I will never look at a bucket of wheel weights the same way again

[milsurp mike]

I get my WWs from a Friend who owns his own tire shop.I stopped by the other day and what I saw a couple of his employees do turned my Stomach.Guess where the Guys who chew Smokeless tobacco Spit when they are Running the Mounting and balancing equipment.You guessed it in the Bucket of WWs.I have gotten tons of WWs from him and I wonder how many pounds of Excrement I have hauled away from there.Not only are valve stems nail ect. in there.I think back at the times I have dug in the buckets and I want to Vomit.From now on its Rubber glove under Leather gloves for me.Mike

[geargnasher]

That's a given. I always wear heavy nitrile gloves inside dishwashing gloves when sorting. I have never seen a bucket of wheel weights from a tire shop that wasn't saturated with tobacco spit. On the upside, it makes good flux. There's always dog pee to consider, too. A cut from a razor blade + all the nasty stuff in there could be a problem, and I've found plenty of razor blades in those buckets too.

Gear

[markinalpine]

I just use my oldest leather utility gloves, usually old Wells-Lamonts, canvas with leather fingers and palms. I'm sorting old wheel weights, after all, so I don't get too concerned about what's on them. Some of those tires probably have been driven through cow pastures out here anyway. **IT washes off.
Merry Christmas,
Mark [smilie=s:

[rr2241tx]

You TOUCH that ****? I just pour the dutch oven full and put the lid on until it melts then skim off everything that floats with a slotted spoon. ** Drill a thermometer hole in your lid so you don't get hot enough to melt zinc and you'll avoid all the nasties.**

[Dale53]

I don't touch ww's with my bare hands. I just dump them out on a piece of 4x8 scrap plywood and sort with a small coal shovel. Then, of course, I am careful to use a thermometer when I smelt and skim the "floaters" from the melt. The molten lead sanitizes the ww's quite nicely, thank you!

Dale53

[4719dave]

this week i got a 30.gal grease barrel full of everything under the sun !!!!they cleaned out the drains in the shop glad i got it for free ,ended up with full 5 gal of ww and big coffie can of stickys but what a mess .welding gloves lol

[Pepe Ray]

Oh for the days of iron men and wooden ships.

[WilNsc]

A little tobacco wouldn't bother me if the lead was free. But yeah, gloves are a must.

[evan price]

Eh, I used to be a tire tech so nothing in there is something I haven't handled before. Dump 'em out on my flatbed trailer, hose them off, then start picking out the cig butts and chew dips and coffee stirrers. Just don't chew your nails until after you wash well.

Once at a range I was shooting a group of guys were shooting a 45 Colt. I asked if they reloaded- no- and if I could have their brass? -no- well, OK then.

They put all the brass back in the plastic grocery bag from the gunstore with all their other trash and dropped it in the trash can on the way out. I was watching them. One of the guys saw me watching, poured his 7-Up bottle of dip spit into the can, grinned at me with a sort of "Eff-you" expression on his face. Didn't stop me from taking the brass! Dude wound up making a comment about how it was fun watching me dig in his spit to take the brass.

Well, I didn't say that I just didn't touch the bag where the goop was (on the outside of the bag, not inside where the brass was) but I did start telling him what my job was like when I was an engineer for a company that specialized in medical waste destruction. Talked about the aborted fetuses, surgical suction containers full of bloody tissue, cancerous organs, amputated limbs, experimental rat and monkey corpses, and the used needles we'd get regularly and what it looked and smelled like. Some dip spit was like bottled water compared to that.

Dude about hurled.

[alkazoo]

Once at a range I was shooting a group of guys were shooting a 45 Colt. I asked if they reloaded- no- and if I could have their brass? -no- well, OK then.

Sounds like they were a couple of real gems...If they were half way decent they woulda said "sure,here take it all, we dont use it".. You run into all kinds at the range thats for sure. I have so much brass in calilbers i shoot (mostly rifle) that i dont go looking for it much anymore, but yet if i stumble across it ill take it lol. Started loading a few years back for a new .270 i bought. I spent a couple hours at the range one day while 3 guys were shooting a few benches down. After they wrapped up, i noticed them clean up thier brass and toss it the trash can, along with empty boxes etc. After they left i walked over and "repurposed" a little over 100 .270 once fired remington cases..was my lucky day that day!! Now if i could only stumble across a lead stash that easy!! :)

[white eagle]

man I never wear gloves of any sort
must be crazy ? [smilie=w:
dirty hand can be washed :holysheep

[oldfart1956]

GAAAAAK! After reading all this I'm sure glad I get my ww's from the local tire shop owned and operated by Mennonites! :) No dip/butts/loogies...nothin'! Clean as a whistle. I did find a half-a-donut once....it was still puddy fresh. I'm just sayin'.

[Rich Cronk]

Sounds like the tire shop is a good place to get free and slightly used chew.

:cbpour: :redneck:

[milsurp mike]

I guess I have a Phobia about others Excrement.I own a Parking Lot sweeping Business and when I used to drive one of the Trucks and would see a bottle full of Tobacco spit or any other bodily fluids It would turn my stomach.I cant stand a being around Human excrement of any kind.I only changed 1 dirty diaper in my child rearing days.My Wife made a quick trip to town and left my daughter home with me.Well that quick trip turned into over an hour and during that time my infant Daughter Messed her diaper.After waiting a few minutes to see if my wife would be home shortly I decided to go ahead and change her.Well after nearly Vomiting trying to clean up the Mess I ran some water in the Tub and Bobbed her up and down until she came clean.A good washing and I dried her and it was the last time I changed a diaper.That has been 20 some odd years ago.Call me a Wuss If you like. Mike

PS I do get the WWs free but I do throw in a parking Lot sweeping when they are in the area and keep the owner supplied in Ammo

[Sonnypie]

Once at a range I was shooting a group of guys were shooting a 45 Colt. I asked if they reloaded- no- and if I could have their brass? -no- well, OK then.

Sounds like they were a couple of real gems...If they were half way decent they woulda said "sure,here take it all, we dont use it".. You run into all kinds at the range thats for sure. I have so much brass in calilbers i shoot (mostly rifle) that i dont go looking for it much anymore, but yet if i stumble across it ill take it lol. Started loading a few years back for a new .270 i bought. I spent a couple hours at the range one day while 3 guys were shooting a few benches down. After they wrapped up, i noticed them clean up thier brass and toss it the trash can, along with empty boxes etc. After they left i walked over and "repurposed" a little over 100 .270 once fired remington cases..was my lucky day that day!! Now if i could only stumble across a lead stash that easy!! :)

Aw, it's like anywhere.
Mostly good folks, but a few regular butt grommets.
It's like looking down in a sewer manhole, there will be the occasional gem floating by. [smilie=l:

I try and encourage folks to reload. I spent some time visiting with a Dad and his Son at the range. He was asking about Dillon 650's.
I told him I had never used one, but the friends I know that have Dillon machines seemed to really like them, and that Dillon stands behind their equipment for life.
But that I was a single stage reloader for my rifle ammo.
They were nice guys. It was fun chatting with them.
But I got the sense the Son was like a puppy trying to get Dad to open up his wallet.

I reached into a can looking for ammo box inserts and Bob (range-master) caught me.
"NO Dumpster diving!" he growled at me chomping his big fat black turd of a cigar.
I yanked my hand back like there was a snake in there. :bigsmyl2:
Ordinarily he doesn't care. But that time he barked at me. He told me he's going to try and get me a bag of some good Match brass, once fired stuff.

Then, when he made one of his ride-downs to the office, I did my pickin. ;)

I hope that butt grommet that Evan ran acrossed did choke on his cud and barf his lunch up. Hopefully in the truck they rode in on. Smell that all the way home!

The "flux" in a bucket of WW can't be anywhere near as bad as the brake dust and road grime on those little gems in there. That toxic stuff being vaporized is your real worry.
Not some petrified lugies.

[leadman]

I have found needles, condoms (used), and just about everything else in the buckets. Even found a few tools. If the buckets came from a tire shop I take those back to them cuz some guy probably lost them in the bucket. The WW I get from a scrap yard I'll keep anything good.

I was a heavy equipment mechanic for many years. Did alot of repair to garbage trucks and sewer vactors. There were many kinds of dead bodies in the garbage trucks, but luckily we found no human remains in the shops.

[TreeKiller]

Sorting a bucket of wheel weights - no worse than preg testing a cow!

[geargnasher]

Sorting a bucket of wheel weights - no worse than preg testing a cow!...except the cow's insides are sterile and don't contain razor blades or needles!


I have found needles, condoms (used), and just about everything else in the buckets. Even found a few tools. If the buckets came from a tire shop I take those back to them cuz some guy probably lost them in the bucket. The WW I get from a scrap yard I'll keep anything good.

I was a heavy equipment mechanic for many years. Did alot of repair to garbage trucks and sewer vactors. There were many kinds of dead bodies in the garbage trucks, but luckily we found no human remains in the shops.

I know all about the garbage trucks, especially doing rear suspension/brake work on rainy days. Nothing is quite like replacing walking beams with dumpster sludge and maggots dripping on your face!

Gear

[Mk42gunner]

I know all about the garbage trucks, especially doing rear suspension/brake work on rainy days. Nothing is quite like replacing walking beams with dumpster sludge and maggots dripping on your face!

Gear

I'll never forget changing all 8 tires (in a cold rain) on a trailer that hauled hides. With Dayton wheels too, (it was a long time ago). When we got done the boss closed up early so we could go hame and get cleaned up.

Robert

[evan price]

...except the cow's insides are sterile and don't contain razor blades or needles!


Mrs. Price is a veterinarian. I'm quite familiar with the procedure for determining bovine pregnancy, thank you. I'm also intimately familiar with the procedure for milking bulls and stallions...



I know all about the garbage trucks, especially doing rear suspension/brake work on rainy days. Nothing is quite like replacing walking beams with dumpster sludge and maggots dripping on your face!

Gear

Nothing like changing hydraulic lines or repacking the cylinders in a rear-load packer. We had this old Leach Sani-Cruiser rear load with the bar type pushout that we used to haul the medical waste to the dump after we processed it. Boss was cheap, wanted a cheap truck since dump was 5 miles away. Cheap = fix it a lot. Chassis was a good solid GMC 8000 with Detroit 8.2 Diesel/5+2..Hydraulic 4-wheel disc brakes and Dayton wheels, what a combo. Still running 10x20s. We got a lot of holes thanks to the hypodermic needles.

That still beat trying to rebuild the cylinder on a stationary trash compactor from in the pit at a major hospital with a Wendy's restaurant in the lobby. Having to literally sit in 4-6" of congealed, spoiled Wendy's chili, fryer grease, hydraulic oil and other unmentionable goo while trying to keep the packings and bore clean and still manhandle the 4" pushrod without nicking it, while keeping an eye out for rats (They would eat your shoes! or bite you!). You'd crawl out to get a tool and be covered in rotting chili beans.

There was a drip pan under the compactor ram but they never cleaned them and they'd overflow and the pit filled with semi-solid glop. In Spring or Winter the pit also flooded and we'd have to pump it out...I kept a spare, old & worn out pair of Carhartt coveralls in a trashbag in the truck for those jobs.

[nicholst55]

Gee, all this makes climbing into a tank hull once the turret has been pulled sound like a cake walk! All you encounter is hydraulic fluid, fuel, water, glop, and anything that can fall down between the turret and hull! Sometimes them tankers have to go when they're cooped up in that iron monster, too. Usually that goes out the loader's hatch, but not always!

[arjacobson]

we have to repair broken sewer lines from time to time..little chew spit aint gonna hurt anything.. Go check out your local waste water facility,ask for a tour and make sure you check out their BAR SCREEN ROOM.. :grin:

[alamogunr]

Several posts here qualify for an episode on "Dirty Jobs"

[Dale53]

Shoveling manure out of stalls was the roughest thing I ever did. While it gave me a lifetime appreciation for my adult work, it was nothing compared with working on that trash compactor.

Simple maintenance would have made your life a heck of a lot better - I can only imagine your attitude to the slackers.

At any rate, shoveling manure, left me with NO patience for those who would rather sit on their butts and draw welfare checks than work a less desirable job. I actually had people tell me that they weren't going to work for $10.00 an hour (and this was back in the Seventies when $10.00 an hour was a heck of a lot more money than now).

Oh well, I guess we should be happy that we are who we are compared to who THEY are... I am!:mrgreen:

Dale53

[oldred]

I just dump mine on a concrete driveway and hit them with my small pressure washer, not only does it rid them of #&@% but it makes melting them down a LOT cleaner. No way would I stick my hands down into a spitoon like that even with gloves!!!!

[leadman]

I remember working on one garbage truck that had a partial load on it when the trans went out. Bad part was the truck sat outside in 100' plus all weekend. Had to keep a sacond air hose handy to blow the maggots away. They did make good fish bait though.

[alamogunr]

I once picked up seven 5 gallon buckets of WW. This was about 15 years ago when they were almost all lead. I dumped them in the back of my pickup and drove to a car wash. This particular establishment had a steep drive into the wash station. I parked with the back of the truck on the incline and fed in the quarters. After about $2, I had a fairly clean batch of WW. Didn't bother to rinse. After a couple of days they had dried out and I cleaned them. Back then I got about 80-85% yield.

[geargnasher]

I see I'm in good company!

I'll also say that Evan Price wins the trophy, hands down with the stationary compactor gig. There isn't enough money in the universe for me to do that. If my drawers are going to get dirty from the nasty sludge I'm working in soaking through, I draw the line. I have replaced one three-stage cylinder in a rear-packer truck, but fortunately it was emptied before I had to work on it. We rinsed it out, but the way it was designed, several cover panels had to be cut out with a torch to get to the cross pins on the ends of the cylinder, and being in an enclosed space filled with flaming liquid garbage concentrate is not one of my fondest memories. It was so bad the only way I could finish the job was with a sandblasting helmet with remote air supply and wet red-rags packed around my neck for a better seal.

Picking through a bucket of filthy wheel weights is CAKE.

Gear

[evan price]

I got stories, man...

Like the time working at a hospital in Cincinati area they pushed the medical waste to the old incinerator building and left the tubs on the catwalk. One evening I was shooting the bull with the incinerator operator and saw something reddish, gelatinous, and fat suddenly jiggle past the edge of the building.

"What the he** was that?" I yelped.
"Looked like a kidney," the operator said, totally deadpan. "Oh, wait, you mean- uh, it was a rat. Probably with a kidney."

[white eagle]

I worked as a mason at the U.W Wisconsin for a while
my "buddy"had been there previously anyway
we were in this room with a bunch of what looked like
cattle water troughs with lids he says "come over here"he
lifts the lid and yep is a corpse......just before lunch too