diverrick
Contributor
I made a weight making tool years ago, and it worked wonderfully, and was more comfortable then the premade weights you get at the store. (and cheaper)
First I cut a piece of clean steel pipe, approx. dia. 2" or what ever size you like by what ever length you want. I think mine was around 5 inches long.
Then you cut it right in half with a hacksaw. Cut or file a notch, right in the middle of each half 1/2 the width of you weight belt webbing plus a bit more, so that when you put the two halves back together, you can easily pass you webbing through the slot.
Get an old pair of pliers at a yard sale, or out of one of your reletives tool boxes, (don't tell them, and they'll blame it on thier kids) and weld one jaw to each half.
Then all you need is a smooth piece of flat steel that slides into the gap where the belt will go, to keep the lead in. If I remember correctly, that was a standard size of steel, so all you had to do was wack off a bit and file down all the sharp edges, and taper it a bit to make it easier to remove from the lead.
Set the tool with the bottom side on cement, or steel, and pour in your molten lead. (wear gloves)
When it has firmed up a bit, you can put in a bucket of water, and the form falls away. Knock out the flat steel, and you have a nice small round weight for your use. We used to get our weights set on the belt, then slap the last weigh on the tag end of the belt with a hammer, or clamp it in a vise to make it stick onto the belt, so that your weights don't fall off accidentally. Not so hard you'll never get it off mind you, but tight enough that it takes a bit of effort to remove it. The wieghts were also good to put in you pockets if you needed a bit more trim after that thanksgiving dinner. You could even make little "half" weights for fine tuning you ballast. I still have that tool here somewhere....
I wonder where it is.. Hummm. I guess I know what I'll be doing tommorrow.
First I cut a piece of clean steel pipe, approx. dia. 2" or what ever size you like by what ever length you want. I think mine was around 5 inches long.
Then you cut it right in half with a hacksaw. Cut or file a notch, right in the middle of each half 1/2 the width of you weight belt webbing plus a bit more, so that when you put the two halves back together, you can easily pass you webbing through the slot.
Get an old pair of pliers at a yard sale, or out of one of your reletives tool boxes, (don't tell them, and they'll blame it on thier kids) and weld one jaw to each half.
Then all you need is a smooth piece of flat steel that slides into the gap where the belt will go, to keep the lead in. If I remember correctly, that was a standard size of steel, so all you had to do was wack off a bit and file down all the sharp edges, and taper it a bit to make it easier to remove from the lead.
Set the tool with the bottom side on cement, or steel, and pour in your molten lead. (wear gloves)
When it has firmed up a bit, you can put in a bucket of water, and the form falls away. Knock out the flat steel, and you have a nice small round weight for your use. We used to get our weights set on the belt, then slap the last weigh on the tag end of the belt with a hammer, or clamp it in a vise to make it stick onto the belt, so that your weights don't fall off accidentally. Not so hard you'll never get it off mind you, but tight enough that it takes a bit of effort to remove it. The wieghts were also good to put in you pockets if you needed a bit more trim after that thanksgiving dinner. You could even make little "half" weights for fine tuning you ballast. I still have that tool here somewhere....
I wonder where it is.. Hummm. I guess I know what I'll be doing tommorrow.
