Truck pulling weights?

[aaholland]

Guy local has lead truck pulling weights for sale. Does anyone know if it is good for casting? I uploaded a picture from his ad.

[ioon44]

I would do the acid test on these before I would consider buying them.

[country gent]

I would recommend the acid test also as they may not have been 2 fussy about zinc, But the did need the most weight in the smallest space so it is probably pure or close to it. A lot of the guys went from the lightest classes with no weights to the 10,000 lb class just by adding weights. So there may be a bunch of them there.

[aaholland]

I would recommend the acid test also as they may not have been 2 fussy about zinc, But the did need the most weight in the smallest space so it is probably pure or close to it. A lot of the guys went from the lightest classes with no weights to the 10,000 lb class just by adding weights. So there may be a bunch of them there.

He says he has 2000 pounds. He wants $1.25 per pound. What is the acid test?

[razorfish]

He says he has 2000 pounds. He wants $1.25 per pound. What is the acid test?

Put a drop of Muriatic Acid on each weight. If it fizzes (bubbles up) there is Zinc in the lead alloy. Don’t buy any ingots with Zinc in them.

You can get muriatic acid from most pool supply stores or home centers. Be very careful handling the acid and don’t breathe the fumes. So, outside only and nitrile gloves.

Personally, I’d offer him less than a dollar a pound for the lead.

[country gent]

I would wait and see what size they actually are. How big is your pot? weights in the 100lb range don't fit in a lot of casters pots and have to be cut down to fit.

[Mitch]

I would ask more questions.Did the guy selling them make the weights if so what did he use.you are takeing some risk here of zinc contamination.so the $1.25 is way to hi if you do not no what is is.Most of the pulling and race car guys dont pay any attention to what the melt.

[rancher1913]

most pulling weights I have seen are all cast iron and not lead, some stock car people use lead for balance.

[country gent]

We made some suitcase weights from steel plates. It was given to Dad and we made a sheet metal template and cut them out with the torch. These were heavy steel plates. Most purchased weights are cast iron, but a lot have been made from lead, plates, and or concrete.
The home made lead weights can be anything that the person can melt down so testing is necessary

[bdicki]

Do they have angle iron welded to them?

[baogongmeo]

Do they have angle iron welded to them?

Yeah, the big ones look like they are welded.... better take a magnet if you go to look at them.

[triggerhappy243]

one thing to point out..... scrape the metal with a file to expose raw surface and apply the acid to the clean metal. if this guy refuses to allow you to sest this.................... RUN AWAY.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

they look like steel to me.
the big ones look to have welded brackets, two of the small ones look to have weld on the bottoms

do a drop test.
If they "thud" when you drop them on concrete, they are pure/soft Lead.


edited: I had a second thought, maybe those are formed sheet steel that are 'filled' with Lead

[triggerhappy243]

they look like steel to me.
the big ones look to have welded brackets, two of the small ones look to have weld on the bottoms

do a drop test.
If they "thud" when you drop them on concrete, they are pure/soft Lead.


edited: I had a second thought, maybe those are formed sheet steel that are 'filled' with Lead

HA HA HA HA , You know that is a good possibility. I'D be pretty P.O'd if i went there and a magnet stuck to them.

[jeepyj]

they look like steel to me.
the big ones look to have welded brackets, two of the small ones look to have weld on the bottoms

do a drop test.
If they "thud" when you drop them on concrete, they are pure/soft Lead.


edited: I had a second thought, maybe those are formed sheet steel that are 'filled' with Lead
I think this is the likely what you're going to find. I've had several like this from old stock car drivers. They would fill square stock to save room or in some cases try to hide it. I very carefully stick one end in the pot and bring up to temperature just in case there is moisture trapped inside. Most of the older stuff is lead as zinc is much more recent and those fellows used to get buckets of tire shop wheel weights.

[jonp]

Welded? Never heard you can weld anything to lead. Some may be lead, most probably not. Exposed weights like that for a truck, tractor etc that I have seen are cast iron or steel filled with lead or zinc. The one on the far right is steel imho. Cast iron tends to be formed with hooks to set on a bar in front or cast with a hole in the center.

Be very careful of these, test each one with a drop of acid after cleaning the top with a file to expose the bare metal and $1.25/lb is too high for lead like that. I'm guessing cast iron or steel and leaning towards steel with the welded hook on top. If they are steel filled with lead that would be too much trouble for me to go to.

Frankly, I think your wasting your time on these.

[lightman]

Those don't really look like lead to me. I would take a magnet if I were to go look at those. Unless I was really low on lead I probably would not pay $1.25 for unknown lead. But, looking, listening and watching are the way you find lead. Good Luck with this!

[Tripplebeards]

I melted some last year. It was as soft as pure lure gets. Some where plastic coated steel. I used a saws all to cut them up to fit in my cast iron pan. If it doesn't spark while cutting it it's probably lead.