I have a stack of window sash weights from a bunch of windows I replaced(I love the marvin tiltpacs…) and I would like to use them as “pool safe anchors”
The background….
I teach a summer science program, and one of the things we do is a cardboard boat race, where my students build boats out of cardboard and duct tape and race them till they sink in an olympic standard pool. Just to make it interesting, I have set the course to consist of a straight leg, and a 3 turns around buoys.
In the past, I have used water bottles filled with concrete tied to soda bottles, but they are not heavy enough, and the buoys tend to wander. I would like to use the sash weights as anchors, but need a way to coat the wieghts so that they will not contaminate the pool water….
I was pondering dipping them in epoxy as an option…
any thoughts?
Jeff
Replies
Jeff,
How about the stuff they sell for coating tool handles ? Personally I cannot imagine the weights contaminating the water, they are just going to sit there, not get ground up and thrown in. But ... in todays society you cannot be too careful !
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
all window weights are is pot metal very low grade cast iron, which would not be able to brake down quick enough to cause any toxicity to the water. i would wrap them up in duct tape, real well and leave it at that. now epoxy is very toxic in it's many uncured states, depending on the epoxy . west system is(one of a handful) an epoxy that has submersible qualities, but is expensive ,messy and frankly would be a miguided application in this case . in my opinion... just my opinion.....b
Some sash weights started out as a 7 lb. or so cast iron weight then were dipped in lead on site to balance a double strength glass pane that was added later.
Edited 4/17/2005 11:11 pm ET by basswood
i'm more familiar with the piggy back weights that slide over the chain/cord in increments 1- 3 -5 lbs.. i wonder if its a period thing or a money issue??"expectations are premeditated resentments"
I've run into those weights too. I'm guessin' those are a newer technology (1920's maybe). The ones I usually run into are 1880's to 1910's and look like an old sock filled with sand (except they are cast iron), with an eye cast at the top.
the estate that i'm on now. was 1906, but it could of very well been updated. there are scores of windows , and pretty much been through everyone. and about half are the ones youve described..... good call ........"expectations are premeditated resentments"
I'll add that I have only seen a handfull of sash weights that have been "leaded" on-site to tune up the balance. Contemporary worries about lead aside, this tuning to compensate for an upgrade to double-strength glass was probably a sign of a good window glazer.Edit to add: I really enjoy rehabin' those old weight and pulley windows. I like 'em better than a new Marvin Tilt/pack.
Edited 4/18/2005 9:50 pm ET by basswood
The "sock-style" ones I've worked with often had their weight in pounds in raised numbers on the side. They tended to come in one-pound increments, IIRC.The segmented weights were likely handy for custom installations where the weight of the sash couldn't be easily estimated, and good balance was desired.
Do you ever have trouble reading the number on the side (with rust and wear and such)?
It's been a long time, but I remember the numbers being 3/4" to 1" high, and either embossed or raised about 1/8". No problem reading them, even after 60 years or so.
dan when we into this old estate we found an old scale usually found in feed and grain store in the back recess of the dark dank basement . with a box of old sash chain next to it all rusted up."expectations are premeditated resentments"
You could save some trouble by visiting the local scuba shop for lead weights. Uncoated weights are clean, harmless and cheap. Vinyl coated are the same but cost more. Still lower them in carefully to avoid chipping tiles.
why not send 'em to the local rhino-liner guys and see if they can coat them over the next few truck beds they spray -- i'm sure they waste enough of that stuff at the beginning and end of the day to coat your anchors.
j
that is a great idea, I am planning to have the bed of my truck done, so I could have them shoot the weights as well!
Jeff
You could try this.
Get a piece of PVC plumbing pipe with an inner diameter that the sash weights will easily slide into make it five or six inches longer than the weights. Glue an end cap on and, near the "open" end, drill a hole thru , so the thing can be suspended from a nail or Piffen screw which is in a sturdy post, at a comfortable height.
Tie the weights on with more than enough rope or cord for your application and fill the tube with left over latex paint. It'd be handy to rig up a drying rack where the weights can be tied and the paint drip dry.
It will make the weights look classy as well as make the knot more or less permanent. It'll take some time to do, but if you're gonna use these things every year, it'll add some pannache to your project.
I tried dipping it in the same crappy home despot paint that I screwed up my kitchen with (this is from 7 years ago before I knew better) it is drip drying over a tarp right now and we will water test it later this week.
You can buy the tool handle dip stuff in fairly large quantities. It should work fine (will require several dips, probably).
Otherwise, if you just want to render the things relatively inert, any sort of good-quality metal paint should work. One trick you might try is getting the things a bit rusty (throw them in the pool for awhile ;) ) and then coating them with a rust-binding paint.
Go to Pep Boys or NAPA and get a few cans of the auto undercoating emulsion that sprays on and becomes like a rubber coating. I use it on PVC waste lines when they're near a kitchen or any other place where you will hear the water running down behind the walls in the pipes from upstairs. Works great, even better when you put more insulation around it. Makes it like cast iron.
Every one of the window weights TOB (this ol boy from central IL, lotsa transplants since) has ever seen was plain cast iron.
Consumers report years ago reported that Special K had iron flakes and iron oxide flakes inthe cereal that could be pulled out with a magnet, and 'deemed' "good for you"!
Charge a premium as a health benefit for getting "touched' by the waters".
All: Never seen a lead coated window weight never nowhere, where in the country were those common?
-------------- Ditto------------."expectations are premeditated resentments"
how about the red wax like Maker's Mark uses on their bottle necks?
vynal tool grip....
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