Casting lead weights---Lessons learned

[hex92]

What about using lead sinker weights? They are all over every wreck I dive. I have been picking them up with the idea of eventually casting my own weights with them. I probably picked up 4-5 lbs last weekend.

 

[FredT]

Sinkers work well. One MAJOR warning here though.

Lead in a closed mold solidifies from the mold surface to the core, leaving a center porosity. Lead castings that have been submerged will have water forced into this porosity, the longer and deeper it's been submerged the more moisture will be there. No amount of ambient temperature "drying" will remove all of the water! NEVER add old fishing or diving weights to an already molten pot! What water is in the lead expands to about 1800 x it's original volume at a fast rate, potentially emptying the pot of whatever molten metal is in there. Steam explosions are a bad thing, but they do leave neat scars.

Use them to start the melt, and add them as necessary to keep the new ones from contacting the molten metal. They'll heat slowly that way allowing the steam generated to escape harmlessly, and keep the lead in the pot.


If you have a lot that needs to be melted and can't do the "cold pot" trick preheat the sinkers in an oven to about 300°F for several hours to dry it.
FT

 

[hex92]

Thanks for the tips FredT. I'll keep them in mind when I eventually get around to melting these things.

 

[el-ninio]

What about using lead sinker weights? They are all over every wreck I dive. I have been picking them up with the idea of eventually casting my own weights with them. I probably picked up 4-5 lbs last weekend.

I've been using them in a quick&dirty hacked up small weights - just take about 5 of them, and wrap in duct tape. the ones I have here are 11 to a pound, and 5-6 of them give me half a pound. as I (use to) use integrated weight sistems, these gave me really good flexibility with the amoun of weights I use. Around here, you see, I am yet to see 1# weights, and 2# weights means that I can only move up or down by 4# (2 per side) - and thats too course.

I just moved to a bp/wing setup, and i'm ising a weight belt for the first time a long while. I actually forgot to take it to my last dive, which was a tad bit imbarasing (only a bit, as I only have 4# on that weight belt, and could probably do with 2# - so staing down was no problem). I still need to find some way of attaching 1# or 0.5# weights to the belt.

 

[Bikky]

if you got a brick garage with descent solid roof, take large bucket water/bin build a seive assembly on legs over edge of roof above bucket, melt lead, pour from a height through seive slowly to form droplets (do a little at a time) and when finished goto bucket and hey presto lead shot :O

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T POUR BUT DRIBBLE IT, or you'll get a big dump of lead into water that will flash it.

doing more this weekend.