Lead Diving Weights

[Bullwolf]

A small lead score for me today.

I found someone selling 20lbs of lead weights mounted on a diving belt, for $10.

Not a huge haul, but it all adds to the lead stash. It's also about the only action I am seeing here now that wheel weights are mostly zinc and steel in a full bucket.

The diving weights that I made in the past, were all cast out of Linotype as that was the only lead that I had on hand when I was looking for lead weights to keep my buoyancy down.

http://www.lilmacmolds.com/Images/Products/A-Series/Belt_Weight_Mold/215000.gif

In a pinch I can always grab a slightly pink colored Lino diving weight if I need more lead for my stash. The good news is they are already in ingot like form, and you can even hang em up on the wall if you want.

Diving weight ingot molds.... Maybe I should have posted this in the Molds section of the forum? Nah, on second thought it seems to fit much better here.

Seriously though, it's another place to look for lead that you can scrounge. You need to check the kind of lead used though, many folks will melt down anything on hand for diving weights, even zinc. Maybe that's a good use for all those freaking Zn (zinc) wheel weights that I keep getting.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f668db337e27.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4489)


- Bullwolf

[bumpo628]

Any lead for under $1 a pound is good nowadays.
By the way, where do you find a diving weight mold like that?

[2wheelDuke]

I need to find my dad's dive weight mold. I know he's got dive weights made out of monotype somewhere too.

Zinc would be a better idea for taking my buoyancy down instead of lead that I can use for boolits.

[bumpo628]

I need to find my dad's dive weight mold. I know he's got dive weights made out of monotype somewhere too.

Zinc would be a better idea for taking my buoyancy down instead of lead that I can use for boolits.

That just what I was thinking. I would like to get one of those diving molds to give me something to do with the zinc weights.

[Bullwolf]

Well I assume that the diving weight molds have been around for quite a long while now, since my mold must be at least 30+ years old.

I want to say I purchased my mold at either a diving store, or a gold mining equipment store, some years ago. I guess that it could easily double as an ingot mold, but until today I hadn't really thought about using it that way. My round mini-muffin ingots are just so darn convenient to use, and they are darn cute too. The diving weight mold will cast nice square shaped weights, and the square ingots do stack up nicer than the round ones. You can even thread them on a belt, and hang them up too. Either way, it's always good to have options.

I see a few molds listed online, that look similar to my diving weight mold.

http://www.lilmacmolds.com/A-Series_Molds.html
(3rd mold from the bottom of the A-series mold list)

http://www.lilmacmolds.com/Images/Products/A-Series/Belt_Weight_Mold/215000.gif

Makes diving weights with belt slots from 1 to 5 lbs.

and

http://www.nextag.com/diving-weight-mold/shop-html

Trident Systems Trident Lead Weight Mold - Scuba Diving Gear Weights and Belts
http://img04.static-nextag.com/image/Trident-Systems-Trident-Lead/1/000/005/952/266/595226675.jpg

or

http://northeastscubasupply.com/store/weights/weight-molds/5-weight-mold/prod_559.html

http://northeastscubasupply.com/store/weights/weight-molds/cat_130.html

5LB mold

http://northeastscubasupply.com/store/images/uploads/weights/Molds/5lbmold.jpg

4-16LB mold

http://northeastscubasupply.com/store/images/uploads/weights/Molds/16lbmold.jpg


You can also check out a diving supply store as well, but be warned they really charge a premium for most anything that has the word "diving" in it, or on it.

I believe that was what lead me (ha ha pardon the pun there) into casting my own diving weights out of my then surplus quantity of Lino, err Mono type. It was just a feeble attempt to save some money, rather than paying the exorbitant prices that they wanted for a few small lead weights on a belt.

I will say that the Mono type ingot weights don't tarnish like the soft lead ones do, but the pure lead ones weigh more. Pile enough of your own cast weights on a belt (like 10 or more weights, instead of 4 measly weights) and you can keep even a dry suit under water.



- Bullwolf

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f668db337e27.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4489)

[SlippShodd]

A friend of mine got out of casting several years ago and I bought all of his stuff from him. Included was this dive weight mold. I used to use it for ingoting, but kinda eased away from it. A few years ago a friend of mine was bemoaning the fact that because of her cancer and general physical anomolies she could no longer dive. I decided to send her a dive weight paperweight and let me tell you, trying to fill out that 2# mold with pure lead is a total PITA! In the picture are the 2 best efforts that I kept -- the third one turned out perfect... no voids, no wormholes... I literally had to hold a propane torch on the mold while I poured superheated lead as quickly as the mold would take it. I sanded off the parting lines and the sprue, then lacquered it so she could handle it without having to wash her hands afterwards. Someone who looked at it told her, "That is a labor of love."

mike

[Huntducks]

A friend of mine got out of casting several years ago and I bought all of his stuff from him. Included was this dive weight mold. I used to use it for ingoting, but kinda eased away from it. A few years ago a friend of mine was bemoaning the fact that because of her cancer and general physical anomolies she could no longer dive. I decided to send her a dive weight paperweight and let me tell you, trying to fill out that 2# mold with pure lead is a total PITA! In the picture are the 2 best efforts that I kept -- the third one turned out perfect... no voids, no wormholes... I literally had to hold a propane torch on the mold while I poured superheated lead as quickly as the mold would take it. I sanded off the parting lines and the sprue, then lacquered it so she could handle it without having to wash her hands afterwards. Someone who looked at it told her, "That is a labor of love."

mike


I bought about 250lb of dive weights at a yard sale and they had the same writing on them as your mold, I could not read all the letters on it but you posting that filled in the blanks.