Source of lead or steel weights?

How about a nice flat piece of plywood with some bricks, paint cans, etc. on top?

Lead is expensive these days. Around $2.20 a pound I'd you can find it. I'd use plywood and clamps or plywood and soup cans or something. I use lead shot for shotguns to melt down into wesights and it was $54 for 25 pounds. I make a mold out of drywall and pour the shot in and melt it with a plumbing torch. Then add more to fill the void.

Tackle box.

Old train mags are nearly free and heavy, new mags are a lot lighter.

Old books are also a good source of free weight and near worthless, I have a lot of them...

Local auctions and flea markets, Craigslist. Folks are always buying workout equipment then unloading them when they move on for pennies on a dollar. 5-10 lb barbell weight on a board should do it.

Pete

Ed Kelly posted:

Hi All,

I need several weights about 4" by 20" to weigh down some switches while the glue dries?  Lead or steel is fine.  I do need smooth surfaces though.  Does anybody know of a source?

Thanks,

Ed

You ARE joking,,,,,right????

Ed Kelly posted:

........ 4" by 20" ................. Lead

At an inch thick that's just around 30 lbs (if I got my unit conversions right,  ), Ed.  And, I could probably get some near that size, too.

But, a 2 foot long 1"x6" with a gallon of paint or a 1 or 2 gallon bucket of water on top might prove more accessible.

I use heavy weights all the time for a number of jobs in my modelling. I mainly use Steel round and had them cut at a metal dealer years ago, sure they charge for the cuts and the metal but they never wear out mine are about 25 years old and have them in all kinds of sizes you only outlay the cash once. Another source if you have house bricks in your area use "solids" not the standard brick the solids are heavier. I buy lead flashing from hardware stores but that's only for weighing cars and yes I agree it is getting expensive even in the Wild West. Roo.

I use plywood and various-sized milk jugs I filled with water for weighing down stuff.  

Brendan

???? at the price of a switch why Glue it down, you are almost certain to destroy the switch if you ever re-do the layout. I have a dozen Ross Switches on my layout and we have about 75 on the club layout, all are screwed down.

Steve

Talk about overthinking a project....

Trace the outline on a piece of prime butcher paper.  Decide if you want the edges at 30, 45, 60, 90 degrees or rounded.  If rounded, at what diameter. Have a draftsman make a set of engineer drawings.  Solicit bids from at least three steel service centers.  Take the drawings and a letter of credit to the center you chose based on price and time.  When manufactured, they will deliver it to your railroad.  Ought to be able to get one for less than $200.  John in Lansing, ILL

How about 15# of weight that you can distribute any way you need.

John, your funny, you make me laugh, but then again in the job you used to do in the late 60's you had to have a sense of humor.

Roo.

Well, even if the job is across the room, you can still put these weights where you want them if you're good enough.

or...before the fat lady sings...maybe she will sit for a spell...was a thought...

Ed, I bought a dozen '123 blocks' and use them for all kinds of weighting and scratch building.

These are one of the best investments I've ever made.  Precision 1 x 2 x 3 inch steel blocks with

perfectly square, smooth sides (for our purposes)  and Each block weights 2-1/4 pounds,   1kg for

our metric friends).  They are available from many sources: Amazon, ebay, etc.  One example below.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHARS-...RDENED-/350586007678

Thanks to all who responded.

ROO:  I like your sense of "overkill".  If a small weight will do, a bigger one will do it better.  My kind of thinking.

Jim Scorse:  Very practical suggestion.  I will be ordering 3-4 pairs tomorrow.

Rattler21:  While I am waiting for the 123 blocks to arrive, I will trace the desired shape on heavy paper and send it off to the designer.  I will let you know the total cost when the bill arrives.

Others:  I will try to find a flat piece of 3/4" ply, another practical suggestion.

Cheers,

Ed

Ceramic tiles.

Dave Zucal posted:

Ceramic tiles.

Interesting idea!  Some plain 18 x 18 tiles in the shop could be useful not only as weights but also are work surfaces and also useful when soldering,

I have a bunch of 6 x 24 tiles from the last bathroom job, maybe I could press those into service.

I can get you 210 lbs. Might need a way to charge my smartphone though.

I'll be honest I had an advantage.

When I was in business many years ago I used 4" round 3" round 2" round steel bought it in 6 metre lengths used a fork lift to unload it then place it on stands and fed it into a power hacksaw actually a horizontal band saw and cut it into manageable lengths then cut it even smaller eventually and turned it down smooth on the lathe I have about 20 different pieces all types of sizes. Roo.