Lead free weights

[anonymous]

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is an effective lead substitute because of the density. It was also used as a substitute for DU penetrators (again.... "green" ammunition) due to its density. Not as effective as DU (less density and no pyroforic properties), but it gives people a warm fuzzy feeling that we are protecting the environment while destroying tanks.
They also make wedding bands out of Tungsten.

I use lead because it works, is cheap and as Tim said not that bad on the environment or your health. Just dont eat it (ironically, that's what we used to say when we were working with DU....).

[petn7]

I would like to avoid

I would like to avoid using lead, except when soldering.

If I can avoid having the lead contact the water or touch my skin (and forcing me to wash my hands), all the better. Probably wouldn't hurt to remove reasons for someone to not let you use their pool. Granted, this has never been an excuse when I asked, but if I can use zinc, nickel, brass, or tungsten, why not?

[petn7]

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is an effective lead substitute because of the density. It was also used as a substitute for DU penetrators (again.... "green" ammunition) due to its density. Not as effective as DU (less density and no pyroforic properties), but it gives people a warm fuzzy feeling that we are protecting the environment while destroying tanks.
They also make wedding bands out of Tungsten.

I use lead because it works, is cheap and as Tim said not that bad on the environment or your health. Just dont eat it (ironically, that's what we used to say when we were working with DU....).

Which makes me wonder...

What would be more pretentious]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_lol.gif[/img]

[Rogue Sub]

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is

Tungsten isn't dangerous. It is an effective lead substitute because of the density. It was also used as a substitute for DU penetrators (again.... "green" ammunition) due to its density. Not as effective as DU (less density and no pyroforic properties), but it gives people a warm fuzzy feeling that we are protecting the environment while destroying tanks.
They also make wedding bands out of Tungsten.

I use lead because it works, is cheap and as Tim said not that bad on the environment or your health. Just dont eat it (ironically, that's what we used to say when we were working with DU....).

Yeah I was speaking of thoriated tungsten. It is still a very low level emiter though. You have a higher risk from sitting in the sun for an hour.

[hakkikt]

Gold would be even more

Gold would be even more suitable. It is very inert and much heavier than lead. It is also a good way of reflecting certain post-war legends in your model if you use it as ballast in a U-boat.

[boss subfixer]

Here is one thing that

Here is one thing that no one touched on about when using lead. If you paint it with several coats you will have no worries as to washing your hands, leaching or any of the other nasty problems you can have with lead. Plasti dip is even better. As Tim pointed out don't breath the fumes when heating it, also if it has a white powder on it that's oxidation you don't want to breath that either. That's bad as well. It's not a bad thing to not want to use lead but it can be handled safely when properly sealed.

[petn7]

It's too much trouble to

It's too much trouble to plastidip or paint every single piece of lead. I thought about encasing the pieces of lead in epoxy or JB WELD (to the hull), but should I install a new WTC and need to re-trim, there might be a problem.

[boss subfixer]

I hear you. My reply

I hear you. My reply was more for others that are reading this just to give them options and a little more information. As I said there is nothing wrong with going lead free. My hats off to you.

[kazzer]

We have developed several sets

We have developed several sets of weights which are made of lead shot encapsulated in epoxy resin. These are molded to the shape of the hull.

If you don't see your model here, please let us know and we'll make a a specific set to suit.

http://www.caswellplating.com/models/weights.html

A strip of lead sheet is enclosed with each set of molded weights, to 'fine tune' the model. This should resolve all your lead problems.

Coming soon. Molded ballast FOAM insert to suit the Revell models.