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cheap source for lead or alternative to weight bottom of bookends?

scrappy1's picture

cheap source for lead or alternative to weight bottom of bookends? (post #169517)

scrappy1 on Wed, 12/28/2011 - 11:35
in

 

I'm making some bookends and was going to drill out the bottoms and weight them down with lead pellets.  Much to my surprise, lead isn't cheap for this purpose.  Anyone know of a cheap source of lead pellets or similarly weighted material for bookends?

thanks for the help.

Scott

-A +A
swenson's picture

lead shot (post #169517, reply #1 of 3)

by swenson in reply to scrappy1 [original] on Fri, 12/30/2011 - 23:02

I got a couple of bags of lead shot, the kind reloaders use for reloading shot shells, at a sporting goods store just because I got tired of opening up a perfectly good shotgun shell when I needed some shot for weight.  They were so  handy for holding things down and putting pressure on certain kinds of glue ups that the next time I needed some shot I didn't want to open up one of the bags I was using for weight.  So I got a third bag just for the lead and kept the first two for handy weights.

Sand is cheap and kinda heavy, would that work?  I have a lathe bench with a hollow cross beam that I filled with sand and you can't lift the thing up off the floor.  It kills vibration.

You can find lead at outdoor pistol ranges by digging in the berms.  Indoor ranges recycle lead and brass though, and get paid for it.

TonyCz's picture

Zincs (post #169517, reply #2 of 3)

by TonyCz in reply to scrappy1 [original] on Thu, 01/05/2012 - 00:03

Contact you local Marine hardware store or Chandlery.  They would have zinc as an alternative, which is used on all boats in a salt water environment available, in many sizes.

kalman's picture

lead weight from auto repair shop (post #169517, reply #3 of 3)

by kalman in reply to scrappy1 [original] on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 14:41

I don't know if auto shops recycle their lead today but not too long ago I got a 50lb box form a gas station/repair shop for nothing.  Since then, the price of lead has gone up, ask anyone who shoots.