Are SCUBA weights pure lead?

[USARO4]

Just got back from a vacation in Florida. While walking along the beach I found about 30lbs of weights for a SCUBA belt, couldn't find the rest of the diver anywhere. Guess the sharks got him. My question is what is the alloy composition of SCUBA weights? It is soft enough to scratch easily with a screwdriver. I'm just worried there might be some zinc in them.

[docone31]

Back when I used to cast my weights, I used anything I could. There might be zinc blended in.
Easy enough to get out, just melt the batch, and begin cooling it down untill the lead is liquid and any zinc floats up and congeals.
A weight mold is pretty large. To make really good weights, the melt had to be hot! If there was zinc in it, it was melted in.

[Johnch]

From the ones I have melted down
They could be anything from pure lead to Lino

Most guys that make them use just about anything that will melt

Last batch I got were WW , or at least real close to WW

John

[Sprue]

I figure that most small scuba shops scrounge just as we do.

Mine at any rate use WW's.

As mentioned, zinc will require hotter temps to melt.

[USARO4]

I tested these weights on a Cabine Tree tester and get a BHN 9-9.5. That tells me they are not pure lead but they are softer than WW. Still dont know the alloy, I'll just have to see how they cast. For you casters who don't own one of Gussy's testers you are missing out on a first class piece of equipment. I realize this post sounds like a brazen plug for Cabine Tree but I can't help it, I love mine. For the record I am not on Gussy's payroll. Thanks for the input from the diving community.

[kjg]

whats a gussy tester, need info please. kjg

[MT Gianni]

http://www.castingstuff.com/cabinetree_llc___lead_testers.htm
Also found at the bottom of this page through Castingstuff. Gianni

[JIMinPHX]

The alloy content of scuba weights varies worse than the lead content of Chinese toys.

[redneckdan]

Guess the sharks got him.

Probably not. Some divers will drop their belt if they get into trouble and heed to surface. Thats one reason not to wear a weight belt underneath a dry suit.

[Dennis Eugene]

I have my weight belt around my middle full time. Dennis

[JIMinPHX]

Probably not. Some divers will drop their belt if they get into trouble and heed to surface. Thats one reason not to wear a weight belt underneath a dry suit.

The weight belt goes on last, with a right hand release on the buckle.

[Alchemist]

Back when I was diving, I made up a bunch of weights from lead I got from the firing range. Almost all were .38 wc, since it was primarily a police range in the mid 70's. Bullets made into dive weights....hmmm...dive weights used to make boolits? I'd say there's one possibility.

Bottom line; as posted earlier, dive weights can be almost anything that melts. It sounds like the ones you have will make good boolits as is...if you want harder boolits mix in some WWs or lino.

Alchemist

[Mister Tom]

I agree, almost anything goes into diving weights. In the past I have borrowed weight molds from the local dive shop in exchange for some of the cast weights. I guess we are all trying to save a buck and have some fun as well. There is also that added satisfaction of making something yourself - and the added bonus of the lead fumes.

Our custom lead blends have included every thing from WW's, cast figurines, pipes, solder, to bell sinkers collected from the bottom. One of my friends even got hold of some lead sheet from the hospital which was used as shielding around the x-ray area.

I heard that this could give off radioactivity when melted, and wanted nothing to do with that so I did not participate in that melting session.

Perhaps someone else can verify the accuracy of that being hazardous? In my opinion, why take a chance?

[uncle joe]

I have my weight belt around my middle full time. Dennis

HA
Me too Dennis
Wish we could melt it down and cast some boolits from it
WW are getting hard to come by
:lol:

[trooperdan]

Lead from X-ray shielding would not absorb any radiation at all. It would be perfectly safe.. and likely nearly dead soft!

[Mister Tom]

Lead from X-ray shielding would not absorb any radiation at all. It would be perfectly safe.. and likely nearly dead soft!

Too bad I guess - could give new meaning to "hot lead"! :Fire:

[kjg]

hey now i have casted bullets and ingots from hopital sheet lead and im not glowing, as well as lead from my old dive weight and they all do great sheet lead to cast muzzleloading bullets and dive weights for handguns and rifle no ill effects. kjg

[Sig shooter]

Some of the new belts are nylon pouches for buckshot . They contour better to your waist , without having the "10 pounder " grinding a hole in your hip.

[Hanzy4200]

How do you ID these type weights? I recently picked up several odd weights from my scrap yard. They all had the number "10" inlayed into the weights face. Obviously they were 10 lb. weights. They were slightly concave in shape. At first I thought they were some sort of massive wheel weight for big machinery, but after casting ingots, I realized they were much softer than WW, maybe even pure lead.

[C. Latch]

Ok, not really relevant, but how does 30 pounds of lead wash up on a beach? I would have thought lead dropped to the bottom would pretty much stay there forever.

[starmac]

Ok, not really relevant, but how does 30 pounds of lead wash up on a beach? I would have thought lead dropped to the bottom would pretty much stay there forever.

Two of us would like to know. lol

[gandydancer]

Old sunken ships do. all kinds of things do.

[John Allen]

The diver was probably doing a beach dive. When they got to the beach they dropped the belt to make for a lighter walk through the soft sand with tanks on their back. They would then come back for the weights but of course it was forgotten. I have done this myself once.

[jonp]

How do you ID these type weights? I recently picked up several odd weights from my scrap yard. They all had the number "10" inlayed into the weights face. Obviously they were 10 lb. weights. They were slightly concave in shape. At first I thought they were some sort of massive wheel weight for big machinery, but after casting ingots, I realized they were much softer than WW, maybe even pure lead.

Curved weights like that with numbers stamped into them are scuba weights. They are curved ti either follow the waist on a belt or to fit inside of the back of a vest like I have. Experianced divers know how much weight they need to balance them so can just pick some out of a pile and get it right when on vacation

[Green Frog]

Ok, not really relevant, but how does 30 pounds of lead wash up on a beach? I would have thought lead dropped to the bottom would pretty much stay there forever.

My thoughts exactly. I would guess somebody dropped them as he came out of the water at the end of his beach dive and was juggling so much gear he didn't notice. "Been there, done that!" :oops:

Froggie

(and no, the name does not refer to Frog Man, although I guess it could! ;) )

[willie_pete]

The diver was probably doing a beach dive. When they got to the beach they dropped the belt to make for a lighter walk through the soft sand with tanks on their back. They would then come back for the weights but of course it was forgotten. I have done this myself once.

Maybe somebody saw them on the beach and said "maybe the sharks got him" and took them for boolits before the driver got back. ;)

WP

[blackthorn]

If you have lead of unknown content, put a couple of drops of Muriatic acid on it. If it fizzes/bubbles you have some Zinc! You can get the acid at a Pool supply store.

[Hanzy4200]

No way it washed up. Most likely was dumped out of a damaged belt or fell of a ATV. My guess.