coldwaterdufus
Contributor
I did the same thing as inventor and sailnaked. I found free lead shot, ( talk to your hunting buddies ) cleaned it up by immersing it, I then used small sample bags that you can tie off, ( not affected by wet / drying ) then secured them tightly with those plastic, one way clamps that won't release. I bought a little scale, 'bout $6.00 and weighted out numerous bags of various weights, labelled them all. I have 4 ( 4 lb bags ) 4 ( 2.5 lb bags ) 4 ( 2 lb bags ) and a bunch of 1 lb bags. 70 dives later, they are still great. By making a few 1 lb bags also, you can sort out your weighting to a "T". I was lucky enough to find free lead shot, I had the geologic sample bags already. I have almost 40 lbs of weights, total cost less than $15.00. It is a cheap alternative if you can find the right sources.
Try on-line. I've found shot and bags that work out to about $1 and small change, per pound.