Thanks for checking, valuable info - and glad you didn't get squeezed
That's what I meant... tilting the bar at an angle so one end does come to rest on the floor might help a bit. Some people advise leaving the locking nut off so you could drop the plates. Rolling it downwards seems a good way to end your love life. So I suppose doing it on my own alone in the apartment is really not clever.
So that's sorted then... dumbells for chest and trizeps, and curls for the biceps where it isn't a risk. Added advantage that I don't need to use the same weight or switch plates.
Or I guess I could get a spotter. Redheaded preferable.