Windows counterweight consistancy [Archive]

JesterGrin_1

11-20-2009, 07:01 PM

All of the window counterweights I have ever seen were made of Iron. I have never seen one made of lead.

Storydude

11-20-2009, 07:22 PM

The cheapest scrap iron they can find.

deltaenterprizes

11-20-2009, 07:53 PM

It may be an ingot of linotype

chris in va

11-20-2009, 09:17 PM

I agree about the iron thing. I work as a window cleaner and every counterweighted window I've come across (hundreds) has a definite metallic sound to it rather than a thud one would expect from lead.

ANeat

11-20-2009, 09:42 PM

Ive seen a few window weights that looked home-made that were lead. They had a small eyebolt cast into the end and had XII stamped on them (and they weighted 12 pounds)

They were just some mystery alloy like WW

But 99% of the other window weights Ive seen were just a log of castiron

Shiloh

11-20-2009, 09:55 PM

Never saw lead, Iron only. A ring cast into the weight for a cord.

I have acquired and melted some fair sized curtain weights made of lead.

Shiloh

hiram

11-20-2009, 09:57 PM

Window sash weights were made out of lead. My dad was a contractor in NYC and did alot of work on city buildings. He got alot of sash weights. I had one somewhere and was going to take a pic and post it but it is out of sight right now. They had a a steel eye at the end for hanging. Dead soft lead. No reason to alloy it. It hung out of sight in a window frame.

Firebricker

11-20-2009, 11:38 PM

I had a coulple given to me they were soft lead all the other one's I've seen were iron.
FB

warf73

11-21-2009, 08:00 AM

All the window weights I've got are Iron also. The work great for holden down a trout line :)

LIMPINGJ

11-21-2009, 09:46 AM

All I have ever seen were Iron. The only ones I ever heard of made from Lead were homemade or from someplace in the north. I bet most all are now at the bottom of a lake at the end of an old trotline.

Shiloh

11-21-2009, 07:39 PM

I've seen downrigger weights that were iron, some lead.

Shiloh

dale2242

11-22-2009, 08:14 AM

How about a picture? That should help identify the 'weight'.---dale

hiram

11-22-2009, 12:41 PM

Found them. My dad and I had a bunch more at one time.
They are 1" thick.
One pic shows a '10' on the weights for 10#.

WILCO

11-22-2009, 03:00 PM

The ones that I have seen have all been cast iron.

Same here.

theperfessor

11-22-2009, 03:40 PM

All the ones I've seen around here are cast iron, but it's probably a geographic/time of installation thing.

I have turned one of the cast iron ones in a lathe to make decent low speed bushings, cheaper than buying brass.

Bert2368

11-23-2009, 01:48 AM

I spent a good bit of time working on old buildings in the upper Midwest.

All the ones I removed during window refits (1,000's) were cast iron. I saw some boiler room door closer counter weights that were Lead, and a lot of toilet bends...

evan price

11-23-2009, 01:57 AM

All the door closers I ever saw were made from a rectangular sheetmetal can filled with concrete. Never saw a lead one. All the window weights I saw were cast iron.

sheepdog

11-23-2009, 05:34 PM

The ones I'm asking about are lead for sure. About an inch thick, about 5" wide, maybe 14 to 16 inches long. Each had a steel eyelet in them with cotton cord still attached. They felt fairly hard and had very little oxidation on them. Perhaps that were weights for somethign else but they had about a dozen all the same type.

JesterGrin_1

11-23-2009, 07:42 PM

I think it would be dead soft lead. As for what it was used for I do not think they would go to the expense for a special blend. Good Find

As I said before at least down South Texas all of them I have ever seen were made of cast iron.

canebreaker

11-24-2009, 01:40 AM

I've only seen 2 sets made of lead in the memphis, tn area. 1 pair had a 10 stamped in them and the other had a 14 stamp. All the rest have been cast iron with a raised 1 through 7 on the side.

cavemike

09-12-2011, 03:16 AM

Here is a picture of the only lead window weights I have ever found. ( I hope the link works)
http://s918.photobucket.com/albums/ad29/mikedowden/lead%20window%20weights/

They came out of the largest double hung windows I have ever worked on. The overall size of the windows was 8 feet by 8 feet. The lower sash was 8x5 and the upper was 8 x 3.

I recovered about 400 pounds of almost linotype haardness lead from these two windows.

Mike

madsenshooter

09-12-2011, 03:58 AM

My but those is big little piggies!

LeadHound

09-12-2011, 04:23 AM

That must have been one heck of a window....

dragonrider

09-12-2011, 06:09 AM

" 5" wide" that is a clue right there that tells one they are not window weights. Certainly weights for something but not windows. Too wide to fit the spaces. I have seen similar weights on rolling doors in old factory buildings.

imashooter2

09-12-2011, 07:36 AM

Window weights, drag and circle car weights, machine weights, scuba weights... They are all the same alloy. "Heavy stuff that melts."

Sonnypie

09-12-2011, 02:36 PM

Interesting.
All the sash weights I've even seen (Left Coast) were pig iron.
Pig iron is junk. Very course unrefined iron.
But don't drop it on your toes!

Defcon-One

09-13-2011, 09:47 AM

....All the sash weights I've even seen were pig iron. Very course unrefined iron....

My experience too! I'd love to have the lead ones, but the 50 or so that I have are all the coarse pig Iron.

cavemike

09-13-2011, 08:15 PM

Here is a picture of the smallest windo weight being smelted

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=2116

This is the building they came out of.

http://www.urbanindy.com/2010/11/17/mcouat-building/

The only double hung windows where on the 2nd floor.

When we rebuilt the facade of the building, all of the big windows where replaced with fixed glass.

I also reclaimed about 200 feet of lead telephone cable from the building.

here is a link to the building from the archives of the Indianapolis Star. It is picture number 20 the McOuat building.

http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/11618-starfiles-time-machine-washington-street

lastborn

09-14-2011, 04:02 PM

Sounds like counter weights out of a fume hood like in a lab. One on each side of the sliding glass front door. Should weigh 40 lbs or so ea. The ones I had were dead soft.

odinohi

09-14-2011, 05:21 PM

I just got a bunch. All lead, thump!

bensonwe

09-16-2011, 04:59 PM

I was talking to a guy at the range, about reloading/casting and he showed me some pics of about 50 window weight made out of lead. He said he got them from a section of town (Milw wis) that was going threw a neighbor hood rehab. He said they make the best boolits he ever shot. I asked him if he wanted to sell some and all I got was a laugh.