The cast thread going on currently got me wondering.

After replacing several windows in our house I have accumulated quite a pile of the cast window weights. As a natural packrat I am loath to toss anything, but I'm trying to clean the place up. Is there any practical use for these, or even an inventive one? Or should I just toss them in the scrap barrel?

Thanks,
Kendrick

sell them a to an antiques store/dealer, use proceeds to buy steel, coal, and beer, I assume that they are the simple cast very brittle cast iron variety

Hi ya Kendrick,
I imagine they (sash weights) would be handy to people building sand/concrete filled home-made power hammer components like the tup and anvil.
Also use as portable weights, like weighing down a leg visce base, or pole for a oliver hammer or pole lathe.
More fun might be using for trebuchet counterweight (or projectiles?)... ; )

anyway, as i'm sure u know 'keep a thing, it's use will come'
Andrew.

Other than sheer mass, the only thing I've used them for is as a mandrill to wrap stuff around because they happen to be the right size.

Keeping stuff that happens to be and odd size or an exact size gets to be a habit.

sash weights are usually the lowest grade pig iron out there and as such are not usually even wanted as cupola fodder preferring high grade cast iron such as old radiators that had to be fairly "precision cast" to be both thin and water/steam tight.

The do make acceptable counterbalance weights if your projects go in that direction.

They are not worth scrapping as cast iron has a very low rate indeed; but if you can find people restoring old houses that can use them far better to pass them on and get money or more usable stuff in exchange!

Take up duck hunting and use them as decoy anchors.

Weld them up into a weird sculpture or chair and sell it

I'm not sure what exactly they are made of, but I tried to cut off a chunk of one and distroyed a portaband blade. That stuff is beyond hard. I finally had to resort to using the abrasive cut off saw. I was using a piece for a counter weight for my ash dump.

you have to use a cut-off wheel I use them as clinker breakers when I build fire pots. Cut off a slice about 3" angle one end to a point. weld a 1/4" round rod to the other end they work great

they make a good canoe anchor +

The key word is "weight". A stone would have worked (if it was the right shape). No other requirement. I imagine they were poured from the last crud coming out of the coupola. We've come across a lot of wrought iron sash weights! They are usually square and have a punched eye. They are made of the junkiest old scrap you ever saw. Just piled and lightly welded. Presumably during the depression a blacksmith could make a little more money by making these than selling his scrap.

Just a thought folks, I have a similar item that is a buoy weight. The difference is that the buoy weight has a dish in the top to accomidate the vertical of a survey buoy.
Cut in half and dressed a little by grinding, and with a hardie shank, it makes a great bottom swage when I weld cable.

The two sailient facts here are: Hard, and doesn't change shape. It all depends on when the exact composition of the weight. I've never used sash weights but survey buoys are disposable items so their weights are pretty sad and sand cast.

PS. I'm thinking hand hammer not power hammer here. Hand hammer I haven't hurt mine.

Edited June 15, 200916 yr by Charlotte
ps.

While I am loving the trebuchet idea, for some reason my wife's not sharing the enthusiasm.

I'll have to set a few back for weights if I need them but I think I may look into this trading them for beer idea...

Thanks all!

Kendrick,
find someone who trotlines or jug fishes for catfish, they always need weights.

I'd come get them if you were closer to San Antonio.

George

If you have a big stock pile just go ahead and bore a cannon tube to fire them. That's how we ended up with cannons that fire 1" ball bearings, golf balls, baseballs and for some odd reason spheres that were 2 5/8" in dia. Haven't found a stash of bowling balls yet......... still looking.

You could use them as rollers for moving heavy machinery.

Bingo Sam ! Walk like an Egyptian. I have done that.

When I worked in a CI foundry, we referred to the worst of the worst castings as "sash weights and sewer lids". And the sewer lids were the better of the two.