Bill Wachspress <wow@grapevine.net>: was so kind as to repost them to the
list and gave me permission to publish them here
From: Bill Wachspress<wow@grapevine.net>
"Drill holes and hammer lead into them." was the concensus last time
around, "...and laugh off the very real dangers of handling the lead,
mostly." This thread left me really wanting to try brass, whenever I
graduate out of the tape and coins phase. Brass isn't so poisonous
and doesn't stain the wood so easily. Because it is less dense than
lead, it might not hammer itself loose so easily after repeated
landings. I also like the way it looks. Most of the more specific
advice that I saved follows.
From: "Chris Cotter" <slx@earthlink.net>
On wood rangs I like to use brass weights rather than lead. The
brass looks nicer and doesn't leave smear marks on the wood like lead
does.
I have a 1/2" diameter brass rod which I cut slices from to produce
the weights. Use 5 minute epoxy to glue the weights into the boom.
From: "William K Sotak" <katos@pathway.net>
I know this was a subject a while back but I think I have a good
method of installing weights. It may have been done before but here
it is from me. First, I drill a hole using a Forstner (optional) bit.
Then I take my Dremel tool and attach the tip that is a little
abrasive metal ball. It looks like a little dental tool. I have the
router attachment so I set the depth to have the ball 1/2 the
thickness of the boomerang cord. (You do not need the router
attachment but it makes it safer and faster.) Then I carve out a
groove around the hole. When you pound the weight it assumes the
shape of the groove and can not move. I tried it a few times on scrap
before trying it on boomerangs. I broke them apart to see how well
they were seated. With just a slight pressure the lead does assume
the grove shape very well. I have tried it on several boomerangs and
have yet to see even a slight stress crack in the finish even after a
severe crash. I use .445 lead ammunition balls as weights. I rotate
the a few times while pounding them into a cylinder then cut them
with a dremel cut disk. This make a more accurate cut for me. I
hate having to sand a weight much on bare wood if I am planing on not
painting the boomerang (clear finish). This may all sound complicated
but it is only a couple minute process. I also want to add I find the
alloys added to the lead only effect the weight a neglectable amount
for boomerang purposes (IMHO).
From: "William K Sotak" <katos@pathway.net>
Hint:
Ask your local tire shop what they do with the lead weights when they
pull them off of tire rims. A lot of them throw them away. Recycle
them for something good and save money.
Also:
I like to pound out lead into a flat disk or block, like heavy lead
tape. I then tape it on with lacquer masking tape. This allows more
room for weight adjustment (especially when testing) and does not
weaken the structure. Again some of you may notice a difference
between weighting the top or bottom of a rang. (again, the ultimate
boomerang book explains this) I often adjust some of my boomerangs
with different winds and even different moods. You can even play
games with spin rate in this manner.
Let me beat the politically correct rang list police.
More drag more drag....I know I know. ADJUST!
If I do install a weight I use a flexible glue. I hate to always be
the odd one out but I think most epoxy glues are like putting the
lead in a glass setting.
From: Fredric Malmberg <fmalmb@pol.net>
Dear William,
This is interesting, and I suspect it would work well. I use a
slightly less complicated system, which, on a much smaller scale,
does what you are accomplishing here. I make a hole just slightly
smaller than the lead plug I am going to use, take two small strips
of posterboard (which I also use to make templates out of), and use
these strips as "sawhorses". I place them on a cement surface about
an inch apart, and place the hole in the boom between the
"sawhorses". I then pound the plug into the hole. It flattens out on
both sides slightly bigger than the hole, and I have never lost a
plug so set.
From: Pollocknel@aol.com
Lead weighting...At CB, as most of you know, we use a 1/4" drilled
hole and hammer in a OO lead pellet. We have never had a problem
with fit. Actually, the led shots are obtaind by bag from Bullet
Weights and it is a coated lead shot.
Yes, you need to use a very firm, flat surface.
RP-N
From: Bill Rusky <mazerang@megsinet.net>
You can buy heavy metal (~90% tungsten) rod from Mi-Tech Metals
Inc., P.O. Box 5519, Indianapolis, IN 46255-5519, 1-800-624-1895.
They have several versions with specific gravities from 17 to 18.5.
It's not cheap, but it is denser than lead. Hacksaw it to size and
glue it into place.
From: Bart Derks <bderks@zeelandnet.nl>
I drilled a load of holes through a brick, each a little wider as the
one before. I placed the brick on another brick and filled each hole
with melted lead. After cooling down the pieces of lead can be
removed with a hammer and a metal bar.
When weighing a boomerang i take a piece of lead with a diameter
that's just a bit smaller as the holes in the boomerang. The lenght
of the piece of lead has to be a bit longer as the thickness of the
boomerang.
Lead is a very soft metal, so by hitting it gently with a small
hammer on something that can function as anvil the lead will expand
and secure itself inside the boomerang. Before hitting, insert the
lead in the hole of the boomerang and let it stick out on both sides
of the hole.
A warning...
When the piece of lead is too long, stop hammering, the expansion of
the lead might ruin the boomerang. Carve the lead untill it almost
fits the boomerang and only neads a few soft hammerings to get it in
shape perfectly. Another warning, lead is soft, but not as soft as
the boomerang itself, so be sure to hit(/carve) the lead, not the
wood !!!
