Preventing lead shot oxidation

[ot1]

A while back, I bought 28 lbs of lead tire weights on eBay for $25 shipped. After researching to find this isn't unkown for dive use. Been tumbling all kinds of ways to melt it into shot, make pouches, etc.. Just figured out, what I'll do is cut off the steel clip, tie or tape string to them, and dip them in Plasti Dip. Shake off the excess, and hang them to dry. Once dry, snip off the thread and plasti dip to the lead, and dip that spot. They sell mesh and mesh basgs on-line. See if I can guesstimate the bouyancy effect of the plasti dip. And compensate with maybe a piece of one weight for each bag.

Thanks for inspiring me with this thread and all your ideas.:cool3:

I bet USPS was a little surprised when they picked up the $10 Priority box, ha.("if it fits it ships for a flat fee"), so you got your lead for .54 a lb, not a bad deal! Nice way to cut off those clips would be a rotozip, mototool or angle die grinder (pneumatic or electric) with a thin metal cutoff blade.

 

[inventor]

I bet USPS was a little surprised when they picked up the $10 Priority box, ha.("if it fits it ships for a flat fee"), so you got your lead for .54 a lb, not a bad deal! Nice way to cut off those clips would be a rotozip, mototool or angle die grinder (pneumatic or electric) with a thin metal cutoff blade.

Thanks for the advice, but I plan to just bend them off with a pair of pliers. And dremel grind/cut the sharp edges.

Rotozips want to run all over the place, any where but where you want to cut.

Actually, minus the steel, it's about 92 cents/lb. All told, it'll total about $1.08/lb for finished weights.

 

[burna]

Using a dremel or any other high speed grinder anywhere near lead is a really bad idea, it will create fine lead dust. Not just when you are grinding but will be all over the bench, floor etc when you sweep it up. Hope you don't have any kids.

You idea of coating the wheel weights sounds to me like a hell of a lot of work for little or no benefit. Even with something as durable as plastidip, after a while of the weights grinding against each other they will wear it off and you'll be back to square one with the remaining portion of the steel clip embedded in the lead rusting away making a mess..

The only advantage of soft weights that I can see is if you drop them on your toe, apart from that they are more trouble than they are worth in my experience. As I said before, I have long since ditched them and gone back to solid blocks, underwater I cannot tell any diff.

That's my 2 grams worth.

 

[inventor]

burna, because I'm unemployed. I figured to sinch the bags closed with zip ties, and redo them as necessary. Didn't want to do shot, for the same reasons mentioned here. A buck a pound is, well now it's going to cost around 16 cents a pound to complete, affordable to me. And, I'd forgotten, originally intended to file them down, for the reasons you mentioned.

Cool avatar. And I'll drink your Kangaroo under the table any day!

 

[burna]

Ha! My avatar has been going 24/7 for a year or more, he must be absolutely hammered by now! I don't mind your avatar, always wanted a goose it would make getting to my dives sites heaps faster esp. a turbine. What do the stick in those, PT6s?

I've heard of people melting down wheel weights into solid blocks. You have to be careful doing that too but that could be an option for you. And would be heaps easier coating in plastidip then.

 

[ozzydamo]

Be careful with that lead substance, make sure It isn't transferred to your hands, eyes, ect. Also be sure you are not tracking the lead or oxide into areas where children would come in contact with it.
Lead Is a necessary evil right now, because we don't have anything to replace it. But we still need to remember it is harmful to living creatures human and otherwise.
Even the store bought pouches leak lead dust and oxides, and I am supprised that the EPA has not thought to regulate them the way they are trying to regulate lead ammunition.
I think that lead weight is safer as a block, where there is minimal surface area to oxidize and less chance of creating lead dust.
If you still want to work with lead shot, try mixing them with fiberglass resin, and then pouring them into a mold with a release agent. Then they are encapsulated, and cannot corrode.
Of course soft weights are more comfortable than hard, but at what un-seen cost?

You could coat them firstly in poly urethane, or a paint on vinyl solution, something flexible would be required as lead does expand and contract considerably.

 

[ozzydamo]

Using a dremel or any other high speed grinder anywhere near lead is a really bad idea, it will create fine lead dust. Not just when you are grinding but will be all over the bench, floor etc when you sweep it up. Hope you don't have any kids.

You idea of coating the wheel weights sounds to me like a hell of a lot of work for little or no benefit. Even with something as durable as plastidip, after a while of the weights grinding against each other they will wear it off and you'll be back to square one with the remaining portion of the steel clip embedded in the lead rusting away making a mess..

The only advantage of soft weights that I can see is if you drop them on your toe, apart from that they are more trouble than they are worth in my experience. As I said before, I have long since ditched them and gone back to solid blocks, underwater I cannot tell any diff.

That's my 2 grams worth.

The advantages to shot bags is that they will slide into quick release BCD locations easier as they dont stack up in the pouch and jam up so bad. In weight belts they don't hurt in contact with your hip bones or tailbone. Also they are more tunable in their total weight.

 

[theduckguru]

Food saver vac system doubled

 

[CuNanoTube]

I stopped using lead years ago. Use depleted uranium now. Also saves on batteries for night dives.

I gave up on using DU years ago, I use osmium now. It only cost me $155, 481 for my weight belt.

 

[burna]

The advantages to shot bags is that they will slide into quick release BCD locations easier as they dont stack up in the pouch and jam up so bad. In weight belts they don't hurt in contact with your hip bones or tailbone. Also they are more tunable in their total weight.

That has not been my experience. I also have never had weights anywhere near my tailbone. I have never had weights digging into me, maybe you could re-configure??