Local Lead sticks?

[ugotkevin]

I've read that some people like to buy lead sticks and then either cut or melt them. Are there any local places that generally sell them? My daughter's race is Wednesday so I don't think I've got time to get something shipped.

 

[TRE]

go to a tire shop..get some tire weight or walmart for fishing weight

 

[Cubscout Dad]

1/2 or 3/4 oz egg sinkers work great because you just need to drill a 1/2" hole in the back side of the car and insert them.

 

[jrbryant68]

Is there a hobby lobby near by? They sell tungsten tungsten spheres... if you print the coupon that is online for 40% off, you can get 3 oz for about $11.00 You can use 1/2 inch bit and they fit nicely.

 

[Vitamin K]

Might try calling a roofing supply place and asking if they sell lead.

 

[Crash Enburn]

Lead is very malleable and also very easy to melt and pour. I originally used lead fishing weights and would hammer and shape them as necessary to put them into the body. Now, I melt it. And use lead tire weights. Just let the guy at the tire shop know what you're doing and they'll usually give you a handful.

What I do:

• I took a tuna can, and bent a spout into it.
• I use a camp stove, or my gas grill (before I had a camp stove), to heat and melt the lead. Using some channel-lock pliers, I put the can over the burner. Add in the requisite amount of lead, and wait for it to melt.
• I have used a few different methods for adding lead to the car body[list type=decimal]
• 3/8" hole drilled into the side of the body (not all the way through). Add melted lead into each of the holes leaving 1/4" or so at the top, then add in a 3/8" wood plug at the top, sealing in the lead.
• 3/8" holes drilled all the way through. Glue a craft stick (popsicle stick) to one side of the body. Pour the lead, filling the holes. Then glue a craft stick to the opposite side, sealing in the lead. This makes your body 1/8" wider at the rear — your rear wheels will still be w/in the 2-3/4" max width, but will be that much further away from the rail*, lessening the likelihood that they will contact the center rail.
• 3/8" drill bit to drill not necessarily round holes. If you're using craft sticks to cover the openings, there is no reason to not interconnect the holes, creating a larger pocket instead of several holes.
• Create weight pockets from the top or bottom of your body. Can either rout out the pockets like you would do for tungsten weights, or cut out openings like a ladder frame car and then cover the bottom with a thin sheet of wood. Pour in the lead, and then cover with a(nother) sheet of ply.[/list type=decimal]
• Lead canopy: I bought a tablespoon from Goodwill, and used that as a form to make a canopy out of lead. Once the lead has cooled, you can drill a hole into the bottom to add a screw that can then be used to mount to the car body (drill a screwhead-sized hole into the body, then glue the canopy into place using that.

As your woodworking skills increase, you'll find yourself making thinner and more refined bodies, where Tungsten weights will really begin to shine for you (tungsten is 1.6x as dense as lead, but not malleable, and a bit pricey). With a thicker car, lead is easy to work with, and is much denser than the zinc weights from the store.

Do not try to pour lead into a 1/4" hole. It will quickly stop up the hole and then just pour onto your table. 3/8" holes were the smallest ones that worked for me.

You can use Forstner bits to "rout" out the weight pockets in your body. Set the depth on your drill press such that the bit won't push through the far side of your car's body, and then just go to town plunging out the wood. This is pretty easy for a scout to do.

I've also created lead inside-the-wheel weights using lead (they came out to ~20g each). The shape you make the weight or the cavity you pour it into is limited only by your imagination, really.

*Pushing the rear wheels out further than the fronts does increase your car's coefficient of drag. However, that is the method my son and I used when we won den, pack, and district races two years in a row. YMMV.

Have fun!

 

[BulldogRacing]

the days before tungsten I used 1/4" lead wire from wal mart. I routered 1/4" slots in the underside of the car and filled them with the lead wire. It was very fast, cover them with silver HVAC tape and go!

 

[M2/S2 Racing]

I had a friend pull all the lead out of a xray vest ( the kind at the dentist office) and give it to me. its about 1 3/4 wide strips and so thin that I can cut it with scissors