You're showing your age, Lonnie!
Most people have never heard of a Lasalle unless they watch reruns of "All in the Family"
I bet they never heard of a lead sled either.
I spent some time in my brother-in-law's body shop way back then before Bondo.
Wayne
Originally written by solo1 on 1/2/2007 6:10 AM
You're showing your age, Lonnie!
Most people have never heard of a Lasalle unless they watch reruns of "All in the Family"
I bet they never heard of a lead sled either.
I spent some time in my brother-in-law's body shop way back then before Bondo.Wayne
I met a guy south of here who filled a two foot length of 2 inch pvc pipe with lead then slid a couple of eye bolts over the pipe before he capped it. He glued a solid cap on one end and a threaded cap on the other. Next he drilled holes in the floor of the sidecar and mounted the eye bolts through the floor and into the frame of his California. Nice and clean looking. He was also talking about possibly mounting it under the car, but I don't know if he ever did.
Most all of you are making to big of a deal out of using LEAD. If you handle it proerly in will not be any trouble I have cast lead for many years and if you don't breath it it won't hurt you. When I had my gun shop I made 10,000 bullets a day and a little dust wont hurt if you clean it off
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/1/2007 2:57 PM
Lead and other heavy metals emit fumes when heated. They are truly bad. Fortunately, I seldom have any contact with molten lead.It's also basic common sense to wear gloves, boots, long trousers, long-sleeve shirts and a face shield when doing such endeavors. Also you need a helper with a garden hose handy.
If I recall correctly, you really do not want water anywhere near molten lead! Take care that the molds and equipment you are working with are moisture free and do not spray water at melted lead!
I admit I haven't played with melting lead since I was a teenager, back when people worried less and I had no sense.
Originally written by RedMenace on 1/2/2007 12:08 PM
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/1/2007 2:57 PM
Lead and other heavy metals emit fumes when heated. They are truly bad. Fortunately, I seldom have any contact with molten lead.It's also basic common sense to wear gloves, boots, long trousers, long-sleeve shirts and a face shield when doing such endeavors. Also you need a helper with a garden hose handy.
If I recall correctly, you really do not want water anywhere near molten lead! Take care that the molds and equipment you are working with are moisture free and do not spray water at melted lead!
I admit I haven't played with melting lead since I was a teenager, back when people worried less and I had no sense.
You're right. I missed that. Water plus molten metal equals explosion.
Not blow up type explosion but very close and very dangerous.
I need not explain, but I will, that the water hose was for the potential fire from the propane torch. Apparently you were only thinking about putting water on molten lead. Why would anyone do that?
Sigh.
Originally written by Ron Campbell on 1/2/2007 10:04 AM
Most all of you are making to big of a deal out of using LEAD. If you handle it proerly in will not be any trouble I have cast lead for many years and if you don't breath it it won't hurt you. When I had my gun shop I made 10,000 bullets a day and a little dust wont hurt if you clean it off
Thanks. That sure makes sense to me. I likewise have cast bullets and other items from lead. Properly handled, there is little danger.
Regards
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/2/2007 11:48 AM
I need not explain, but I will, that the water hose was for the potential fire from the propane torch. Apparently you were only thinking about putting water on molten lead. Why would anyone do that?
Sigh.
No, actually I was thinking it sounds like a very bad idea to have water anywhere near molten lead. I suggest a dry chemical fire extinguisher would be a better choice for fire control, should the need arise.
Not even going near the issue of if smelting lead is legal or a good choice or if using lead for ballast is even necessary....
Originally written by RedMenace on 1/2/2007 2:35 PM
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/2/2007 11:48 AM
I need not explain, but I will, that the water hose was for the potential fire from the propane torch. Apparently you were only thinking about putting water on molten lead. Why would anyone do that?
Sigh.
No, actually I was thinking it sounds like a very bad idea to have water anywhere near molten lead. I suggest a dry chemical fire extinguisher would be a better choice for fire control, should the need arise.
Not even going near the issue of if smelting lead is legal or a good choice or if using lead for ballast is even necessary....
There are no legal prohibitions against melting and pouring amounts of lead into molds or for any other purpose where I live. This is beside the point of whether lead is of any value for sidecar ballast.
You've now taken this thread off-track to discuss whether it's legal to melt lead and what is the exact type of fire control to use when melting lead or anything else for that matter.
If you are not going near the issue of whether it's legal to "smelt" lead then why would you mention it? By the way, I think you mean "melt" rather than "smelt".
Here's a link to Wikipedia.org which will be helpful to you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelting
I have no interest in pursuing this tangent with you. I brought up the safety issue of water and hot lead because I dimly remember that there were some near tragedies back in the day i played with the stuff and the casual suggestion to have someone standing by with a water hose triggered a red flag.
I know there are some strong regulations concerning the use of lead in manufacturing and suspect some municipalities may have extended those regulations. I don't know or care if they apply to you and I don't know if the person contemplating using lead for ballast cares to see if it applies to them, but they might consider it.
They might also consider if the health concerns surrounding lead are serious enough to rule out playing with it at home. Personal choice.
In this thread there have been some very good alternatives to melting lead offered. The weight isn't so great as to require using lead. Heavy plate steel secured under the seat with some protection from chafing sounds preety good to me. Didn't you suggest cutting and fitting plate of some sort low and out board? THat sounds great if the odd "frame" used on this particular sidecar affords a good mounting point. Lead weights or shot properly sealed could be used in place of custom molding if using lead is desired. It is worth thinking about.
I have used lead for boats and sidecars, and melted it just because I could. But I have done lot's of stupid things over time. Just because someone has spent a lifetime molding bullets and doesn't think lead has done him any harm doesn't mean lead is safe. Without testing him and the people around him and his shop tailings and trash for lead you have no idea
what damage he may have done himself or his neighbors. If he has been careful and thoughtful, quite possibly none. But lead is bad stuff to build up in the body and the environment and if you don't need to mess with it why do so? And if you don't already know how to work with lead safely, casual advice on the internet can go very wrong. Things like a garden hose in the shop...
The (gentleman) lady doth protest too much, methinks.
William Shakespeare, "Hamlet", Act 3 scene 2
Greatest English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
With apologies to the Great bard. Topic closed for myself.
WOW!
I certainly got my money's worth out of this thread.
Thanks all, for the input.
Wayne
Originally written by solo1 on 1/3/2007 5:11 AM
WOW!
I certainly got my money's worth out of this thread.
Thanks all, for the input.Wayne
Always happy to help out. Happy New Year to all!!!
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/2/2007 9:51 PM
Originally written by RedMenace on 1/2/2007 2:35 PM
Originally written by gnm109 on 1/2/2007 11:48 AM
I need not explain, but I will, that the water hose was for the potential fire from the propane torch. Apparently you were only thinking about putting water on molten lead. Why would anyone do that?
Sigh.
No, actually I was thinking it sounds like a very bad idea to have water anywhere near molten lead. I suggest a dry chemical fire extinguisher would be a better choice for fire control, should the need arise.
Not even going near the issue of if smelting lead is legal or a good choice or if using lead for ballast is even necessary....
There are no legal prohibitions against melting and pouring amounts of lead into molds or for any other purpose where I live. This is beside the point of whether lead is of any value for sidecar ballast.
You've now taken this thread off-track to discuss whether it's legal to melt lead and what is the exact type of fire control to use when melting lead or anything else for that matter.
If you are not going near the issue of whether it's legal to "smelt" lead then why would you mention it? By the way, I think you mean "melt" rather than "smelt".
Here's a link to Wikipedia.org which will be helpful to you.
The only thing more dangerous than working with lead is riding a motorcycle. In the interest of safety, please abstain from both.
Thanks.
Would you be willing to provide the specs and design on the weight? I have an 06 harley w/ harley hack and would prefer to keep the weight on the outside rather than inside the car.
thanks
The farther away from the bike you get the weight, the less weight you will need. Harley used to sell a 46# cast-iron weight that sat on top of the outer spring, outside of the sidecar body. Those were OK, except they got about $150 for them. That's $3.00 pound for cast-iron! They don't even make them anymore due to poor sales, I guess.
On my last Harley rig a few years ago, I copied the shape of the Harley weight form in 1/4" mild steel plate and arc-welded it together so that it was hollow. I also collected a whole bunch of old tire balancing weights and scrap fishing weights and I melted those down right inside of my weight form while it was upside down using a propane burner, the kind that's used for hot-roofing. When it cooled I drilled four holes in it and the result was a nice sidecar weight that was about 70 pounds. That was more than enough given it's outside location. It improved the stability and handling quite a bit.
