Wheel weights, is this a daft question?

[wessex horse 15]

Unable to find a set of rear wheel weights for my Horse, I have however got some large lumps of lead in a corner of my shed, most ex clock or window weights.

 

first I thought of cast them in a mould  to fit in the wheels but can't find any just the right size or shape.

 

But, supposing I cast the lead into two equal size bricks and just bolted them under the rear mudguards? surely as the wieght will then be over the back wheels it will have the same effect?

 

am I missing something obvious here?

[slammer302 2,154]

any weight will help have you thought about filling the rear tires with fluid? 

[AMC RULES 36,940]

You could always make a mould out of the actual rim itself.  

[wessex horse 15]

thanks, yes I had thought of using the actual rim, as I have spare rims with grass tyres I could use, but there are just too many holes to fill.

I know of the water trick in the tyres but how do I get it out again? do I need a special valve?

[PaulC 341]

if you do some searching around here i remember seeing a thread where someone used a 12" cake pan as a mold for lead. They turned out really cool and were quite heavy from what i remember

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,021]

My father made a set of wheel weights for his Commando 800 using lead. The weights weigh  about 35 to 40 lbs each. He is dead so I can not ask  how they were made.

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,439]

I'm totally against adding weight to a tractor that also adds weight to the rear axle bearings.....so I vote you figure out the mold size and make weights to install inside the rims.

Mike.......

[Ed Kennell 35,582]

1 hour ago, AMC RULES said:

You could always make a mould out of the actual rim itself.  

You got me thinking Craig. This could be dangerous...me thinking..remember mad max.

I have a lot of scrap lead I use for making sinkers and jigs.  

Let's see cut out a circle of thin steel to fit inside the wheel covering all the holes. Seal it to the wheel with high temp caulk, Drill 4- holes for 1/2" rods to bolt to the wheel and let them extend into the lead to lock it together.  Pour it full of lead.    I'm estimating they would weigh 150 lbs each.   

 

Sounds like a plan..but wait, the current price for scrap lead is over $6.00/lb.   That puts the pair of weighs at $1800.   Guess I'll make more jigs today.

 

Back to reality Wessex.     Loading the tires is easy and inexpensive..about  30USD for 15 gallon of windshield washer fluid.  There are many posts on here showing how to do it from buying special valves and pumps to just using gravity, a piece of tubing and a suspended plastic jug.

Another consideration with weight on the wheels vs weight on the tractor is the increased loading on the axle bearings with tractor weights.

 

OOPs..Mike types faster than me.

 

Edited January 8, 2016 by ekennell

[AMC RULES 36,940]

For reference...

 

 

[AMC RULES 36,940]

9 minutes ago, ekennell said:

You got me thinking Craig. This could be dangerous...me thinking..remember mad max.

I have a lot of scrap lead I use for making sinkers and jigs.  

Let's see cut out a circle of thin steel to fit inside the wheel covering all the holes. Seal it to the wheel with high temp caulk, Drill 4- holes for 1/2" rods to bolt to the wheel and let them extend into the lead to lock it together.  Pour it full of lead.    I'm estimating they would weigh 150 lbs each.   

 

 

Yep, similar to what I was thinking too Ed...

using a rim already bolted up to a hub, flip it up...hub side down.

Cut, and lay a 1/2" circle of wood in the bottom to cover the lug nuts...line the inside of the rim with a couple layers of heavy aluminum foil.

Drill out/install your threaded rod to the rim...extending through the wood, into the rim mold...then fill with molten aluminum. 

Once cooled, remove the weight, and remove/lose the 1/2" wood disc, and foil.  

[Ed Kennell 35,582]

I was thinking wood and foil also Craig,  but the wood, even foil covered, would probably  ignite.   Maybe if it were soaked in water first it may last long enough for the lead to set.

It would be exciting though when the 150 lbs of molten 400F lead hits the water.

Might qualify for a "HARD HAT AWARD".

[AMC RULES 36,940]

Wonder if ignition would be minimized..

simply by filling it incrementally...say 1/4 to 1/3rd at a time, and letting it cool before adding more. 

[wallfish 15,905]

1 hour ago, Sparky said:

I'm totally against adding weight to a tractor that also adds weight to the rear axle bearings.....so I vote you figure out the mold size and make weights to install inside the rims.

Mike.......

Uh Oh, guess I need to remove the back hoe

[Ed Kennell 35,582]

42 minutes ago, AMC RULES said:

Wonder if ignition would be minimized..

simply by filling it incrementally...say 1/4 to 1/3rd at a time, and letting it cool before adding more. 

That should work.         Making a seal to the wheel with a smaller amount of lead would also be much safer .   This might complicate the removal from the wheel though. As the layers cool and shrink, we would then be refilling the gap in the cooled layer.  I'm sure we could get it apart though....that's what grinders and BFHs are for.

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

I have never played with large quantities of molten lead. Small amounts at a time, making mini balls for a home made pistol that my brothers and I are lucky didn't blow our hands off. But I will relay a story the plumber I used to help on our houses we were building told me. 

He said they were building an apartment building, and he was part of the plumbing crew, installing cast iron sewer pipes. They had a 3' x 5' tub full of molten lead, and a guy had to stand there and stir it with a hoe to keep it from hardening around the edges from cooling. He said the guy fell into the tub, and they immediately grabbed a hoe and pulled him out, but in the few seconds he was in, huge portions of his body cooked so fast the meat just fell off the bones. 

Now, I wasn't there, but he wasn't the type to sit around and tell tall tales, he was telling me so I didn't spill any on myself while I helped him. We were just using a small ladle to melt a bit at a time. 

I think if you use wood and foil, both will burn or melt in no time, so I would experiment on an old wheel you don't care about first, and be extremely careful. 

[wessex horse 15]

thanks gents, food for thought, I had tried out all sorts of things to find a mould, damned if I know why I didn't think of a cake tin.

 

I am used to handling hot metal in bulk, and use a cast iron saucepan with a pouring lip, I don't like the idea of filling in sections as it probably will not bond to the cooled bit.

A 12inch cake tin filled to half way will be ideal.

If you ever have to pour molten lead its best to do it into a warm, or hot container, that way it doesn't cool too fast and will have no moisture to spit back, standing the container on hot firebricks for instance.

and a long handle onthe melting pot is good. get it all in in one go.

 

Socake tin it is and I'll be off to our local charity shop tomorrow to see what they got.

 

Thanks all for your input

mind you I'd rather buy the right wheelhorse weights

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

12 minutes ago, wessex horse said:

cast iron saucepan with a pouring lip

That sounds like what we were using, kind of a long handled pot, with a little V lip/spout to pour

[Ed Kennell 35,582]

All joking aside for a moment..  Please be aware of the  dangers  involved in melting and handling molten metals.  When that metal comes in contact with any nonmetal, there can be a violent reaction.      These include but are not limited to ... water, moisture, oil, grease, paint, Teflon coatings, wood, plastic, rubber, concrete,   etc.

Wear protective clothing on all body parts.

Keep fire equipment ready.

Plan on the melting pot  and/or  mold  breaking and build a containment dam with fire brick and sand before you start.

Work in a well ventilated area.

[roadapples 6,981]

You do not want ANY moisture in a mold (wheel) when pouring molten metal of any kind. I worked for Eastalco aluminum co. and there was aluminum stuck to the 20 ft. ceiling from pouring into a damp mold. Molds and ladles should be heated before use. Be sure to wear a face shield. Moisture under any molten metal is a bomb. I`ve seen it first hand, fortunately from a distance. And Ed types faster than me. You do not want to breathe the fumes from molted lead either.

Edited January 8, 2016 by roadapples

[N3PUY 1,031]

I got this WH this summer with weights on the rear wheels.  PO poured them full of cement.  Did a really nice job too.  Even left plenty of room for the nuts.  They weigh about 55 pounds each and that's with narrow rims.  

 

[953 nut 51,485]

52 minutes ago, N3PUY said:

poured them full of cement

 

I sure would hate to be the person who had to put those rims on the tire machine to change tires.  

Must say it looks like a economical way to ad weight.   

[Tankman 3,515]

Years ago we used auto brake drums, a couple of bolts, cement,

Drill a couple of holes that match your rims. The brake drums from local salvage yard, drums sized to fit your rims.

 

Once 'n awhile find myself thinking, "Stacked brake rotors?"

 

Edited January 9, 2016 by Tankman

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Another option would be to use brake rotors from cars that use that bolt pattern as a base, and then build on that.

[Tankman 3,515]

17 minutes ago, shallowwatersailor said:

Another option would be to use brake rotors from cars that use that bolt pattern as a base, and then build on that.

Thinking add more rotors as (additional weight) needed. Yep, using the same bolt pattern base would make adding additional weight easy.

[kasey54 304]

I recently bought a 875 wh that had home made lead wheel weights. Each rear wheel had two molded disks .the smaller inner one weighs about  60 lbs. The outer larger one is about a hundred pounds. The outer heavier one seems to be molded from an old hub cap. The inner one seemed to fit perfect, the outer one had a diameter about 1/4 inch smaller than the wheel horse wheel. There where roofing nails driven into the outer rim of the weight , I assume to center the weight  to help align it to get the bolts thru.. The original owner used 1/4 inch carriage bolts that where an extremely tight fit. Ill bet he used some colorful language getting them to line up!

I just went to my photos, I had them reversed .