OP
WolfSpring
Registered
Got a digital scale today and the 3lb mold ones are coming out 2lb 12 oz, made 5 all the same weight so at least it's consistent I can deal with a little light.
DIY Weights, first attempt.
- Thread starter WolfSpring
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W W Meixner
Banned
Mike...
Fully understand...
Never had that problem...however inspection and maintenance would solve that...
When travelling to ''hot beach'' destinations...I find more operators using shot packs than those using hard weights...no where near as many weight belts using hard lead in use as there once was...
Besides...divers are diving differently than they used to...much more attention is paid to peak performance buoyancy...not to mention...steel cylinders...canister lights...slinging bailout...even small cylinders...is a far better ballast option to lead...
Further...additional ballast required to sink a dry-suit...is a problem with the diver...the suit retaining air due to over-sizing...and an unwillingness to solve the problem without using lead as training wheels/crutch...
Marine life injesting tiny lead balls is not a good thing...but again...service/maintenance...and personally...I never witnessed a charter where a shot pack failed...but I have witnessed lots of charters where far too much lead ballast was being used because the divers chose not to be proficient enough to dive without it...steel doubles/dry-suit/40 pounds of lead...just crazy...
The attached photo is me on the Arabia last fall...feather-weight kit/dry-suit...18 pounds ballast...
Best...Warren
AfterDark
Contributor
Nice casting work OP. I've been casting bullets for decades just haven't got around to buying a weight mold. You went whole hog with the new ingots and all!! 
I found a spot where I can pickup 20lbs + of sinkers during a 45min dive 20FSW. My father had a gas station during the 50's and 60's. He used to make ingots and sinkers out of the used wheel weights. I still have a pile of those. After a heavy rain I go to the range and pick up fired bullets washed to the base of the berms.
As you say casting is easy; all my casting is done outside under a canopy with a fan behind me to keep the air moving away from me. I also use a GMA filter mask when fluxing the lead. Once the heat of the lead and the mold is right it's just a matter of keeping it at that temp. One of these days when a need one I'll spring for a weight mold.
I found a spot where I can pickup 20lbs + of sinkers during a 45min dive 20FSW. My father had a gas station during the 50's and 60's. He used to make ingots and sinkers out of the used wheel weights. I still have a pile of those. After a heavy rain I go to the range and pick up fired bullets washed to the base of the berms.
As you say casting is easy; all my casting is done outside under a canopy with a fan behind me to keep the air moving away from me. I also use a GMA filter mask when fluxing the lead. Once the heat of the lead and the mold is right it's just a matter of keeping it at that temp. One of these days when a need one I'll spring for a weight mold.
Mike1967
Contributor
Exactly how does using soft weights fix this problem?
Diver below 83
Contributor
I do my own reloading as well so I also have most of these items. Never thought about doing my own scuba weights. Great and fun idea. Now can you find some sort of soft rubber coating that can be applied on top.
Mike1967
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1) Lead poisoning aka "Plumbism" is real ! it is also know as 'Blue gum" disease do to the gums of the affected victim turning blue. Plumbism is very insidious and very dangerous but requires a long term repetitive exposures- which would require more than a one time pouring.
We will take a short time out while @WolfSpring checks his gum line
2) Note the ripples in your weights -- Images # 9, 10 & 11-- Your mold was not warm enough and the lead cooled to fast -- no problem ! Only cosmetic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the genesis of diving...
Originally the bathing suit was the costume of the recreational diver
No need for compensation ballast such as a weight belt
1948 Bill Barada (LA Co UW instructor ) created the first successful dry suit Established Aqula
Ballast was needed - most used WW 11 surplus cartridge belts to avoid pinching of the wet suit creating a leak pattern
It was almost impossible to release with one hand - or even two hands
therefore the "wait belt" was created
March 1954 Bradner established EDCO and began producing recreational and commercial diving wet suits via an advertisement in "Skin Diver magazine; a magazine for spear fishermen' and skin divers" which was established in 1951 and published in SoCal .
Once again the US WW11 surplus cartridge belt was the used to counter act the buoyancy
until instruction was created which informed the diver of the era that they needed a quick easy disposable (aka QED) weight belt rather than a "wait belt."
The search for lead was on and the local tire shops were treasure troves brimming over with used tire balancing weights. They were cheap - free for the taking at that time. And most, probably all contained a percentage of antimony which was additive that made them slightly harder that pure lead which was extensively used in pluming at that time (Now we are paying for the use of lead in household and commercial pluming)
There was no commercially made weight molds so we made our own -- some of wood- mine were made using a used sardine can as a mold which I forced into plaster of Paris creating a mold with two 1-1/2 inch pieces of wood places into the mold for the webbing slots -
They worked great with a 1 inch web belt which I used for may years
Then I needed to look official and purchased a set of molds and began pouring my own weights
And so far no effects of plumbism and blues gums-- and at this late date I certainly don't expect any signs or symptoms to appear...
But -- be VERYcareful with lead
Sam Miller, III
We will take a short time out while @WolfSpring checks his gum line
2) Note the ripples in your weights -- Images # 9, 10 & 11-- Your mold was not warm enough and the lead cooled to fast -- no problem ! Only cosmetic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the genesis of diving...
Originally the bathing suit was the costume of the recreational diver
No need for compensation ballast such as a weight belt
1948 Bill Barada (LA Co UW instructor ) created the first successful dry suit Established Aqula
Ballast was needed - most used WW 11 surplus cartridge belts to avoid pinching of the wet suit creating a leak pattern
It was almost impossible to release with one hand - or even two hands
therefore the "wait belt" was created
March 1954 Bradner established EDCO and began producing recreational and commercial diving wet suits via an advertisement in "Skin Diver magazine; a magazine for spear fishermen' and skin divers" which was established in 1951 and published in SoCal .
Once again the US WW11 surplus cartridge belt was the used to counter act the buoyancy
until instruction was created which informed the diver of the era that they needed a quick easy disposable (aka QED) weight belt rather than a "wait belt."
The search for lead was on and the local tire shops were treasure troves brimming over with used tire balancing weights. They were cheap - free for the taking at that time. And most, probably all contained a percentage of antimony which was additive that made them slightly harder that pure lead which was extensively used in pluming at that time (Now we are paying for the use of lead in household and commercial pluming)
There was no commercially made weight molds so we made our own -- some of wood- mine were made using a used sardine can as a mold which I forced into plaster of Paris creating a mold with two 1-1/2 inch pieces of wood places into the mold for the webbing slots -
They worked great with a 1 inch web belt which I used for may years
Then I needed to look official and purchased a set of molds and began pouring my own weights
And so far no effects of plumbism and blues gums-- and at this late date I certainly don't expect any signs or symptoms to appear...
But -- be VERYcareful with lead
Sam Miller, III
W W Meixner
Banned
Mike...
Gained proficiency meaning using less as opposed to more...soft weights are far easier on the gear...more comfortable...and when all you need is 15/18 pounds...you can stop lugging around 40/50 pounds...
Lead is never the problem solver to peak performance buoyancy...
How do you dive...how much ballast do you carry...
W...
JamesBon92007
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"Don't Do It" and "How to Do It Safely" are two different things. Yes, we want to do it safely but this is a DIY Forum so "Don't Do It" is little more than trolling.
I have a five-pound mold that can be filled part-way to achieve 3 lbs, 4 lbs, etc. I've been doing it on my stove for 50 years (with the exhaust fan on) and maybe I'm crazy but I can't tell so everything's peachy. I do paint my weights afterward with some spray paint to reduce exposure to lead. Also, I have found that used lead shot from a firing range can be had for about $1.30 per pound. It can also be used to make soft weights.
I have a five-pound mold that can be filled part-way to achieve 3 lbs, 4 lbs, etc. I've been doing it on my stove for 50 years (with the exhaust fan on) and maybe I'm crazy but I can't tell so everything's peachy. I do paint my weights afterward with some spray paint to reduce exposure to lead. Also, I have found that used lead shot from a firing range can be had for about $1.30 per pound. It can also be used to make soft weights.
OP
WolfSpring
Registered
Sam, wow thank you for that history lesson I was never good with my hands growing up but I've always been able to find a way to make or do something that I couldn't afford or didn't want to spend that much for something I could do. As far as the ripple lines my problem right now is I can not get one continuous pour using the set up I have so as when I pour the first ladle it starts to cool as I attempt the second safely. As you said it is cosmetic, I'm not putting them on a belt so they will work. I am looking into getting a cast iron pot system, but not sure how to get enough heat to use it.
James, what are the chances of spray paint flaking off underwater, what effects does that have on the sea life? I'm not trying to be that guy, I've thought of doing that and my first thought was if it flakes off and the fish eat it or it settles on coral would that be worse than the effect of having a solid piece of lead that is exposed to the water?
I tried filing some of the rough edges so it doesn't tear into BCD over a metal lid and putting the shavings back into the pot as well, but that has proven to be a PITA, does anyone have a suggestion that?
I made 1lb of black powder bullets and put them in a "pocket" off of an old uniform in a baggie and shoved it around the best I could baggie opened up, but if used a salable one but didn't' fully vacuum seal it, it should work pretty good. Honestly I see the desire for soft weights but the normal belt weights work just fine for my BCD and they are less work. I've made 5 of the 3lb (2.12 lbs) and 3 of the other ones that weight 2, 3.3 and 4 ish each so either way I've got some good weight. Unfortunately my wife still has an ear infection so we can't finish dive 3 and 4 of our training dives till next weekend. We are using the dive shops gear for our training dives just so we don't have to lug ours out that way and use their weights as well, but we'll be ready, ours is the same gear as the rental stuff. I think we'll be more than ready when the time comes.
James, what are the chances of spray paint flaking off underwater, what effects does that have on the sea life? I'm not trying to be that guy, I've thought of doing that and my first thought was if it flakes off and the fish eat it or it settles on coral would that be worse than the effect of having a solid piece of lead that is exposed to the water?
I tried filing some of the rough edges so it doesn't tear into BCD over a metal lid and putting the shavings back into the pot as well, but that has proven to be a PITA, does anyone have a suggestion that?
I made 1lb of black powder bullets and put them in a "pocket" off of an old uniform in a baggie and shoved it around the best I could baggie opened up, but if used a salable one but didn't' fully vacuum seal it, it should work pretty good. Honestly I see the desire for soft weights but the normal belt weights work just fine for my BCD and they are less work. I've made 5 of the 3lb (2.12 lbs) and 3 of the other ones that weight 2, 3.3 and 4 ish each so either way I've got some good weight. Unfortunately my wife still has an ear infection so we can't finish dive 3 and 4 of our training dives till next weekend. We are using the dive shops gear for our training dives just so we don't have to lug ours out that way and use their weights as well, but we'll be ready, ours is the same gear as the rental stuff. I think we'll be more than ready when the time comes.
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