Lead?

[frymantcu]

I was looking to replace my ghetto sand bag ballast with some lead. I have the stock ballast and an extra sac for surfing but I like to have the smaller weight to even out the wake...

So I was curious where people have found these lead bars? are you making them yourselves or is there a special place to find them?

[Deester]

RE: Lead?

Try this place
www.pop-products.com/products/

Good luck.

[east tx skier]

Go to some tire places and buy tire weights. Get a cheap frying pan and a couple of bread pans at Walmart or some place that would have them. If you have a propane burner, use that. Whatever you use, do it outside over dirt (in case you spill some). Put some weights in there and let them cook. Using a large metal spoon you can throw away, scoop out the clips. You can hit the spoon on the side of the pan an knock the lead stuck to it back into the soup. When you get all the clips out, pour the molten lead into the bread pans. Be sure to heat the pans up or you'll get bubles. Don't cook too much at once or you won't be able to lift the pan. Keep adding to the mold until you have a nice brick. When it cools, pop it out. Paint, carpet and put it somewhere where you won't have much contact with that nasty stuff. Good luck.

[Andrew]

wow, bread pans are a great idea!

[surroundsound64]

That's a great idea, Doug!

[east tx skier]

Thanks, I learned it all here.

The part I left out is how I messed it all up. Thus, the statement about not putting too much in the pan so that it's too heavy to lift with one hand. Fortunately, I was over bare ground and could shovel it (and a lot of dirt out). I hope to try it again sometime, but I basically decided to just use some plastic barbell weight plates in an old duffle bag.

But then again, as a skier, I was only playing with a little weight up front or under the observer seat.

Another thing I forgot to add is that some people cast little handles into then for ease of moving them around the boat. Also, wear a mask of some sort and stay upwind of the stuff. Those fumes are nasty.

[OKWAKEBDR]

or you can just fill and cap a PVC pipe with the lead weights - then you don't have to mess with melting.

[east tx skier]

Probably ideal for me given how little weight I need. Thanks for the suggestion.

[ag4ever]

I had a bunch of lead that I melted down a couple years ago.

I used the aluminum "disposable" bread pans to form the lead, and when it was cool, I just floded the lip over on them and wrapped the whole thing in duct tape. The only problem with the aluminum pans is they need support to keep them from collapsing under the weight of the lead. I placed about 8 of them on a piece of plywood with a frame around them to keep them in place. I then melted a bunch of lead in a home-made pot (made of 12" diameter pipe with 1/4" wall thickness with a 1/4" thick flat plate welded to the bottom). I then used a laddle to scoop the lead out of the pot and pour it into the bread molds. One scoop in each mold, and by the time I was back to the first one the lead in it was solid enough to keep the bread pan shape.

I still have the pot I used for melting lead, and if anybody around houston wants it I would be more than willing to give it to them. I would guess it weighs about 20 pounds by itself, and about 35 pounds of lead can be melted in it at a time. It even has some handles welded on it to make handling a bit easier. About the only use I have found for it was to flip it over and place a jackstand on it when I needed some more height to work on my truck.

[Gettin_Stoked]

My buddy got his hands on 220lbs of lead that was crushed like bb's, paid about $100. We put the lead in ziplock bags and rolled it up, wrapped in duct tape and put in those small canvas tool bags from home depot. We made six bags..

And the point is not the amount of weight, rather that you can use all of your balast completely filled (don't drain some to even wakes), and make minor adjustments with these..

This worked with my setup on my SAN.

[Andrew]

next step is to change the bags to say "wakeforce" :P

[todda]

If you are willing to pay, there are also these: www.pounderz.com
I bought one (55lb) as a counterwt under the observers seat for when we ski with only a driver. It is really convenient and east to move around as it comes with a nylon handle.

Todd

[jhiestand]

I went the inexpensive route and scored spent lead shot from a local shooting range. They let me take all I wanted at not cost, but I had to scoop it myself. I only had a couple 5 gallon buckets and wasn't sure they'd hold together if I filled them all the way, so only filled them about 2/3 full. Not sure I could've even lifted them if they were full, either. :shock:

It's "dirtier" lead than actual lead shot pellets, but the cost couldn't be beat and it's still heavy. I found some bank-style coin bags (http://www.generalbanksupply.com/sto...g-12-x-19.html) which were dirt cheap to contain the lead. The bags were big enough to wrap up pretty good with duct tape and my two partially full buckets filled seven bags, each roughly 25 lbs. If I had a Mastercraft I probably would've stopped there, but since I have a Nautique I had to take it one step further and had my local seamstress throw together some black bags to make them a little prettier. :grin:

Overall the price can't be beat plus I like the idea of the weight being able to conform to where I put it, eliminating pressure points.

[east tx skier]

If I had a Mastercraft I probably would've stopped there, but since I have a Nautique I had to take it one step further and had my local seamstress throw together some black bags to make them a little prettier. :grin:

Ouch! Ya got me. Go on without me. I'm not gonna make it. Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

I tried several shooting ranges with no luck. They had lots of steel shot, but the cost and the size to weigh ratio didn't make a lot of sense there.

Another alternative for bags are the neoprene dive weight bags you can get at the local scuba shops.

[jhiestand]

LOL! Most of my friends I ride with have MC's so it's hard for me to resist a little ribbing on occasion. It's all in fun. :grin:

I've heard of some ranges not letting their lead go due to liability reasons (lead poisoning, etc.) so I probably just got lucky.