Weights

[JVM4.0]

I posted this on the DIY Forum as well, but thought it might get more exposure here..........

One of my favorite things about equipment intensive sports, is that I get to experiment with all sorts of wild ideas. I have been contemplating making some weights for my wife and I to use. My goal is to make them easy to handle, accurate, consistant in size throughout the weight range (the 5# will be the same physical size as the 2#, for instance), and clean.

I thought I had read a post where someone made theirs using sections of PVC pipe. The poster described putting some lead shot in sections of pipe, layering in some kind of goo to hold the shot in place inside the tube, installing end caps with drain holes in them, and away you go. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the original post, so I thought I'd see if any of you had any ideas about how to proceed.

Questions:
1) Regarding the "goo" to hold the shot in place. I was thinking of plain old latex caulk, but isn't that stuff bouyant?

2) Would you reccommend large or small diameter shot?

3) Does anyone have an idea of the volume vs weight factor? In other words, can I get 5# of shot into a 1 3/8" dia X 3.5" long pipe?

4)Has anyone done this before? With what results?

I'll be interested in seeing what we all come up with.........

Thanks!

Jim

 

[scubatoys]

I posted this on the DIY Forum as well, but thought it might get more exposure here..........

One of my favorite things about equipment intensive sports, is that I get to experiment with all sorts of wild ideas. I have been contemplating making some weights for my wife and I to use. My goal is to make them easy to handle, accurate, consistant in size throughout the weight range (the 5# will be the same physical size as the 2#, for instance), and clean.

I thought I had read a post where someone made theirs using sections of PVC pipe. The poster described putting some lead shot in sections of pipe, layering in some kind of goo to hold the shot in place inside the tube, installing end caps with drain holes in them, and away you go. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the original post, so I thought I'd see if any of you had any ideas about how to proceed.

Questions:
1) Regarding the "goo" to hold the shot in place. I was thinking of plain old latex caulk, but isn't that stuff bouyant?

2) Would you reccommend large or small diameter shot?

3) Does anyone have an idea of the volume vs weight factor? In other words, can I get 5# of shot into a 1 3/8" dia X 3.5" long pipe?

4)Has anyone done this before? With what results?

I'll be interested in seeing what we all come up with.........

Thanks!

Jim

I would just be careful where you get your shot from. I had a customer who needed 8lbs of soft weight, and though that a bit under 20 bucks was way too much for that... So he drove to the fabric store and spend an hour there finding the right fabric, thread and a heavy duty needle... then went to a gun shop and bought some shotgun refill lead. Took all this home, and after experimenting several times when the stitching came out spilling bb's all across his living room floor... He finally perfected his home made soft weights... And with only about 3 hours invested, and 30 bucks cash (if you figure gas... but not his time), he had made 20 dollars worth or weights!

That weekend, he did a dive with them... they worked great. But then he came in to see me a few days later with the question, "Do you know how to get rust stains out of a bc?"

Turns out the lead had a decent amount of iron content, and rusted, and stained his BC, Wetsuit, etc.

So if you want to create this... test all your stuff for corrosion... and as far as different weights having the same size... That's really not going to work too well, as then you'll have to put more than 2 lbs of weight into a tube that is the same size as a 4 pounder, to get it to be 2 lbs. It's that whole volume vs. weight thing...

We use some PVC tubes kinda like you're talking about, to anchor markers during advanced classes, and we made them by simply taking a pipe, and cram in some 1lb soft weights, then toss on the other cap. Then we can write on the side with a sharpie "Navigation Marker #2 - Please do not Move!" etc... We don't bother glue on the caps... they just sorta' press on, and at depth, maybe some water gets in... but we don't much care as we just pop the end off and dump the shot bags back into the weight box at the end of the day.

Hope that helps!

 

[ScubaSarus]

Are these weights for her dive suit setup ?

How do they attach and how are they going to be ditched?

Sounds like a plan

 

[JVM4.0]

Thanks for the heads up, guys...........

I plan on using some pretty hefty diameter shot. an alloyed lead used for shotgun reloading, so I won't have to worry about staining or corrosion, I think.

The main reason for putting the weight inside the PVC is to work with standard dimensions, keep everything clean and easy to handle. My wife and I both dive backpacks, and in order to trim ourselves out properly, we have to put weights all over. For instance these weights will go into the ditchable pockets on the sides of our BCs, and then in some smaller quantities in pockets we have sewn up that attatch to the upper tank strap.

Over the years, we have collected weights from various sources. It seems like every time I go to gather up some wieghts they tend to be different shapes and dimensions, and I have to spend a little time organizing them, so that they "match" when I put them into the pockets. It's only a minor annoyance, but I don't want to have to think about it, just grab the right weights and go!

Am I on the right track here, guys?

 

[MichaelBaranows]

What about using silcone to suspend the lead?

 

[sharpenu]

Why would you bother? Weight is one of the cheapest things we dive with.

I'm gonna save some cash and carve me a rebreather out of wood!

I'm just kidding, couldn't resist. Everyone knows you have to use plastic.

 

[sprange]

If you're looking for something to suspend the lead pellets, consider epoxy. I prefer melting lead, but that's just me.

Sean P