Model Boat Mayhem
Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips => Engineering Techniques and Materials. => Topic started by: BORIS on November 05, 2007, 11:57:49 am
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i went to buy a roll of sheet lead today for ballast...untill i saw the damn price... :-X £45.00 !!and that was for one of the smallest rolls....the last one i brought 6 yrs ago cost me just £14.00,so i was expecting to pay £25 there abouts .well i put this lead back on the shelf and walked out with nothing..now im stuck for ballasting my "Maggie M" trawler :'( how much do any of you pay for lead sheet rolls..?
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The PLUMB centers have this in there list so depends on how much you want
F87652 LEAD FLASHING CUT TO SIZE (KILO) CODE 10 7.37 per Kilo
Peter
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Lead has gone through the roof cost wise in the last 3 years due to China importing vast quantities driving the price up past £6000 per Ton. The price of car batteries has gone through the roof because of this too , just bought a new battery for the car and that was £65 when the last battery I bought was £40 only 2 years ago !!!
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Not telling you lot were I live !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May come home from the lake/work and find the lead stripped from my roof. {-) {-) {-) {-)
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try your local scuba diving shop ?- our local diving emporium sells weights for divers belts they also sell what appears to be a type of lead shot, - but its not actually lead but a heavy/ dense shot like material.... this can be bonded into a hull with resin / adhesives....
the divers weights are in several sizes - alot cheaper than roofing lead !
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Angling shops will be able to help too , ask for non-toxic weights for fresh water fishing ( Lead has been banned from UK freshwater fishing for 8 years or so ).
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Hi guys...go to your local friendly tyre shop and see what they do with all their old car tyre balance weights......if you can get hold of some find an old house brick that still has a fitting frog, not holes, and use a blow lamp to melt them into the frog of the brick, thus creating a nice triangular lead ingot......( you have to pick out the steel fitting clips as you melt them )..
regards.....bob.
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Hi guys...go to your local friendly tyre shop and see what they do with all their old car tyre balance weights......if you can get hold of some find an old house brick that still has a fitting frog, not holes, and use a blow lamp to melt them into the frog of the brick, thus creating a nice triangular lead ingot......( you have to pick out the steel fitting clips as you melt them )..
regards.....bob.
Make damn sure its a very dry brick ::)
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you have to pick out the steel fitting clips as you melt them )..
Just a quick tip...use pliers.. O0 not your fingers {-)
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pliers is for wimps !!!!!....makes it more interesting if you use your fingers..... :D :D :D ( only joking )
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If pouring molten lead into the frog of the brick it is vital that the brick is totally devoid of moisture. If you are melting the cold, solid lead in the frog with a blowlamp, you dont have to be quite as particular as any moisture in the surface will have been evaporated away long before the lead has melted. The drier the brick, the quicker the job will be done as you dont have to boil the water away first.
Still a good idea to wear eye protection and do the job outdoors and use them wimpy pliers to pick the bits of floating steel and other stuff out.
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what kind of brick has a frog? not a builder, so, whats a frog? SENSIBLE repiles only please! ;D
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It's the indentation on one face of the brick.
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A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, some housebricks had a triangular shaped grouve in the top and/or bottom
large face, some had round ended grouves. Rather than subject brick to direct heat source I would be inclined
to put a couple of layers of cooking foil in the depression
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Hi, As a bricklayer by trade, I have used the frog methord many many times, I use a pan on a camping stove, you have to put the lid on to keep the heat in the pan, it melts the lead alot quicker, warm the brick first, then pore.
The type of brick you need to look for is from the LONDON BRICK COMPANY.
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I use an old ali ice cube try from the fridge... the plastic ones aren't so good ;D
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Hi guys...i use an old phorpes brick which leaves a nice name moulded in the lead....very attractive.!!! i tend to put the weights in the brick and melt them with the blow torch..Adding or reducing the amount of weights alters the weight of the ingot..quite handy being triangular aswell , they tend to go into small areas and stay put
hope this helps...regards....bob O0 O0 :D
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I'm not too keen on melting lead. I just tend to bash the sheet into the shapes I want with a large hammer.
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I have a friend who is a plumber, and a modeller, and he keeps our club supplied with lead for ballast. Scrap metal merchants are a likely source too.
Peter
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Hi guys...i use an old phorpes brick which leaves a nice name moulded in the lead....very attractive.!!! i tend to put the weights in the brick and melt them with the blow torch..Adding or reducing the amount of weights alters the weight of the ingot..quite handy being triangular aswell , they tend to go into small areas and stay put
hope this helps...regards....bob O0 O0 :D
Your brick has got a misprint, should be Phorpres O0
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people often dump used car batteries on waste ground. A good source of lead but be careful with the acid.
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I would go for the divers shot weights if there is a shop nearby, they come in heavy duty mesh pouches containing ungraphited lead shot in weights of 1,2 or 3 KG and they will mould to the shape of the hull easier than a lump of solid lead
Trying to melt lead and pouring it into a home made mould can cause all sorts of problems if there is any contaminents around, and at 230 degrees centigrade you do not want that stuff splashing over you
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I cannot find lead where I am. But I have found hand/wrist weights that have iron shot in them.
I am thinking of fixing these in resin.
I know it is not as dense as lead, and should not go rusty in resin
but any thoughts?
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Got an idea ???????
how about making up strong/sealed bags of very small gravel from any aquatic/pet shop. when sat in the bottom of the hull should self mould into the shape and stay-put.
p.s. I work in the commercial motor trade and yes many items are in short supply, or a big price hike, due to global demand.
gary.
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Hi richard.....you are correct and therefore win the cigar..the brick is indeed spelt phorpres...probably due to my keyboard skills being on a par with a dyslexic chimp :D :D
regards....bob..
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Got an idea ???????
how about making up strong/sealed bags of very small gravel from any aquatic/pet shop.
gary.
You seen the price of that stuff recently?
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must be a global demand on that product too ;D
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Slightly off subject, but a recent street renovation scheme where I live was held up for some weeks waiting for granite paving slabs to arrive. They were shipped in fron China!
Actually, a lot of stone isn't all that "heavy", it's best to use steel or iron for ballast if you can't get lead. The pisons from car hydraulic brakes make nice clean ballast lumps if you can get them.
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Must be the forum software DJ, Colins using pisons?
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It's a new atomic particle - heavier than uranium. ;)
You can make do with pistons though.
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Phew, thank goodness for that I though we were going to have to get Lead again for screening. It's a pity that
UPVC Double glazing has taken over cos SASH weights used to be a convenient shape and weight.
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Got an idea ???????
how about making up strong/sealed bags of very small gravel from any aquatic/pet shop. when sat in the bottom of the hull should self mould into the shape and stay-put.
gary.
Tried that in a small barge but found that even if it was packed in tight it had this uncontrolable urge to move when you launched the vessel and then you spent an age trying to shake the vessel until it was trim again :(
went to lead and used an angle iron ingot which when kept warm made smelting easier.