Scuba diveing weights

[flipajig]

Dose anyone know about how hard diving weights are.
I was given about 30 to 40 lbs of these weights I'm wondering
If I can just melt them down and cast them.
Thanks
Flip

[largom]

The ones I had were close to pure lead, BUT that depends on who made them. They could be made from any lead alloy that will melt. If you can scrape them with your thumb nail they should be close to lead.

Larry

[fishhawk]

they can be made from just about any thing that melts. be careful dropping them into melted lead there have been known to be water filled voids in them.

[beagle]

If they're commercially made swaged weights, they're probably pretty close to pure. If they're cast, anything goes and all you can is they're probably lead and whatever got next to the pot that would melt./beagle

[atr]

Ive used them and they are pretty much close to pure lead...I have to add tin and antimony to make them acceptable ...you can pretty much tell by the color...lead is dull grey,,good casting material is brighter

[flipajig]

Ok if they are pure lead I should be able to cast them for my
CVA 50 cal right.

[stubshaft]

Right.

[JIMinPHX]

they can be made from just about any thing that melts.

That has been my experience too.

[Hang Fire]

When poor and sport diving for fish, I made a mold and cast mine out of babbit to fit in cartridge pouches on a GI belt.

[ku4hx]

Early this Winter I smelted 20# of diver's weights and treated them as WW basically which they seemed to be. When alloyed with 50/50 bar solder the resulting mix cast boolits with the normal weight variance of what I've been calling my home brew "Hard Ball" alloy. And they shoot very well.

The dive shop I'm associated with melts and casts their own, or did last time I was there, but they'd use whatever was handy and "heavy as lead". And that included some stuff I'm sure had Zinc in it.

[dale2242]

I have several diving weights.
I also have a decent supply of lead alloys.
I think I will try to sell mine to the local dive shop and buy primers
They should be worth $2+ per lb as dive weights.....dale

[Green Frog]

I'm with Dale2242. The price divers pay for weights is somewhat higher than the scrap value of the lead they contain, and since the alloy of cast weights is almost always somewhat doubtful anyway, why waste them? Sell your surplus weights to a diver or dive shop and get some known materials to work with or at least value received. JMHO, YMMV!

Froggie

[yovinny]

Does anyone even still use the old style dive weights and belts ?
I only know a few guys that still dive, but they havent used the old style in 20 years, theirs all seem to be neoprene bags filled with shot that go in pocketed belts and harnesses.

[Bloodman14]

Give them the 'drop test'; if they ring, they are an alloy close to WW. If they go "thud", they are close to pure.

[flipajig]

Thank you for your replies. I will give them the drop test and check with my finger nail and go from there. I live in central Texas and there is not to many dive shops around here but that is another option thank you for the replies.
Flip

[flipajig]

Well I did the drop test and the scratch test sounds like I have pure lead.
Gives me reason to buy another mold.

[JIMinPHX]

Does anyone even still use the old style dive weights and belts ?

I do. I still use a horse collar BC too. I'd still be using my double hose regulator with adjustable venturi if I could still get rebuild parts for it.

Edit: I still use the dive tables in my old navy manual too. The new "sport diving" tables are far too conservative & I think that many of the automatic dive calculators out there today are too risky. I've been using the Navy tables for over 25 years now & I haven't had an "oops" yet (sound of knocking on wood). I wish that I could still get rebuild parts for my Princton Techtonics bottom timer.

[Bill*]

I do. I still use a horse collar BC too. I'd still be using my double hose regulator with adjustable venturi if I could still get rebuild parts for it.

That brings back memories of the TV show from the early 60s--- "Seahunt" with Lloyd Bridges. I'll never forget the line used in almost every episode...."and then... (dramatic pause)...I saw it". It didnt matter what he was looking for or came across. He still said it. :popcorn: <---- me @ 8 years old watching TV :mrgreen:

[Grandpas50AE]

Well I did the drop test and the scratch test sounds like I have pure lead.
Gives me reason to buy another mold.

Do any of us really ever need a reason to buy another mold?

[Lefty SRH]

Old thread i know, but i ran across some of my old dive weights but these are the shot style. Any idea what grade/type of lead the shot style are? Im thinkin just cut them open and load them for a shotgun instead of melting down.

[Jbiker]

don't know about part's , but I do have a US DIVERS 2 hose regulator that was rebuilt back in 1975 and then never used ! looked at it last month when I opened a drawer that hadn't seen the lite of day in 30 years. stopped diving when the wife left , without taking the kids ....all of a sudden there just wasn't any time for diving with the guy's. U interested in it ?

[slim1836]

don't know about part's , but I do have a US DIVERS 2 hose regulator that was rebuilt back in 1975 and then never used ! looked at it last month when I opened a drawer that hadn't seen the lite of day in 30 years. stopped diving when the wife left , without taking the kids ....all of a sudden there just wasn't any time for diving with the guy's. U interested in it ?

I've got one also and you would be surprised what they can bring depending on which model, condition, etc...
92658 Worked last time I used it in the 90's.

[Lefty SRH]

don't know about part's , but I do have a US DIVERS 2 hose regulator that was rebuilt back in 1975 and then never used ! looked at it last month when I opened a drawer that hadn't seen the lite of day in 30 years. stopped diving when the wife left , without taking the kids ....all of a sudden there just wasn't any time for diving with the guy's. U interested in it ?


PM me with a price. I have my fathers old taper thread J valve tank and he used a two hose reg back in the sixties....

[upnorthwis]

Dive and lead story. I had a weight belt fall off into the muck never to be seen again. Made a mold at work and only used the worst scrap lead I had. It only had one purpose and that was to weigh me down. I still like the separate weight belt. On a deep water exit I can take it off so that the rest of my BC weighs 28 pounds less.