flange
- Optional: a clamp or shaft collar to keep the weight plates from sliding (not pictured in this homemade kettlebell guide because I personally haven’t had an issue with my plates sliding, but feel free to add one in at your own discretion!)
Hardware Parts for a T-shaped Kettlebell
If you found yourself asking “what the heck is a floor flange?”, no worries.
Don’t stress if you’re unfamiliar with some of these parts, no stress. I’ve got’cha covered. You should find everything you need in the plumbing section of your local hardware store.
If you’re unable to visit a local store, don’t worry. You can find everything you need online.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products I have tried or genuinely believe would be beneficial. Utilizing affiliate links is one of the ways I support my blog to be able to keep delivering you guys great content.
Two of these (the handles)


3/4″ X 5″ Pipe Nipple
One of these (the vertical bar)
3/4″ X 12″ Pipe Nipple
One of these (the connector)


3/4″ Pipe Tee Joint
One of these (the base)

3/4″ Floor Flange

Assembling Your Homemade Adjustable Kettlebell
Once you’ve got all the parts, all that’s left is to put it all together. This process is super simple and goes quite quickly.
Begin by assembling the handle and main structure of the kettlebell by connecting the smaller pipe nipples into the tee joint. The two 3/4″ by 5″ pipes will screw onto the left and right sockets of the tee joint and the longer 3/4″ by 12″ pipe will screw into the center socket of the tee joint.
From there you can wrap the two smaller pipe handles in either sports tape or duck tape. This will serve as a safety measure to help protect your hands and give you better grip when exercising with your homemade adjustable kettlebell.
Next, it’s time to add some weight. For this, you will need a few traditional loadable weight plates (the kind you use for an adjustable dumbbell set, not the larger kind of plates made for barbells).
Many smaller weight plates you can purchase for a home gym have about a one-inch hold in the center of the plate and work well with a 3/4-inch wide pipe.
Slide the desired amount of plates onto the main bar of your homemade adjustable kettlebell (be careful not to pinch your fingers).
Finally, screw the floor flange onto the bottom of the main pipe bar to lock your weight plates onto your kettlebell. Make sure that you’ve securely fastened it onto the pipe before you exercise with it to make sure nothing comes unfastened during a workout.
And there you have it! A fully functional DIY kettlebell!
I hope you enjoyed this step-by-step tutorial on how to make a homemade adjustable kettlebell. Good luck with all your home workouts to come!
Related workout articles
- 10 No-Gym Needed Home Workouts
- Core Moves for Diastasis Recti
- How to Run (When You Suck at Running)
- Home Yoga Routine for Sciatica
- Restorative Home Yoga Routine
- 5 Moves to Tone Your Upper Body
All writing and images copyright © 2020 Rachel Elise Weems Woods.
Christie Adams Design says
I love how resourceful you are! This is a great idea! PS I’ve been using cans of soup as weights when I take classes on YouTube lol
ReeseWoods says
Lol I’ve definitely used some creative home item workout gear too!
Rebecca Trumbull says
Wow! You make this so easy for those of us who are not handy at all. I appreciate the info!
ReeseWoods says
Haha, trust me when I say I’m also not a handy person when it comes to hardware. That just shows how easy this is to create!
Mimi says
This is so clever, my sister and I were looking for something similar, so we’ll have to make it this way
ReeseWoods says
You should definitely go for it!
Amber Myers says
How cool! I’ll have to make one of these. I have been wanting to strength up my arms.
ReeseWoods says
Kettlebells are great for full body toning and strengthening!
Nina says
This is genius and exactly what I need right now sense I can’t go to the gym right now due to the virus. This is awesome, thank you so much for sharing this!!
ReeseWoods says
I’m happy to be helpful!
Kileen says
This is such a neat idea! What a great way to save lots of money and I love how it’s adjustable so you don’t have to buy multiple kettle weights!
Kileen
ReeseWoods says
It’s very cost effective and practical!
Shayla Marie says
My son would like one of these. He makes a lot of his own weights. I’ll show him this!
ReeseWoods says
Go for it!
Tisha says
This is a pretty genius idea!!! No need buying more than one kettlebell!!
ReeseWoods says
Exactly! All in one!
Charlene says
Oh my gosh this is brilliant! It’s much cheaper than buying a bunch of different size kettlebells!
ReeseWoods says
True dat!
Mike says
Really cool…going to add a shaft collar so the weights won’t slide on the shaft.
ReeseWoods says
Great addition! My weight plates have a more narrow center, so they fit fairly snugly to the pipe without sliding. But that’s a great idea if you find your plates sliding!
Robert says
I appreciate this guide! I just made this exactly like shown and it came out perfect. Cheapest version of this I could find in a commercial product was $40. It With all the parts it came out to just $20.
ReeseWoods says
Awesome! This type of KB is so cost-effective for a home gym compared to buying a bunch of commercial ones. I’ve also heard from other readers who have added a clamp or shaft collar to their homemade kettlebell if they find their plates are sliding up/down the center pipe (although as you can see on our homemade KB, the plates are fairly snug and we haven’t had that issue).
Twan says
Thanks for the great idea. I already had the bottom part lying around from another diy project (wrist roller) so I only had to buy the T and the smaller pipe nipples.
It is really great and it can definitely handle more weigth than the plastic adjustable kettlebells I was willing to buy.
Thanks again.
Reese Woods says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the tutorial! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and some positive vibes!