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Author Topic: Ballast?  (Read 7414 times)

CGAux26

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #25 on: February 25, 2019, 05:26:33 pm »

I put my lead shot in vacuum sealed bags.  And put Velcro on the bags and the hull insides to hold it in place.  This allows for small movements to fine tune the ballast.  And no worries about the ballast shifting or corroding.  'Course I'm only building much smaller boats, with SLA's acting as most of the ballast.
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roycv

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #26 on: February 25, 2019, 06:18:23 pm »

Hi Tiger T.. not trying to be controversial here.  The lead shot plus the air spaces in between come out about the same weight as steel bar on a volume basis.  It does depend a bit on the diameter of the shot, but it is about right.
I find lead shot in a strong plastic bag adjusts very easily to the space it occupies.  I tend to make all ballast potentially removable as handling a large boat on the bench can be difficult.
Regards to all, Roy
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coch y bonddu

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #27 on: February 25, 2019, 09:29:42 pm »

tizdaz only just thought of this......find your local Window fitters and ask if you can buy some old fashioned sash weights that were inside old windows they are very heavy and simply use some sticks like ....you know the rest those are approx 1.5 to 2lb in weight




Dave
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tigertiger

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #28 on: February 26, 2019, 01:15:19 am »

Hi Roy,
I was more responding to the comment about steel shot, rather than lead. The problem being the price of lead shot. I am not sure that you can still buy lead shot anymore. I thought the EU had changed the shotgun shot to non toxic in many instances now.
If it is available and you buy shot from a gun supplier, make sure you ask for lead.
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tigertiger

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #29 on: February 26, 2019, 01:20:43 am »

Lead bar heavier and less space taken up and don't rust.


Ned
 


Yes, lead by choice if you can afford it and have access to it; but at least part of the discussion has been about the prohibitive cost of lead, for some people. Hence the discussion about steel, and associated issues with using steel, started by others.
If you have access to lead, lucky you. The last time I got lead, I had to go to a gold mine for an ingot, but not everyone can do that. The only alternative for me, in China, was the fishing tackle shop and buying weights to melt down; which would have been hideously expensive.
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CGAux26

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #30 on: February 26, 2019, 01:32:39 am »

I bought lead shot a few years ago from a sporting goods store.  It was on the fishing aisle, not the hunting aisle.  It came in a small plastic bottle, much like ketchup is seen on the tables of restaurants, only smaller.  Seems like there was about 4 lb in it. 
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canabus

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #31 on: February 26, 2019, 09:32:02 am »

Hi All
No problem for me, my brother works for a tyre company!!!
Pick up a 5KG bag of used lead wheel weights for free !!!

Canabus
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Bob K

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #32 on: February 26, 2019, 08:26:37 pm »

There is an "old fashioned" iron mongers about 15 miles away that still sell 1 Kg bars of lead solder.
Not cheap, but worth it.  If you know how much you need just cut a piece off of proportional length.
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cdnfurball

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #33 on: September 02, 2019, 09:49:49 pm »

I had the same question....   A fellow club member suggested ball bearings.  I started with about 2kg.......   It sat a little lower in the water, but no were near what I wanted.    I purchased BB's ( for a BB gun ) and despersed them between the frames, bow to stern and starboard to port.    Once the hull was low enough in the water and balanced side to side, l poured in 2 part epoxy to keep it all in place.  I figure l added about another 4 kgs in ballast
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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #34 on: September 03, 2019, 08:01:32 am »

I've been melting old roofing Lead into ballast for my Liberty Ship - just using an old brick frog for the mould.
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tizdaz

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #35 on: September 03, 2019, 08:22:49 am »

hi all!
in the end i bought 25kg 1mm steel shot for £40:
https://www.mohairbearmakingsupplies.co.uk/index.php/accessories/stuffing-and-weighting/steel-weightings/product/steel-shot
im going to use small plastic boxes that will hold around 4kg each & pour in some PVA glue & mix it so it makes a mould :)
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david48

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #36 on: September 03, 2019, 08:32:55 am »


I might be wrong ,but steel and PVA might be a wrong path ,PVA is a water based glue, it is soluble in water, I know it is not when it sets .You might finish up with a big blob of rust . Epoxy  might be a better choice .You pays your money and take a chance.
David
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Tug Fanatic

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #37 on: September 03, 2019, 09:17:03 am »

Plastic boxes that hold 4kg of shot are not that small and since pva sets with evaporation it might take a very long time to become a secure block.

I agree about epoxy being best.

In the dim & distant past when I was young and had even less money I remember using ball bearings that I had been given and making a block using varnish (which was in my parents garage) as the glue. Worked OK.

Does steel shot come coated in anything (oil???) to limit corrosion in storage which might prevent a glue sticking to it?
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tizdaz

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #38 on: September 04, 2019, 04:29:58 am »

Plastic boxes that hold 4kg of shot are not that small and since pva sets with evaporation it might take a very long time to become a secure block.

I agree about epoxy being best.

In the dim & distant past when I was young and had even less money I remember using ball bearings that I had been given and making a block using varnish (which was in my parents garage) as the glue. Worked OK.

Does steel shot come coated in anything (oil???) to limit corrosion in storage which might prevent a glue sticking to it?
hey, nah the shot is bone dry, ive weighed out the 4kg shots for each box, the plastic boxes i got are pretty small so fit in my hull good :) I will avoid using PVA & will use Epoxy as suggested, any particular one i should use that doesnt cost a bomb! or will any be ok :) ?
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Hurric123

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #39 on: September 04, 2019, 04:54:26 am »

Lead flashing is so straight forward to use and you can keep the weight low in the bilge and into the curve etc. stick it den with a bit od silicon, double it over or roll it up, hit it with a hammer to make it as flat as possible. Go into a medium to small builders merchants where they have the stuff in various size rolls. Find a roll that's had some cut of and ask for a metre. It will last you for a few years
Brian
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tizdaz

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #40 on: September 04, 2019, 10:01:07 am »

Lead flashing is so straight forward to use and you can keep the weight low in the bilge and into the curve etc. stick it den with a bit od silicon, double it over or roll it up, hit it with a hammer to make it as flat as possible. Go into a medium to small builders merchants where they have the stuff in various size rolls. Find a roll that's had some cut of and ask for a metre. It will last you for a few years
Brian
hiya :)
yeah lead was my first choice but for the amount i needed it would of cost me around the £100+ mark! i already tried a few builders around my area but none said they had any spare :(

so in the end i bought steel shot instead which was 1/3 the cost of lead shot :)
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nemesis

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #41 on: September 05, 2019, 10:15:06 pm »

if you have trouble getting lead shot try your local diving centre as divers use it. Mine came in a nice velcro sealed bag. Shot was well made. nemesis
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derekwarner

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #42 on: September 06, 2019, 12:12:36 am »

So Daz says.......I bought steel shot instead .....


Daz ...if this is Copper "xxxxx" as used for blasting steel well that's OK :-)) ........if it is a ferrous material I'd suggest you plant it in the garden ...it might grow a steel tree :o


Ferrous material would need very good encapsulation to stop corrosion


Derek
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tizdaz

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Re: Ballast?
« Reply #43 on: September 06, 2019, 03:46:06 am »

So Daz says.......I bought steel shot instead .....


Daz ...if this is Copper "xxxxx" as used for blasting steel well that's OK :-)) ........if it is a ferrous material I'd suggest you plant it in the garden ...it might grow a steel tree :o


Ferrous material would need very good encapsulation to stop corrosion


Derek
its what is used in collectors teddy bears to weight parts of them, another model boat builder recommended the place as they use the same shot for ballasting so im guessing it should be fine, when I went to pick it up in person i was speaking to the shop owner & he said he sells lots of it to model boat builders! im going to use epoxy anyhow to form the mould with them ;)
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