Making your own weights

[rfrench]

Hey Gang,
I was at my local dive shop looking to purchase some weights and the prices seem pretty high. Has anyone made their own weights? I hear that melting lead and pouring them in molds can be pretty hazardous. Has anyone tried to make their own soft weights?

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

yep. lots of times.

Just get a mould, some scrap lead and a large metal ladle with a long handle.

The fumes that come off are toxic - so best not do it in a poorly ventilated area. A normal fire will melt lead - I've used a normal internal fireplace and a fire outside.


I've melted lead from car batteries and scrap dealers. Someone mentioned here that shooting ranges may have scrap lead as well.

I've wondered sometimes if lead from sources such as car batteries could be contaminated with other nasties (such as cadmium) - maybe someone else can chime in on that one?


Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[pollywogg]

I have never tried to make my own weights, but I have thought about it. I have seen a couple of ideas in practice. A buddy of mine uses sand, a triple beam balance, and ziploc bags to make weights. I have also seen another friend buy lead shot and use one of those vacuum sealer things. He just sucked some of the air out to keep it soft and sealed it. Last I heard, they were going strong. Or you could but lead shot and small mesh bags.

 

[llqwyd]

with the price of weights going through the roof, we make nearly all our own weights. just as tassie_rohan says, the fumes are toxic, so be careful. as long as you pay attention, it is fairly simple. trident sells a mold for $25 that will make 2-5 pound weights. as for gathering lead, we take fishing weights out of the water here...almost an endless supply. here is a great article on making your own weights...

Making Scuba Dive Weights: How to Melt Fishing Sinkers to Make Lead Weights for Diving

good luck!

 

[llqwyd]

with the price of weights going through the roof, we make nearly all our own weights. just as tassie_rohan says, the fumes are toxic, so be careful. as long as you pay attention, it is fairly simple. trident sells a mold for $25 that will make 2-5 pound weights. as for gathering lead, we take fishing weights out of the water here...almost an endless supply. here is a great article on making your own weights...

Making Scuba Dive Weights: How to Melt Fishing Sinkers to Make Lead Weights for Diving

good luck!

 

[dpbishop]

I've made both hard and soft weights. For the soft weights, I got lead shot at a local metal supply warehouse and made the bags from the legs of some Levi's I had cut off. Cost about 1/2 of what the LDS charges.

 

[Brewone0to]

Try buying weights from other divers.

And most divers start out with alot more weight
than they end up with in their belt.

It almost never sells online (shipping costs)
So, start checking those local E-Bay ads.

Just makes sense when you think about it.

 

[Lee Taylor]

A pocket full of pennies would probably work. A friend of mine said he filled his wifes BC pockets with rocks. For some odd reason that struck me as funny.

 

[drdaddy]

Try buying weights from other divers.

And most divers start out with alot more weight
than they end up with in their belt.

It almost never sells online (shipping costs)
So, start checking those local E-Bay ads.

Just makes sense when you think about it.

Try CraigsList - I just bought 20 pounds of lead for $7.00. I live in Oregon. You really don't need to make your own. You live in Washington so I guarantee that you will find tons of lead!!!

In fact, in a Craigslist Seattle "Scuba" search I did 1 minute ago - "scuba weights" were at the top of the list - the guy is selling over 100 pounds of assorted scuba weights:

classifieds - craigslist

Search Craigslist for a lot of your diving stuff - you will find spear guns, bags, wet and drysuits, BCDs, dive lights, regulator sets, cylinders (I bought 3 hp/3442s over the last 2 years), computers, dive knives, fins, and dive boats - all that you need.

After saying all this - be careful you are not buying stolen stuff. Ask lots of questions - find out if they really are a diver and why they are getting rid of it. Also, support your Local Dive Shop. Make sure that you get regs, BCDs, & computers serviced/checked out before using them. Also, sometimes new is better than cheap/used.

drdaddy

 

[rfrench]

Hey Gang!
Thanks for all the great ideas!
rfrench