lead weight?

[Whitetail15]

i have free unlimited supply of lead weight from a good friend that owns a tire shop. Thinking of making some bags to offset driver weight and nose weight in my 2012 210.

Any good ideas for bag material or what i can put the tire weights in?

[s_kelley2000]

Do what Shaun Murray does and get some PVC pipe and end caps. Probably about 3" diameter and cut the pipe into lengths of about 1 1/2 to 2 feet or whatever length matches up to the weight you are looking for. Fill and cap them and you have your lead contained. A nice addition is to add a drawer pull to the center as a handle.

[NCH2oSki]

I have some previously shot led bullets in in a heavy duty tool bag, and another smaller very thick plastic bag. Doesn't roll, and easy to move around.

[shag]

I have been doing the 'Shaun Murray' method for years. Mine are about 3 - 4' long and quite heavy. But it just take a minute or two to move around. I mixed sand in with the lead for added weight.

[kopp210]

I used to melt tire weights down in bread pans over a propane oven/turkey fryer. Made some great 40lb bricks and then rubber coated them. Kept adding weights and skimming off the scum and metal clips.

I was really happy with the end result, but very dangerous. If you get the lead too hot you get some nasty fumes and there is the burn chance. Had a buddy try to melt it down and then pour it into a mold, got a piece of molten lead inside his leg that is still there.

There are some old timers here that make their own shotgun shot out of tire weights. They melt them over a piece of metal with holes in it and the lead drops into a bucket of water. Gives them nice little BB's similar to Pop Products bags. There is a website that sells just the bags, and you load them with your own material. The Pop Bags are by far the best lead weights I have used. They are easy to move around and "give" so they are easy on the floors and interior.

I am not recommending this for anyone. The PVC tubes are the easiest and safest. But if someone has some experience metal working (welding/torch/etc) and some safety gear, you can build some really cool stuff out of tire weights.

[swankster]

Be glad you have a friend in the business. I offer to put 5 gallon buckets at the local Discount Tire and collect them weekly but they wouldn't do it.

[DanielC]

Because the dollar has gotten so cheap, that has made the price of all metals go up.
you would be surprised. Just called a metal recycler, they are buying lead wheel weights at $.20 a pound. 50 cents a pound for clean lead.

Melting lead, even if you do not get it "too hot" still give off lead fumes. Do not breathe them.

Remember lead, or other heavier than water weight could sink your boat, if it got swamped. Water bags have neutral buoyancy, and will not drag your boat to the bottom of the lake.

[AirTool]

Be glad you have a friend in the business. I offer to put 5 gallon buckets at the local Discount Tire and collect them weekly but they wouldn't do it.

They told me here in Texas that was illegal. I wanted my own lead...the lead I paid for...attached to my wheel...and they told me I had to take them off at home before I brought the wheels in. So I've been doing that. I also have a couple of batteries I was considering melting down.

Melting down lead is similar to any other HazOp. It can be as safe or as dangerous as you make it.

Lead is quite valuable.

Another one surprisingly expensive is mercury.

PS - in a fun conversation the other day...a friend had me guard $10,000 of gold that was in his briefcase.

After he left, one of the mysteries was how big of a chunk of gold did he have? We agreed it was probably quite small...but anyway...since we were all engineers, we quickly calculated how much a gallon milk jug full of gold would be work....almost 4 million $.

[bbnight3]

The 'Shaun Murray' method works well and makes it easy to handle the tubes and move them around.