"Free" WW's

[Eagle66]

I'm always looking for WW sources so when I'm out I stop at tire stores I've never been to before to see if they will give/sell some to me. One day I stopped at a store where the man said yes, he had quite a lot, 20+ buckets, but he wasn't ready to sell them yet. He said that due to the cost of new weights, he was going to sort through them to get the reusable ones.

Well, I figured that since he had 20+ buckets, he hadn't been able to get around to sorting, and, being a busy man, probably never would. Wheels in my head started turning and I made him a proposal; that I could sort them for him. I would return the reusable ones to him & I get to keep the rest. He thought about it a bit and agreed to a test run with three buckets, if they were also sorted by weights.

I had to figure a reliable way to check them for reusability, which I was able to do. And, what with sorting them by weights, it took a lot longer than I expected, but I got the test batch done. Out of 450#, I ended up with just over 100# of Pb SOWW's and 150# if COWW'S. He got over 150# of COWW's. The rest was trash, unusable Fe & Zn COWW's, and Fe & Zn SOWW's. He said he'd think about it some more, but gave me 4 more buckets to do while he was thinking.

So, I got Pb free. Well, for a few hours of my time. He got a bunch of weights he wouldn't have to buy new. Maybe a lot more to follow? No money at all changed hands. Win-win.

Oh, there was some cost to me. I bring a couple dozen donuts "for the boys" each time I go there. He's impressed by that.

[JASON4X4]

Sound like he will let you do the rest of the buckets. Good find

[fredj338]

In many states, it's illegal to reuse weights. In some states, no lead wts allowed any longer. So a good find for you.

[Springfield]

Don't forget to save the zinkers and trade them to Shady Grady for lead. It is illegal in California to reuse any of them, but especially the lead ones. .

[Epd230]

What is illegal and what actually happens is often two different things.

Good idea.

[ssnow]

Just a suggestion; If someone is going to reuse wheel weights, then it seems to me that the best ones for that purpose are the steel and zinc weights, because they are not distorted or bent during removal. I would think them less likely to come off than the lead weights.

[kayak1]

Don't forget to save the zinkers and trade them to Shady Grady for lead. It is illegal in California to reuse any of them, but especially the lead ones. .

Shady Grady is out of lead, he is willing to trade for other things.

[C. Latch]

In many states, it's illegal to reuse weights.

*shakes head*

[shadygrady]

trade yes i have tin/ babbitt/ lino/ mono /bees wax / hard wax/boric acid/bp/bp clothe/smokeless/top punches/sizer dies/ power supplys/tin ingot alloys/solder/etc (pm me for more info)

[Eagle66]

I forgot to describe my test. Using brand new weights, I tested with with a drill bit as a go/no go gauge.

GO: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=100710&d=1396016602
NO GO: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=100709&d=1396016579

For the "MC" ones, I use a #6. T, P, & Micro (steel wheels),a #31.
AW/AL, 1/4 in.

He gets ALL the good ones, Pb, Zn & Fe.

The lead ones for steel wheels are about 70% good. For MC, AL, & AW, about 90%. SSNOW, you are right, Fe & Zn are about 98% good for all types.

[sig2009]

I have approx 1000 lbs of range lead ingots in my basement and 3 5-gal buckets on my porch I need to smelt down.

[WILCO]

Glad it worked out for you.

[swopjan]

Shadygrady, do you cast boolits from zinc?

[montana_charlie]

Does the shop owner consider the Fe and Zn clip-ons as NOT reusable?

[RogerDat]

I'm glad you found a source and don't think shop would do anything different if you were not in the picture. A shop I talked to that said they keep them for re-use but COWW are not re-usable here in Mich. So as pointed out, law and practice don't always match up.

Once spread and fitted to one rim it's not going to be as tight if re-used. Think about it, if that clip fails at 70 mph that chunk of lead will fly off with considerable velocity. Even at 50 mph, a speed common on some streets with pedestrian traffic, it would be a dangerous projectile.

Not saying it's "wrong" just that there is some risk and being part of that activity creates a slight risk it could blow back on you if someone was hurt.

[Epd230]

While i agree that it is a potentially dangerous situation, i do not think liability could ever come back to the caster. The tire shop is a different story.

[sawzall]

You can squish the clips back into shape to tighten them up. The pliers used to take them off and put them on have that feature built into them. They also have a shear for trimming the lead weights to get closer to your target weight. That being said, I would save all of the steel and zinc to give back to him, just with a small squeeze with some pliers. I would also be a little more selective of the lead to send back as the clips that are chipped and peeling will rust and can damage alloy wheels much quicker. Not to mention ugly weights look like cr@p and customers are really fussy these days.

[Spawn-Inc]

I have approx 1000 lbs of range lead ingots in my basement and 3 5-gal buckets on my porch I need to smelt down.

i have 10 cans of chicken noodle soup, and 1 pointless post.

not bad for a couple hours work OP!