Making your own dive weights: DIY smelting and casting....

  • ....brought to you by a couple fools and a camping stove.


    The purpose of this thread is to give you a few insights into making dive weights and working with lead in general.
    I realize that the tactics employed in this video and photos are, not only not recommended, but most likely, some type of public nuisance:laughing:


    So lead melts at a low temp and you can recycle lead by melting it and casting it into shapes that you can use, as fishing weights, dive weights or any other weight you may need.


    Always do this outdoors and in a windy area....lead is really bad for people and will ruin your day and life....dont mess around.


    also wearing safe clothes is recommended, barefoot like me is not. Eye protection is also a good idea.
    for actual lead safety, read the internet.


    What we did was put a cast iron skillet on a camping stove and put some lead in the skillet...we read that lead mealts between 400-600 so we figured that was an attainable temp.


    the plan was to use a wooden mould i made of some scrap to pour out a long ingot for a dive flag weight ballast



    we had slow results at first and were feeling our way along but eventually the lead started to melt, we were just adjusting the temp up and down between low and med to adjust for the wind
    Misc Spearing stuff :: c7c27421.mp4 video by lunkerbuster - Photobucket


    The pouring process was cut short by in adequate thermal protection from the welders glove( use a rag and the glove) and the leaking of the mould...it was scrap wood and therefore very imperfect, the lead filled a small crack and split the wood immediately leaking out a little.
    Misc Spearing stuff :: c7c27421.mp4 video by lunkerbuster - Photobucket



    the ingot was eventually poured and as you can see needed to be trimmed down.


    I have ordered a cool weight mould and will update this thread with my progress...please share your wisdom or experience for other hopeless newbs :)



    here is my buddy rob

    i like to spear fish

    Edited once, last by LunkerBuster ().

  • You did it on your balcony, breaking many of your building's regulations :laughing:


    I think you can mix up sand in a certain way so it packs harder, and stick a wood dowel in it, remove the dowel and pour into the resulting hole.

  • You did it on your balcony, breaking many of your building's regulations :laughing:


    I think you can mix up sand in a certain way so it packs harder, and stick a wood dowel in it, remove the dowel and pour into the resulting hole.


    hahaah nothing in the bylaws prohibit smithe-ing :laughing3::crazy:

    i like to spear fish

  • Last year a few friends and I took all the weight belts we had found from a years' worth of diving and recast them. We found a sturdy old pot and placed it over a propane burner to melt them in, and used an old ladle to fill an aluminum mould. We ended up with about 110lbs of new dive weights. . .not a bat way to spend the 4th of July :D


    Oh, one thing about the pot; it had a false bottom, so we shot it with a pole spear (why not? :D There was a pole spear sitting around) to relieve any pressure build up during the melting process.


    As you already said, outdoors and a bit of wind is definitely the way to go. We didn't have proper thermal insulation either, and we were all wearing flip flops and shorts. I concur with the recommendation to wear proper clothing and thermal protection.

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