Jackson Barbell #5 Bore 1.35" Vintage Weight Plares

Name: Jackson Barbell #5 Bore 1.35" Vintage Weight Plares
Brand: Jackson Barbell
Rating: 4.92 (4 reviews)

The Jackson #5 is a vintage Olympic weight-plate set from Andy Jackson’s Jackson Barbell Company, released in 1959 as the successor to his original #1 Olympic line. It uses a precise 1 21/64” center bore machined to fit Jackson’s own 1 5/16” bar sleeve exactly, and carries over the last-generation #1’s rounder plate edges and larger casting font, plus a distinctive aluminum center plate that Jackson made and kept for himself until he passed. Jackson was known for hand-weighing and adjusting each casting until it hit true weight, and #5 sets shipped as complete 400 lb or 500 lb packages (bar, collars, and plates) per his period price lists. Jackson continued producing the #5 until his retirement; the company is long defunct, so surviving sets today are a vintage-collector item rather than a purchasable product, sourced almost entirely through private sales and resale marketplaces like eBay.

Buying guide

Best Weight Plates for Your Home Gym — July 2026 Bumper Plates or Iron Plates? How to Pick Your First Set — July 2026 Do You Need Calibrated or Competition Plates? — July 2026 How Much Do Weight Plates Cost Per Pound? — July 2026 What Weight Set Should a Beginner Buy? — July 2026 Will Dropping Weights Damage Your Floor? — July 2026

Material	Cast iron plates, aluminum center plate
Released	1959
Availability	Discontinued -- vintage/collector market only, no current manufacturer or retailer
Manufacturer	Jackson Barbell Company (Andy Jackson)
Bore diameter	1 21/64" (fits a 1 5/16" bar sleeve)
Design lineage	Successor to the Jackson #1 Olympic set; shares its last-generation plate design, enlarged and flattened
Set configuration	400 lb or 500 lb complete set (bar, collars, plates)

What is a Weight Plate?

What weight plates are

Weight plates load your barbell — but “plate” covers two very different tools. Bumper plates are rubber discs around a steel hub, all the same ~450mm diameter, built to be dropped from overhead without damaging your floor or bar; they’re the default for Olympic lifting and CrossFit. Iron/steel plates are denser and thinner per pound, cheaper, and quieter to load, but most aren’t made to be dropped — better for slow, controlled powerlifting-style work.

What actually matters

Bumper vs. iron. Buy bumpers if the bar might hit the floor; iron (or rubber-coated iron) for controlled lifts and compact loading.
Weight tolerance. How far a plate strays from its stated weight (±1% is tight, ±3% loose). It barely matters for general training but adds up if you chase a specific total — which is why serious lifters add small change / fractional plates.
Collar fit & bounce. The center hole should fit your bar’s sleeve snugly; rubber durometer (around 88 Shore A) controls how “dead” a dropped plate lands.
Coating & set composition. Virgin rubber holds up and smells less than recycled crumb rubber; plan a starting set (usually a pair each of 45/25/10/5 lb plus change plates) around the lifts you actually do.

Who it’s for

Every barbell gym needs plates. Most home lifters should start with a bumper set, then add iron, change, or specialty plates as a second purchase once they know what their training is missing.

How it compares

	Jackson Barbell #5 Bore 1.35" Vintage Weight Plares	Giant Contrast Bumper Plates	Colored Competition Bumper Plates	Black Bumper Plates
GymRadar rating	4.92/5	4.92/5	4.92/5	4.93/5
Price		$62.98	$175.00	$79.99
Material	Cast iron plates, aluminum center plate	High-density virgin rubber body, stainless steel 2" bore insert (50.4mm / 1.98" diameter)	virgin rubber with stainless "hooked" steel insert	virgin rubber
Released	1959
Availability	Discontinued -- vintage/collector market only, no current manufacturer or retailer
Manufacturer	Jackson Barbell Company (Andy Jackson)	Giant Lifting
Bore diameter	1 21/64" (fits a 1 5/16" bar sleeve)
Design lineage	Successor to the Jackson #1 Olympic set; shares its last-generation plate design, enlarged and flattened
Set configuration	400 lb or 500 lb complete set (bar, collars, plates)

4.9/5 · 4 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.92/5	4 reviews
Youtube	4.5/5	1 reviews

The Jackson #5 is a piece of American strength-equipment history rather than a live product: Andy Jackson introduced this Olympic set in 1959 with a 1 21/64” bore machined to fit a 1 5/16” bar sleeve, and it stayed in production until his retirement. Standout dimension is build quality — Jackson personally weighed and calibrated each plate by hand, and the design carried over the last-generation Olympic #1’s rounder edges and larger casting font, plus a distinctive aluminum center hub. Weakest dimension is versatility/availability: this is a discontinued 1959-era set found only on the vintage-collector market, so there’s no current retail channel and independent review coverage is essentially limited to collector enthusiasts rather than gym-equipment reviewers.

+Build quality: Andy Jackson individually weighed and hand-adjusted each plate for true, calibrated weight (Oldtime Strongman Blog)
+Build quality: precise 1 21/64" bore machined to fit the 1 5/16" bar sleeve exactly (The Iron Guide)
+Durability: original sets from 1959 still circulate and hold collector value today, evidence of a design built to last (Oldtime Strongman Blog)
+Functionality: owners describe the plates as "a true joy to train with" thanks to Jackson's attention to detail (Oldtime Strongman Blog)

−Value: discontinued and only available on the vintage-collector resale market, with no current manufacturer or retail price (The Iron Guide)
−Versatility: a niche 1959-era Olympic bore size (1 21/64") that only fits period-correct Jackson bar sleeves, not modern barbells (The Iron Guide)
−Functionality: independent coverage is thin — collector history write-ups and one short enthusiast reaction video, not a hands-on comparative review