Scuba belt lead

[spitpatch]

Just came back from an estate sale with 75 pounds of lead from scuba belts. I am guessing that it is pure or close. I would like to know if there is a standard that the manufactures go by. Has any one had any experience with this stuff. Thanks

 

[idahjo]

Be careful; my guess is that the 'weights' were composed of whatever was the cheapest lead-mix at the time they were poured. I have an old mould (from when I dived) that typically produced tire-weight belt weights.

 

[mmahlock]

Haven't had any experience with scuba weight lead but an easy way to tell if it's usable is to try to scratch it with your fingernail. If you can scratch it with your fingernail it should be ok to cast and shoot. You may want to weigh some of the balls made from it and compare this weight to what balls should weigh depending on what they are made from. Here is web page that provides a ball weight calculator based on composition.

Beartooth Bullets

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've used it, but I'm sure there is no standard. I think local scuba shops would "farm out" to local casters rather than have it shipped. Could be wheel weights or whatever. And why not? Much less critical application. I found a dropped belt while snorkeling on Seneca Lake. 24 lbs of windfall lead! And a yellow belt to boot.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I found a weight belt while diving off of Monterey many years ago in about 45 feet of water. This was before BC's and I had so much trouble trying to swim off the bottom with it, that I just let the ocean keep it...

Twisted_1in66

 

[Bill Hall]

I used some scuba weights years ago and it seemed like pure lead to me. Made a bunch of r.e.a.l. bullets with them and they worked fine. But I doubt if any kind of standard of purity is applied to them.

I would go ahead and cast them up and keep them separate from any other balls you may have, in case there is a slight difference in hardness and weight. Bill

 

[mike alexandre]

There is no standard for lead in weight belts. Its the cheapest the maker (professional or otherwise) can get. A weight belt to a diver is something you always have to be prepared to ditch and buy another if necessary. I have heard of battery lead being used. Some of these weights are made in 3rd world countries where health and safety is way behind making a profit.

 

[Many Klatch]

I had some buddies that made scuba weights as a side business. They got lead from anywhere they could find. I know that they used wheel weight lead and lead bricks that had been used around X-ray machines in the same batch. If you have 75 pounds then you have enough lead for many years of regular shooting. You will have a chance to develop a load around the lead that you are shooting. Check the hardness with your thumbnail, if you can cut a groove in the lead with your nail then is soft. If not, it's probably wheel weights.

Just remember, smoothbores are a lot less discriminating about the lead they use than rifles.

Many Klatch

 

[George Holton]

There is a simple test for lead softness, requires a known pure lead piece, make a fixture to hold the suspect lead, arrange a piece of wood hinged at one end with a sharp point on the bottom side at the end. place point on the pure piece .hang about 5 lbs of weight , note time done . then after a set time observe the point penetration into pure lead. then do it with a suspect piece, the depth of piercing compared to the first will give you a good idea of hardness. This is not very precise I admit . the addition of a calibrated guage would be more accurate. This was taught to me by Roy Keeler in the old days gone by. Really old Bob

 

[spitpatch]

Thanks Really old Bob! I will try it. If it's not pure I can always use it for pistol bullets. Also shoot BPCR and can cast a bunch for practice. Thanks all.

 

[bart_anastasi]

Just a little something I got from a fella here in New York talking about this thinking of wheel weights.

If you take the lead and put it in a pot and melt some of it down to just above the melting point of lead the other mateials in it should rise to the surface to be skimed off.

Sort of like cream rising to the top of milk