BHN of a Clip-On Wheel Weight

[RoadBike]

On another thread, there is a discussion of BHN of COWW alloy. This thread raised my curiosity about the hardness of an unmelted, as-is wheel weight. In order not to hijack that thread, I'll list the information here.

I found a new-looking clip-on wheel weight in a bucket that I got at a tire store yesterday. On one side, it is marked 3.0 P 85 in raised letters. It passed the "side cutter" test, and I'm assuming it's a lead weight. It is 5 1/2 inches long.

I indented the weight in 5 different places with my Lee Tester. The average of the results was 14.5 BHN. The magnifier was in an awkward position, so I made 5 measurements to get an average.

Reports are that BHN of clip-ons is somewhat variable; therefore, this test is not all that meaningful, but it satisfied my curiosity. Perhaps I'll measure a few more at some point and see what gives.

[RobS]

Smelt a whole bucket full of lead only WW's (making sure to not have stick-on WW's or zinc) and you'll likely have around 12 BHN.

[triggerhappy243]

5 inches long tells me it is pretty old.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the late `60`s when I serviced the auto tire/wheel assembled balancers at a GM auto plant a 5" ww would be a 3 ounce weight and marked with a 3.0 identification. As an aside, that was the maximum weight allowed per side of any assembled tire/wheel to be put on a car at the plant. For tires that needed more weight they were rejected and torn down. Just breaking the tire seal (bead) of a deflated tire and rotating the tire 180 degrees on the wheel and reinflating usually produced a tire within specs for weights.Robert

[wrench man]

That wheel weight is available brand NEW today!, I have a bin full of them at work, it's "P" series that weighs 3.0 oz/85 grams.
http://www.perfectequipment.com/us/product-us/ps-series/

[Sasquatch-1]

I would melt down a batch and cast some bullets. Do not water drop the bullets. Set them aside for about 30 days and then test.

[lightman]

My wheelweight ingots average 11 to 12 about a week after I cast them. This is from a batch weighing 350-400#, so its a pretty good average. I have sorted a few weights that cut noticeably harder than others but I did not test them.

[308Jeff]

Back in the late `60`s when I serviced the auto tire/wheel assembled balancers at a GM auto plant a 5" ww would be a 3 ounce weight and marked with a 3.0 identification. As an aside, that was the maximum weight allowed per side of any assembled tire/wheel to be put on a car at the plant. For tires that needed more weight they were rejected and torn down. Just breaking the tire seal (bead) of a deflated tire and rotating the tire 180 degrees on the wheel and reinflating usually produced a tire within specs for weights.Robert

Was the same policy and procedure when I worked at a tire store back in the late 80's.

I hate to think back on all the lead wheel weights I threw in the trash while I had that job...

[NoAngel]

Hardness varies as wide as the number of manufacturers in the pile. When separating WW's I have one bucket for weights marked MC. They are the most prevalent around here. I smelt those together with Cu babbit to make my rifle alloy.
Every manufacturer does things their own way and have their own standards. I don't know if only using one brand of weight makes any real difference but I do it. I do get VERY consistent weights and hardness in my rifle bullets though. Right or wrong, it's working for me.

All others go together for pistols and anything that doesn't matter as much.

[RoadBike]

Hardness varies as wide as the number of manufacturers in the pile. When separating WW's I have one bucket for weights marked MC. They are the most prevalent around here. I smelt those together with Cu babbit to make my rifle alloy.
Every manufacturer does things their own way and have their own standards. I don't know if only using one brand of weight makes any real difference but I do it. I do get VERY consistent weights and hardness in my rifle bullets though. Right or wrong, it's working for me.

All others go together for pistols and anything that doesn't matter as much.

I found an MC weight in my stash of "side-cutter-approved" wheel weights and measured the hardness. I got a BHN 16.6 on two readings. It is marked 2.25 MC 64 in raised letters.

[wrench man]

I found an MC weight in my stash of "side-cutter-approved" wheel weights and measured the hardness. I got a BHN 16.6 on two readings. It is marked 2.25 MC 64 in raised letters.

"MC" has noting to do with the alloy, they are probably identical to the "P" series, your 2 1/4 ounce/ 64 Gram "MC" series weight is right here, I have all of the "MC" flavors right up to 4.0oz at work also.
http://www.perfectequipment.com/us/product-us/mcn-series/