Making your own lead weights.

[Bill]

"steel split mould with a removable steel tongue for the belt slot. You need to either fix each weight with a stainless self tapping screw or group them in small numbers and use a sliding belt clip"

Dave, just like an engineer http://forums.deeperblue.net/images/icons/icon7.gif (small chuckle?). If you use a piece of the belt for the tongue, the weights can't move much. If 'not much' doesn't work, a light tap with a hammer fixes them.

Thanks again Huan, I always wondered how to make shot.

Aloha
Bill
P.S. Ain't computers great? Someday they'll make one that does what you want, instead of what the computer wants.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Okay Bill let's get this right. If you're not an engineer the answer is "Hit it with a hammer". Yeh right! I supose if that does't work you use a bigger hammer? How about a six-inch nail? Works for me.
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" - Oscar Wilde. Feels good though.
Love and Kisses
Dave

 

[Bill]

Oooooops, kind'a stepped into that Dave. I didn't put the 'get a bigger hammer' answer with mine until you pointed it out. Good one. As for sarcasm, Oscar Wilde would probably agree with the 'if it feels good do it' philosophy.
Aloha
Bill

 

[Old Man Dave]

Hope this works. These are pic's of my tube/cylinder/bullet mould. Bit rusty (prooves it's steel). Haven't used it for a while. Couldn't find the tongue. All the other pic's were too big to attach, Try to sort that out. Thanks for your patience with this old computer duffer. I'll get there in the end.
Golden Oldie Dave

 

[Old Man Dave]

Okay, worked last time, so should be pic's of;
A commercial ali mould with a 2lb and a 4lb H weight (min and max).
My own made steel version of same (min 3lb - max 6lb)
My spare belt ready loaded with my own barrel weights.
A close up of one said barrel weight (1.6lb -ish).

Yeh it worked! Chalk one up for old golden spheres.

 

[defofthecrown]

Wow Dave, way to set the bar too high. Now I'll be forced to sand and polish my weights while wearing a respirator to prove I made a clean-lined mold. Did you machine the one's you made? Does any one have any idea how much it would cost to have a machine shop cut me an aluminium mold for my drawing above? I don't have any expeience w/ that sort of thing. Normally I just build it myself but metal is not really my medium.

-Thanks
Chris

 

[OregonSpearo]

How do you place the tongue in your molds and make sure it doesn't leak when you pour lead?

 

[Old Man Dave]

The tongue is (was) a piece of metal about 3 inches long x 2 inches wide x 3/16 ths inch thick. The thing is that you have to taper it so as to remove it from the lead once it's set. This creates the hole for the belt. Taper needs to be 2 down to 1 3/4 inch on width and 3/16 down to 1/8 on the width. There's a slot in the side of the tube mould to take the tongue. I filed the slot half into each of the halfs of the tube mould - if you see what I mean. Click on one of the mould thumbnails to enlarge it and all should become clear. If the tongue is a reasonable fit and you don't make the lead too hot it don't leak. It's a bit slow pouring, slitting the mould, cooling the lead and then removing the tongue (with a mallet) but it works. The lead shown in the picture has not been cleaned up at all except for cutting off the sprue, thats the bit where it's poured. Like I said a bit slow but you can make a belts worth in a morning. Hope that's helped. Can let you know more if you want.
Dave.

 

[portinfer]

Just when I think you can't know any more you come up with a gem like this ! Dave - I have some lead from the old gas pipes in my house (feels like I am living in the 1800's somedays) - any chance you could give me a shout when you feel inclined to brew up some more lead weights - I fancy giving those bullet/barrel weights a go - cheers
Ed (Proud owner of a driving licence ! Now I can drive myself to the beach !)

 

[Old Man Dave]

Ed
I live to serve. Have to make a new tongue but no big deal plus I've usually got the odd hundredweight of lead hanging around, so no ploblemo.
Hearty congrats on test result.
Dave

 

[Old Man Dave]

Anyone out there,
Young gun "Portinfer" wants to try a "back weight". I promised to help him make one. Manufacture is no problem but although I tried one many (many) years ago, my memory of exact sizes etc. fails me (senility's setting in). I'm keen to get some more info. Long ago on the competition circuit I remember the french "baudrier?" harness arrangment but need some details. Anyone got any helpfull tips on sizes and rigging.
Dave

 

[fabio]

Hi Dave,

I use a back weight myself. It is fantastic when you dive in shallow water (within the first 1-8 metres). It helps distribute weights between waist and back (so that it diminishes the risk of backache) and keep your body down especially when the sea is rough.
The one I use is a rectangle (16cmX18cm) and is 3.5Kg. As for the rigging, you need an elastic band (inner tube is fine) to tie the back weight to the a couple of weight on your belt and another one to pass it around your shoulders so that the back weight is stable on your back.
Hope that helps.

Cheers

Fabio

 

[OregonSpearo]

Anyone out there,
Long ago on the competition circuit I remember the french "baudrier?" harness arrangment but need some details. Anyone got any helpfull tips on sizes and rigging.
Dave

Sure. Here's a pretty cool way to rig a very comfortable neoprene baudrier, with pictures and details:
http://www.passionchasse.com/avecquoi/bricolage/bricobaudrier.htm

 

[Huan]

Spearboy has details Here
and Here
on Baudrier construction.
I use a baudrier myself and find it to be excellent, the only problem is a " squeak" from the rubber harness against my hood.

 

[Old Man Dave]

Thanks guys. Just the job. I've printed off all the info, signed up for French night classes and hopefully in a year or two we'll get somewhere. Actually it was very useful as I only look at pictures anyway (like Michael Jackson). So thanks again and me and Portinfer is goin' make some weights, including my barrel ones. Keep you posted.
Dave (Le Dave, aha!)

 

[Old Man Dave]

While thinking about the back weight Ed (portinfer) pursuaded me to blow the dust off my bullet mould - actually I made him wire brush the rust off - but whatever. We made him up a belt full inbetween working on his new gun (see other thread).Took some pic's and if you've been following this thread you should be able to follow what's happening. Actually I'm too lazy to type up the descriptions as I'm afraid I'm a one finger man. "The foreman of the sawmill knocks on the door, A woman answers. Are you the wife of Fred Smith? Yes. I'm afraid that I have bad news. Freds cut his finger on the saw. Oh my God he hasn't lost the whole finger? No you'll be alright love, it was the one next to the hole finger.
Dave

 

[Old Man Dave]

More pic's

 

[Old Man Dave]

More pic's again

 

[Mr. X]

Moulds (bullet & trad.) available on eBay
e.g.
[ame]http://cgi.ebay.com/SCUBA-Divers-2-pound-bullet-type-Weight-Mould-mold_W0QQitemZ7212179222QQcategoryZ74004QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/ame]
[ame]http://cgi.ebay.ca/2lb-Weight-Mould-for-Scuba-Diving_W0QQitemZ7210164831QQcategoryZ74004QQcmdZViewItem[/ame]

Re. using screw to hold the D-weights mentioned previously & bullet weights -- if they are anything like Rob Allen D-weights, you can just tap them with a hammer (not too hard, one or two moderate taps with a small ball pane hammer) and they stay put surprisingly well. It is also possible to slide them off or move them if necessary (if too tight, just use a small cold chisel to open up the gap a little).

[Check out the Guernsey thread -- looks like Old Man Dave has equipped all the island's spearos. Could do with him moving over here!]

Super weights Huan -- much better than any I have seen in dive shops (shockingly poor selection & quality -- perhaps due to it being out of season). My most recent weigh purchase looks like it might have been taken off a diver with a brass helmet about a 100 years ago! (still, no need to camo paint them! ).

Sounds like you have found a nice simple way to make lead shot. I have seen pictures of the high towers Ely used to use to make lead shot (for shotgun cartridges) -- I guess they dropped molten lead in at the top & the long fall (possibly into water?) shaped it.

 

[portinfer]

Yes - Dave's mold has been used ALOT - I have still to master the art of getting the right temperature so normally am second in command with the cutting and melting of the lead. Not a bad place to be as the occasional splash of hot lead can happen and my hands aren't as tough as Dave's. I think we have made a spare set for Dave (one belt for boat and one for shore); a set for me; a set for Pete and a set for my brother.... maybe fifty in all ? They are very very configurable - nice to have small weights.

Not sure what happened to the backplate idea... still working on prototypes...