In 30 years or so of Oldtools, I may have used 3 photos as illustrations.  


I ‘happened’ to be gluing up a bottom board to a box (recycled wooden box for a
bottle of port that came as a gift about 4 years ago - it may serve as a ‘useful
box’ for ….  something.

And I elected to make gravity my friend once more by using these handy cramps.
Also, I was moved to take a pic for the porch.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU <https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU> 



Points to note:  

They are solid, recycled lead from pipes about 60 years ago.  Melted in a
kitchen enamel pan atop an electric hot plate, - the kind that will be illegal
now, with curly red hot wire handily placed to ignite anything that boiled over
or was spilt.  The owner of the pan wasn’t impressed.

The mould was 4 bits of timber nailed up into a brick size with the projecting
ends weighted down to ensure it stayed on the cement floor.
One of the pics shows the effect of pouring molten lead onto a very soft, sandy
finished cement floor which will have been laid circa 1935.   That is, the air
in the cement expands very rapidly, and gives effect of boiling lead with large
bubbles coming up through the metal.  Pretty exciting when you’re about 16.

The other item is the handles.  In the school metalworking class we had a forge,
and I made up a couple of rings from 1/4 inch square BMS - a bit of practice
with the beak of the anvil to make a circle with butt joints.
There isn’t much you can do with them once you’ve had the practice, so when I
did the casting I had them supported so they were cast into the slab.  Worked a
treat!


A few years later, and after years of grumbling about how uncomfortable it is to
hold 40 pounds of lead by a sharp cornered bit of 1/4 square, I finally had the
idea of whipping the handle with some thick twine.  Another year or ten, and I
glued cork to the base to stop marking the work, and improve the weight
distribution.

That produced the Mk III you see.  Comfortable, heavy, guaranteed pressure under
all circumstances.  Guaranteed to work or your money back.




Not allowed now of course - all that lead, close contact as lead oxides from the
old pipes, the slag, the fumes when melting (indoors of course)




Oh yes - plans are available - send 25 dollars in used notes….. 


Richard Wilson
Elderly Yorkshireman Galoot in Northumberland, where spring is doing its thing..

Richard - just make sure they don’t end up on Mars or they won’t weigh the same.
There is an old adage - you can pour water on molten metal, but never pour
molten metal on water.  It was the water in the slab that boiled explosively.  I
read the book about Nucor steel in Ohio -  I forget the title - but the author
talked about a small puddle under a line that had a blob of molten steel hit it
and it sent a 150 lb ball of fire through the roof 80 feet in the air and out
into the parking lot.

Ed Minch

> On Feb 25, 2021, at 9:46 AM, Yorkshireman@y...  wrote:
> 
> 
> I ‘happened’ to be gluing up a bottom board to a box (recycled wooden box for
a bottle of port that came as a gift about 4 years ago - it may serve as a
‘useful box’ for ….  something.
> 
> And I elected to make gravity my friend once more by using these handy cramps.
Also, I was moved to take a pic for the porch.
> 
> https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU <https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU> 

… and variable clamping pressures:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../50979610702/in/dateposted/

55 pounds of clamps.

Bill

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU <https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUuAypU>

> https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../50979610702/in/dateposted/
>
>
Ohhh elegant guys!!
Mine is less formal. I have several lead rounds that look suspiciously 
like the bottoms of old pans. Plus some smaller ingots that represent 
how much lead is in a car battery (not as much as you might think).

  But I'll also use any handy container of liquid. Sometimes when I need 
a lot of weight I'll bring in an empty trash can or two and bring on the 
water hose.
If I am careful I can shut off the water when they are full, so the hose 
is still full of water, and has a self starting siphon to empty them 
back out again.

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/Instruments/beth's.jpg
   yours scott

-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html

Interesting.

I have an assortment of items for the purpose (cuts of railroad rail, granite
slabs, and so on), but I have avoided lead, not out of any particular aversion,
but by not chancing on to sufficient properly priced stock (ie: free).

But now I have an idea.

I have several gallon tins (US gallon, about 4 litres, Jeff) mostly full of used
tooling, mostly tungsten carbide and welding tungsten stubs. All nominally
recyclable, but the 30-plus year savings I have never made it that far, being
more trouble than the return would be for a small quantity. I keep thinking that
some day, I'll have enough to make it worth while.

The density of tungsten is nearly twice lead, and the tungsten carbide about
1-1/2 lead.

If I fill a small bread pan with this material, some lead, and heat the mess to
350C, the result will be a good bit heavier than the equivalent lead volume.

Hmm.


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address(es) may not match the originating address

Erik just has to go one better….  

> The density of tungsten is nearly twice lead, and the tungsten carbide about
1-1/2 lead.
> 
> If I fill a small bread pan with this material, some lead, and heat the mess
to 350C, the result will be a good bit heavier than the equivalent lead volume.


What a great idea though.   As I read I was thinking about the stage weights
using cement - old tin biscuit boxes full of (cheap!) cement and with a bracket
moulded in for the prop.


Whats next? - How does spent uranium figure? 



Richard Wilson
opening a can of assorted weights in Northumberland.

On Thursday, February 25, 2021, 4:05:41 PM EST, Yorkshireman wrote: 


>Erik just has to go one better….  

Cheaper? or not. 


>What a great idea though.  As I read I was thinking about the stage weights
using cement -
>old tin biscuit boxes full of (cheap!) cement and with a bracket moulded in for
the prop.


>Whats next? - How does spent uranium figure? 


Not unless I can get it for free (and depleted. I prefer not to be, literally,
all aglow. I never want to need to wear a dosimeter again)

I use my tractor weights.  You skinny folks could take the weights off 
your bar bells...

Bill W.
Nottingham, PA
Woodworkers visit me at http://billwebber.galootcentral.com/

On 2/25/2021 4:19 PM, Erik Levin via OldTools wrote:
  As I read I was thinking about the stage weights using cement -

A solid slab of concrete weighs *150 pounds* per cubic foot. A cubic foot
of broken concrete weighs 75 *pounds*. Cost could be close to zero.
All of these schemes are really good, and I certainly have used several.
WHen you glue up 2 surfaces together( especially face to face as in
veneering) the issue is to spread out the force if the weight over the
entire surface. (Using a wrong example: face  glue 2 sheets of plywood
together using a single lead weight. If the single weight is 4x8 feet it
all works well. If the same weight is 1x1 foot, you are not applying
pressure to the other 31 sq ft. It does not work.
I think a more useful discussion on how to distribute pressure/  weight
might help more folks.
My veneering teacher had us make up 2 matched torsion boxes. About 6x18x24.
They were made from melamine  barf board. Pit your boxes on sawhorses, with
project inside, and clamp with weights, lots of clamps, etc. worked like a
champ.
-- 
Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i@g...

I can't see much point in making, acquiring or even accumulating when 
I've already got heavy stuff just sitting, waiting for something to do - 
tool boxes, old electric motor(s), boxes of bolts, 1 gal jugs of water, 
sandstone grinding wheel, etc. etc.

FWIW
Don

On 2021-02-25 12:19 p.m., Erik Levin via OldTools wrote:
> Interesting.
>
> I have an assortment of items for the purpose (cuts of railroad rail, granite
slabs, and so on), but I have avoided lead, not out of any particular aversion,
but by not chancing on to sufficient properly priced stock (ie: free).
>
> But now I have an idea.
>
> I have several gallon tins (US gallon, about 4 litres, Jeff) mostly full of
used tooling, mostly tungsten carbide and welding tungsten stubs. All nominally
recyclable, but the 30-plus year savings I have never made it that far, being
more trouble than the return would be for a small quantity. I keep thinking that
some day, I'll have enough to make it worth while.
>
> The density of tungsten is nearly twice lead, and the tungsten carbide about
1-1/2 lead.
>
> If I fill a small bread pan with this material, some lead, and heat the mess
to 350C, the result will be a good bit heavier than the equivalent lead volume.
>
> Hmm.
>
>
> *** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply
address(es) may not match the originating address
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-- 
"A more infectious virus is more dangerous than a more lethal one." - Christian
Drosten, virologist

Go early, and go hard. Go to zero.

"It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most
ferocious enemy justice can have." - James Baldwin

Don wrote:

>I can't see much point in making, acquiring or even accumulating when 
>I've already got heavy stuff just sitting, waiting for something to do - 
>tool boxes, old electric motor(s), boxes of bolts, 1 gal jugs of water, 
>sandstone grinding wheel, etc. etc.


Other than a couple sandbags (for weight when I need to spread it out- awkward
otherwise- and for forming metal), all of my weights are accumulated, the
tungstens over many, many years.

There are times, for me, where dedicated, concentrated weights would be nice, to
reduce hunting and handling of stuff.



*** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply
address(es) may not match the originating address

Don wrote:

"I can't see much point in making, acquiring or even accumulating when 
I've already got heavy stuff just sitting, waiting for something to do - 
tool boxes, old electric motor(s), boxes of bolts, 1 gal jugs of water, 
sandstone grinding wheel, etc. etc."

All that being said, I gotta admire The Yorkshireman for 1) Makin' sumthin'
outta nuttin', 2) Making a useful tool at such a young age, 3) Keeping track of
it for so many years, and 4) Still finding good uses for it.

Cheers,
Chuck Taylor
north of Seattle USA

On 2021-02-25 7:42 p.m., Chuck Taylor wrote:
> All that being said, I gotta admire The Yorkshireman for 1) Makin' sumthin'
outta nuttin', 2) Making a useful tool at such a young age, 3) Keeping track of
it for so many years, and 4) Still finding good uses for it.

Absolutely!

Don

-- 
"A more infectious virus is more dangerous than a more lethal one." - Christian
Drosten, virologist

Go early, and go hard. Go to zero.

"It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most
ferocious enemy justice can have." - James Baldwin