If you ever do bench-presses, you know that you need to have a spotter to help you lift the barbell back onto the holder in case your arms are too fatigued to do it yourself. Without a spotter, there is a risk that you might drop the bar on your chest or neck and be killed. This makes it unsafe to practice bench-presses at home if you have no one to spot for you. Here is a solution for this.
Buy two sections of strong chain, about 2 1/2 feet each will probably be enough. You will also need two strong bolts and matching nuts. Most weight benches have holes in the uprights to allow you to adjust the height of the bar holder. Try to get bolts that fit the holes. If there are no holes or if the holes are too small for a good size bolt, then you will need to drill holes that are adequate. You will also need a pair of heavy-duty clip hooks. Mountain climber hooks may work, just make sure they're good and strong.
From here you probably know the plan, but I'll explain anyway. Bolt one end of each chain to the side of the bench uprights. Wrap the other end of the chains around the bar and secure them with the clip hooks. Adjust the length of the chains so that the bar will just touch your chest when fully lowered. You can make the adjustments with no weights on the bar. You can adjust the chain by simply pulling the bolt out and moving the chain up or down a link.
To prevent the bar from sliding side to side through the chain, you may want to try wrapping duct-tape around the chain where it contacts the bar.
Be aware that even a very strong chain or bolt can snap if you drop a heavy weight on it full force, so you should try to lower the bar in a controlled fashion. You could make this safer by adding a spring to absorb shock. The "spring" could be a length of nylon rope that is tied to each end of the chain. It should be a little shorter than the chain, so when the weight is lowered, the rope pulls tight just before the chain. The rope will stretch and slow the bar before it hits the chain. If you connect the rope to a separate bolt and directly to the bar, it can act as a back-up in case the chain fails. Of course you could use a rope as the only device and skip the chain, but ropes can break and knots can slip. It would be safest to have both.
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I'm not a weightlifter, though I've done it a little. I agree that free-weights are dangerous without a support, but I really don't understand why they are even used. I just think the machines are better and safer.
I understand your chain-carabeiner system, and I believe it can work, but many weight benches are thin-wall tubing, so if you drill holes for bolts through it, you put the whole bench at risk. Also, there is some risk that the chains could kink in normal use and mess-up your weight-lifting. But I'm not saying it bad idea.
It seems to me that if someone is insistent that the weights be 'real' and not levereaged on a machine, you could design a _/~~\_ shaped bar where the weights would actually sit on the floor if you couldn't get them high enough to put back on the bench. I think this would be better, but of course, we'd need a new weight bar and that's a difficulty.
Or you could lift with the ends of the bar in two tracks where your foot could trip a brake to catch the bar.
I'm sure there's a million ideas and I bet every one of them has been tried at some point.
Of course all of these ideas are described relative to bench presses but they could be adapted to other exercises.
Yes, I suppose there are quite a few different ways to do the same thing. I thought that this method was especially practical for the do-it-yourselfer. I'll admit it may not be the best design, it just seemed the most obvious to me. The builder would need to use good judgement in the installation.
I specified bench presses because it is particularly dangerous. Many people have actually died from the bar coming down on their throat. Most people that have weight benches have nothing to protect them from this at all. I hoped that by suggesting this, maybe somebody that hadn't thought about it would make something that might save their life. It's unfortunate that the bench manufacturers don't provide something like this when it would be so easy for them to do.
how about a bench designed with a safety bar that slides over their chest-face?
Using a squat rack solves this problem too. But my main arguement against this idea is that weight lifting is like swimming; use the buddy system.
"The builder would need to use good judgement in the installation."
isnt this system intended to save people who do not have good judgment?
No, it's intended for people who would like to do bench-presses without a spotter. If they recognize the value of a safety chain it suggests that they have decent judgment.