I've often found that adding extra weight to locos greatly improves their performance. I've bought a few 1/4 and 1/2 oz. weights from my LHS over the years. The only problem, though, is that most of my locos don't have enough room (inside their plastic bodies) for this extra weight. One of my older locos runs much better with about 2.25 to 2.5 oz. of extra weight added, but I'm having to place some of this weight inside its cab!
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions here. I have heard that lead weight is good to add (the most weight for the least amount of space, and not too expensive) -- but could you buy this at an LHS or hardware store?
Thanks in advance,
Rob
Yes, you can buy it. Comes in little 1/2 or 1/4 ounce squares. If you need to fit a custom space, you can pour your own. Doctorwayne has an informative tutorial about doing it yourself. You will need to take precautions when melting and pouring lead, but it is doable.
One alternative is to fill the space with lead or other heavy shot, and then pour in some epoxy to secure it all. You will probably want to line the space though so the expoxy doesn't leak out...!
Andrew
MasonJar Wrote:Yes, you can buy it. Comes in little 1/2 or 1/4 ounce squares. If you need to fit a custom space, you can pour your own. Doctorwayne has an informative tutorial about doing it yourself. You will need to take precautions when melting and pouring lead, but it is doable.
One alternative is to fill the space with lead or other heavy shot, and then pour in some epoxy to secure it all. You will probably want to line the space though so the expoxy doesn't leak out...!
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew! My problem is that these square weights are usually too large or wide to mount inside a loco's body, i.e. of a steam engine. This problem has happened a lot, actually. Ideally, I think I'd need a long, thin cylinder-shaped piece that I could mount up inside the boiler, at the top of the loco's body. I might consider what you & Wayne suggest above, but I'm not sure I want to start messing with melting and pouring lead!
Maybe a fishing/tackle store would have something that could work?
Cheers, Rob
You can cut the little lead squares in half using a utility knife. I have done that many times. Or, you can try lead shot from a sporting goods store, glued in place with some white glue. Fishing weighs would also work.
nachoman Wrote:You can cut the little lead squares in half using a utility knife. I have done that many times. Or, you can try lead shot from a sporting goods store, glued in place with some white glue. Fishing weighs would also work.
Thanks, Kevin. I might try all of these options, especially cutting the lead squares. I might also try going to a sporting goods store as well to see if I could find some long, narrow fishing weights. Rob
Another option is to stop in at a tire store. They usually have a lot of old tire weights lying around that they will give away. I picked up about 10 pounds about two years ago and still haven't used it all. I melted a bunch of the tire weights in empty (and clean) cat food cans on my BBQ grill, making thin sheets that I could cut and mold to the inside of loco shells. I also cut them into smaller pieces to fit into the underside of light freight cars. With thin sheets, lead is easy to manipulate into different shapes and one can layer the sheets into thicker pieces if needed. Be careful when melting the lead! Do it outside, do not breathe in the fumes, and be careful: it is molten metal you will be dealing with until it cools and hardens! Wear eye protection, wear leather gloves, and use tools to handle the cans. No sense in getting hurt. Just my two cents...
Chuck
Rob, you may be able to get sheet lead from either a plumbing supply or from a roofing company. It should be available in various thicknesses and is easy to cut with either a utility knife or tin snips. I get mine from an outfit in Hamilton which makes decorative lead urns.
Lead is also very malleable, so you can hammer a lump of it into a sheet, then cut it up as required.
There are some tips on adding weight to locos
HERE and a simple how-to on casting your own weights
HERE.
Wayne
doctorwayne Wrote:Rob, you may be able to get sheet lead from either a plumbing supply or from a roofing company. It should be available in various thicknesses and is easy to cut with either a utility knife or tin snips. I get mine from an outfit in Hamilton which makes decorative lead urns.
Lead is also very malleable, so you can hammer a lump of it into a sheet, then cut it up as required.
There are some tips on adding weight to locos HERE and a simple how-to on casting your own weights HERE.
Wayne
Thanks, Wayne. I'll also check those tutorials as well.
Rob
HD may have lead roof jacks which are made from thin lead sheets.
Gary S Wrote:HD may have lead roof jacks which are made from thin lead sheets.
Thanks -- that sounds like a good option. Rob
If you check out a sporting goods store, don't bother with fishing weights, look for bags of shot for hunters who load their own shot gun shells. The bigger the gauge # the smaller the shot. You want 10 ga or 12 ga rather than 00.
Russ Bellinis Wrote:If you check out a sporting goods store, don't bother with fishing weights, look for bags of shot for hunters who load their own shot gun shells. The bigger the gauge # the smaller the shot. You want 10 ga or 12 ga rather than 00.
Thanks, Russ. I'll try that as well then. There is an outdoors/sporting good shop near my work so maybe I'll see if they have any. Rob
If you have a electric motor rewinding place near you they use a led puddy to balance them.
jim
I occasionally use lead shot for weighting cars, especially when trying to get lead into some tiny crack or crevice under a car. But the drawback is that all the open space between the individual pellets results in a decrease in the overall density and weight of the installation. Better off using solid lead where you need maximum weight in minimum space. On that note, I would assume that smaller shot like #8 clay pigeon shot would pack more densely than something larger like #2 goose shot.
Another source for weight for tight places like between the "fish belly" frame members would also be solder. If you have a long narrow cavity somewhere on a model, a piece of soft solder cut to fit will add some weight. If there is room, you can sometimes fit two or three pieces in.