I've got an opportunity to pick up 4 massy Harris rear wheel weights. They are very old. 1940-1950 ish. 140 lbs a piece. Was wondering if they'd be lead. It's a long drive just to look at em. Also rear weights in general. Would they be lead?
I've got an opportunity to pick up 4 massy Harris rear wheel weights. They are very old. 1940-1950 ish. 140 lbs a piece. Was wondering if they'd be lead. It's a long drive just to look at em. Also rear weights in general. Would they be lead?
Nope, cast iron.
Best,
Mike
NRA Life Member
Remember Ira Hayes
Have never seen any of lead but there is always a chance. Check with some demo companies. Lots of old housing had lead plumbing. All the old cast iron pipes were sealed with lead. People used to laugh at me taking the time to take the lead rings out--but no more.
Lead can't take the abuse, even the axle slip-ons are iron.
Yep, I use to work at a tractor dealer and every one of the weights I saw, probably over 1000 of them, was indeed cast iron.
ASE master certified engine machinist
Brake & Alignment specialist, ricer to class 8
We only ever had one set of tractor wheel weights on the farm that were not iron. We made them ourselves out of concrete because my dad was too cheap/broke to buy iron ones.
I do remember the guy we bought alfalfa from, though. He towed a big home-made squeeze forklift behind his truck for unloading the hay. He was a friend of my dad's and would sometimes park the forklift on our place for weeks at a time when he wasn't using it or making a long haul elsewhere. The reason I remember was because he had a big hollow welded front "bumper" like a giant pocket for counterweight. It was full of a ton or two of raw lead wheel weights. I was tempted but refrained from "borrowing" any. This was a couple decades ago; I wonder if that machine is rusting away somewhere, abandoned with it's valuable stash of lead?
I bought what looked like a tractor wheel weight from a recycler/scrapper.
he only had one...It was Lead, soft and near pure.
It was donut shaped with 3 large Brass threaded inserts cast into it, for mounting purposes I assume.
I don't have a photo, and I'm not sure exactly what it was for, if not a tractor weight.
Outer diameter was about 20"
inner diameter was about 8"
it was about 2" thick
I cut it in 3 pieces and smelted it.
Jon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
Yep iron grandpa made me put his in the truck for traction, back still hurts thinkin bout it.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |