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View Full Version : Side cutters -- WW + a little ZN & FE



gray wolf
04-04-2011, 03:29 PM
Being totally disgusted with the weather
55* yesterday and 30* today and snowing I needed something to do.
With no TV and no radio reception in the day time I got to thinking about some WW I had bunked in the totally over crowded impossible to get to anything shed out back. So on went the coat, gloves and boots.
Julie wanted to know if I was going snowmobiling, I reminded here that we didn't have a snow machine. She said OH, then you must be going out to the shed.
Well after moving everything from the left side to the right side and everything from the back to the front---there they were.
I thought what the heck I may as well go through these and look for ZN and FE.
I always put them all in the pot and just keep the temp. low, I look for the floaters and scoop them up. But this time I brought them in the house and went through them one at a time.
Some were marked with ZN and some were FE, not to many but enough to know I would have definitely had some in the pot. The FE ones were a
no brain er and easy to spot. The ZN are so much different than the regular ones.
They are very hard to dent and if I tried to scratch them with a sharp nail they made a very different sound. Also very hard to dent with the side cutters.
I held a regular WW and a known ZN with a pliers and put the torch to them,
The zinc takes a lot longer to melt. I did find one ZN with no mark on it to indicate what it was. Like I said I never look at them, just put the heat to them and catch the floaters. I do have a thermometer.
I guess I need to get a job EH, or the weather has to get warm.
Any-hoo -- for the new guy's--- don't be afraid to test the WW with a side cutter.
Once you find a bogy you can keep it for a sample to test a suspect WW.
Now what else shale I do ? I could try and make dinner, I ain't doing the windows.


Sam

troyboy
04-04-2011, 06:43 PM
Good on ya. That is making good use of time.

Ohio Rusty
04-04-2011, 08:49 PM
Good job on the side cutter trick. I have also used needle nose pliers with good sharp teeth on the pliers. Needle nose will leave teeth marks in a regular WW, where it won't leave teeth marks in the steel or zinkers. You learn how hard to squeeze They do have a different ring to them I agree. I have dropped them on the floor and you can hear the difference.
Ohio Rusty ><>

runfiverun
04-04-2011, 09:27 PM
i scrape them on the cement you can feel the drag difference.

steg
04-04-2011, 10:54 PM
I just pull out the floaters................steg

lylejb
04-04-2011, 11:12 PM
The ZN are so much different than the regular ones

NOT ALL OF THEM!!!!

It seems the earlier made ones were quite visibly different, NOT ALWAYS SO NOW.

Recently I've started seeing zinc that look EXACTLY like the painted lead Ww for aluminium wheels. As in likely came from the same moulds, but the weight is less than lead. There not magnetic, and you can't cut them with side cutters.

Sad to say, our shop is in process of changing over. Not by choice, It's what the supplier is sending. We still get a few lead, mostly old stock I think. Anything in a popular size is zinc or iron now.

blackthorn
04-05-2011, 10:12 AM
I had a small bucket of WW to go through. As I went through them I used side-cutters to test and set aside the ones that were suspect. The cutters at least would take off a bit of whatever the coating is, leaving a shiny spot. When I had gone through the lot I put just about 1/8" of Muriatic acid in a plastic container (bottom cut off a pill bottle) then I just touched the shiny spots on the weights into the acid. The Zinc ones fizzzz!

Bad Water Bill
04-05-2011, 10:35 AM
I just scratch mine on the concrete floor. No real experience needed to tell the difference between PB and all other IMPOSTERS.

Wayne Smith
04-05-2011, 01:56 PM
What to do? Well, if it's snowing you must have the stove going. With all those ww's in the house now - sounds like it's time to make ingots, of any size! Big ones or little round ones.

Duckiller
04-05-2011, 03:22 PM
Sorting lets you bond with your wheel weights. Now you will really care about your boolits. If the weather stays bad sort through your weights again. See how many Zn weights got by you the first time. Then it gets discouraging. As bad as your weather is now , Trout season is just around the corner.

shotman
04-05-2011, 04:03 PM
do the laundry it works LOL

gray wolf
04-05-2011, 04:39 PM
Sorting lets you bond with your wheel weights.

Thank you ---

but at 69 I have bonded with so many things I feel like a tube of supper glue.