But…but…“weight” a minute Ron. Didn’t you just run a topic on painting lead weights recently??
Well, fellow modelers, one of the replies I received referenced steel adhesive wheel weights at Harbor Freight. So I went and picked one pack of 1/2 and a second pack of 1/4 ounce steel weights today. Used some on a car I was rebuilding instead of those lead fishing weights. Easy to apply though I still painted them for interior car purposes.
As the Monkees used to sing “I’m a believer”.
I go into Harbor Freight at least once a month but somehow overlooked these useful weights!
I got mine for less than $8.00 each (used 20% coupon and made 2 trips into store to use coupon twice).
Given where they came from and the fact that my wife’s, made in China, blood pressure med was recalled for having a carcinogen mixed with it, I wouldn’t put those weights in my mouth.
As an alternative, something to keep in mind: If you keep your eyes and ears open, you can get usable, steel and aluminum weight materials for free or “pennies-on-the-dollar”. (Always good to keep a Dremel Rotary tool and “Cut-off” discs handy!) You can wind up building a nice stockpile that will last years.
Below is one batch that I’ve accumulated over time, with thicknesses ranging from 22 gauge to 12 gauge. You can see a few that I’ve cut. Some of the pieces came from scrapped or damaged rolling stock that was either given to me, or I picked up at train shows (which I use for paint test sampling). The stainless steel bottle openers (I have 4 more) were given to me by a paint & body store that was trying to unload them. Old car mirror windshield brackets are sometimes free at auto scrap yards.
I have more metal stored, which I give away to friends or local clubs that are looking for inexpensive weight materials. I enjoy taking things apart, so whenever I find out that someone I know is discarding an obsolete or “lightning fried” stereo unit, computer, or printer I’ll ask for it and am pleasantly surprised how much flat, “weighty” steel and/or aluminum plates I find in them that are easy to cut to fit.
Before installing any of these in rolling stock, I’ll coat them with a primer. Once held in place, by either 2-way tape or glue, they’re good to go and the result is smooth rolling cars.
One additional tip: For IHC & Rivarossi units, fill the floor pockets with either bird shot or BB pellets (smother with glue). Along with metal wheels, the effect on rolling quailty is amazing with the addition of the low-slung weight.
Never had a problem with magnetic uncoupling with the steel weights and Kadee couplers.
I always place the weights over the truck bolsters and towards the center of the car. Never on the ends. The 2 coats of primer spray also acts as an an insulator as it does cut down considerably on the magnetism from uncouplers.
I buy stick on weights off of e-Bay for around $12.00 for 48 with “free” shipping. I usually buy two deals and I still have 30 or so left from last year.
Certainly, I agree that pennies, fishing weights, and small lead weights can work well. One of my BB 40ft box cars has pennies. However, for longer rolling stock, especially 85’ HO passenger cars (approximately 111/4"inches long) it requires quite a few pennies to reach the desired weight with it evenly distributed throughout the floor. That’s where, imho, flat steel and aluminum bars come in handy. With a hand push, my old 1980’s built Rivarossi Budds still roll like speed skates LOL! [:P][:D]
Not debating, just simply sharing that there are options, (often times, right underneath our noses or easily accessible_)_ that, with a little work, are either free or cost next to nothing. That may be helpful to modelers that are on fixed incomes.
I bought a 25 pound bag of #8 Birdshot about 10 years ago and have used about half of it. I like their small size and use CA to keep them in place.
I have used them for added weight in all kinds of rolling stock as well as locomotives. They work particularly well in my Rivarossi Cab Forwards. I have squeezed as much as 10 ounces of BBs in several of my Cab Forwards.
After pouring the BBs in the shell I pour Harbor Freight Industrial Strength Super Glue over them. The massive amount of Super Glue can take several hours to fully cure. When the glue has totally dried I use my Dremel grinder to remove some of the BB area so things fit better inside the shell.
It also works very well in Athearn Passenger cars. I don’t use the Athearn weights, I fill the center well with the #8 BBs. The weight from the BBs is the same as the Athearn weights.
I’ve found out the adhesive on the adhesive–backed weights dried out and became loose in my cars over the years. I now prefer to glue in steel nuts instead.
You can get used lead wheel balancing weights free at most garages and tire shops, and make them into custom weights that will fit whatever space you have available in any particular model.
For cars with drop-style sidesills, such as flatcars and gondolas, I remove any underbody details that are in the way, then use styrene strips or sheet material to “trap” the weight in-place…
Because the underframe of Walthers’ GSC flatcars is the support for the car, I cast weights to suit the underframe. They’re mostly trapped in-place by the design of the underframe, aided by some silicone sealant…
House cars, such as boxcars and reefers, have plenty of room for weights, but because I modifiy a lot of mine with new ends and other structural changes, there’s not always room for the original weights. They could, of course, be cut-down to fit, but I prefer more weight to less weight.
For these heavily modified Athearn Blue Box boxcars, I used a pair of my usual 2oz. weights, and used strip styrene to trap them in a vertical position at the cars’ ends…
…the underbodies remain removable while the weights remain unmoveable.
For passenger cars, the weights can be placed in the washrooms…
The only problem I have experienced with using ferrous metals as car weights was with a depressed center flat car.
The distance between the weight in the car and the magnet used for uncoupling just happened to be 1/32 of an inch- -the exact same spec for the coupler trip pin height specified by Kadee.
As a result the car would stall over the magnet at slow speeds. At running speeds the car would hesitate and the trailing coupler would release (as designed) causing a break.
I solved this by using lead sheeting (non-ferrous) to replace the ferrous weight in this car, as has been suggested.
For ferrous weight I went to my local hardware store and bought a piece of Solid Flat Steel stock (1"x48"x1/8").
Then I calculated the weight of the inch per ounce and the gram per millimeter (I prefer the accuracy of the metric system over the standard).
When I need to add weight I simply cut a piece to length/weight and add it to the car(s) in question.
I always re-weigh the cut piece to make sure that I calculated the length/weight to allow for the kerf.
