Making Lead Shot

[Gary D.]

There is a counter top shot maker available out there. It uses wax instead of water and you don't need a tower. My neighbor has one and it's a cool little unit. http://littletonshotmaker.com/

Just go buy the shot or get some scrap lead and sand cast it into the shape you want.

Gary D.

 

[dannobee]

I used sturdy ziplock bags and evacuated the air from them, then put them in velcroed cloth pouches and into the weight pockets on my BCD.

Now you've got me thinkin'. I wonder if someone has tried those vacuum packing kits, i.e. seal a meal. Stuff the lead in there, then evacuate it and seal it shut. The plastic's pretty thick.

 

[Spamsonite]

Now you've got me thinkin'. I wonder if someone has tried those vacuum packing kits, i.e. seal a meal. Stuff the lead in there, then evacuate it and seal it shut. The plastic's pretty thick.

Hey, I think my parents have one of those stuffed away deep in their pantry someplace. Hmmm...

 

[Damselfish]

isn't the idea of using shot to have soft weights? I'd think the vacuum sealing would turn it into a hard brick, in which case may as well stay with regular weights?

 

[Tom Winters]

You're correct there Damselfish - with no give or flex, you get lead shot bricks.
I looked at this Littleton Shotmaker - I guess if there's a need, American ingenuity will come up with a product for it. The next time someone asks me how they can make 90 pounds of lead shot per hour, I'll have an answer.

 

[Spamsonite]

You're correct there Damselfish - with no give or flex, you get lead shot bricks.
I looked at this Littleton Shotmaker - I guess if there's a need, American ingenuity will come up with a product for it. The next time someone asks me how they can make 90 pounds of lead shot per hour, I'll have an answer.

Since I have an integrated weight system in my Zeagle Escape BCD, I wasn't too concerned with how flexible the weights were, but more in having the ability to measure and know how much weight was in each package. I had already spent what seems like several times of my annual income on gear, and if I could save $5 and put the spare lead shot lying around in the garage to good use...

Hey, $5 can be turned into one good margarita, or five cheap ones!

 

[Firediver]

I have lead tire weights.. I do like the little shot maker.. no way I'd pay the price.. Those vacume sealers.. you can seal and not vacum as well.. so you could still have fleixible pouches...... I only need 16lbs of lead shot.. will melt a few weights in some angle iron and have it drip in to some liquid.. and do some expirementing...then post my findings ... Thanks for all the info on where to get the lead shot, and where to get a melting pot..

 

[Tom Winters]

You can buy empty shot pouches, accurately weigh out your weight, and have soft weights. They still will be mroe comfortable than lead shot bars.
Lead shot also will leach over time with that milky stuff, so take them out of your bc to keep it less gnarly looking. I looked into plated shot - the galvanized stuff would remain in pretty good shape even in salt water, althogh you'd have to get it mail order with the attendant shipping charges.

 

[Firediver]

This is for trim weights on a back plate.......

 

[JustinW]

I guess I consider that I do things DIY because i can do it better or cheaper, or I can attain some advantage that I cannot otherwise by purchasing it from a store. You may be able to make better weight pouches (1000 denier cordura). But I'm not sure that for your purposes that you could make your own lead shot better or cheaper than you could by otherwise purchasing bulk shot, and the shot is just a component of your DIY project, not the sum total of it.