Sash weights

[ron]

Hi, anyone any experience of cast iron sash weights, a neighbour has some I can have if I want, is the quality of the iron any good or would they just be more junk to add to my collection ;D

Ron

[Tel]

I've used quite a few of 'em over the years Ron, and, despite the urban myth to the contrary, they are mostly good quality iron. You do strike the occasional crook one, usually chilled to the point where they can't be cut.

The axleboxes on my Simplex, along with a lot of other things, are made out of 'em

[GWRdriver]

I have about the same experince as TEL, most are decent but occasionnally one runs into one that's glass hard or which has Mystery Metal inclusions. I've had folks recommend that any sash weight should be annealed before use but professional heat treatment is costly and inconvenient and back garden annealing often produces sticks that are harder than when they went in.

[ron]

Cheers, in that case I may as well take up his kind offer,
Ron

[Tel]

'Waste not, want not' Ron - they won't take up a lot of room under a bench somewhere, & one day .....

[steammadman]

Ron, Over the years, like Tel ,i have used quite a lot of sash weights for various
jobs, loco and other engine pistons.
Usulally i give them a crack on the concrete path to break them in half , you
can then get an idea of the quality of the cast ,if it's nice and grey usually it's
ok,if it sparkles ,then beware it could be hard, and then of coarse have a good
look for blow holes.
As TEL says ,waste not ,want not, anyway why buy cast iron if you can scrounge it ?.
Give it a go , you've got nowt to loose as we say in Y.orkshire

[ron]

I'm now the proud owner of 4 sash weights, 3 about 1.5" dia and one about 3" dia, all I need to do is find a use for them
Very quiet on here just now, is everyone watching the footy?

Ron

[Tel]

There's no rush now you got 'em Ron, sash weights don't run away very often.

[mmaidnz]

I'm Still looking for large enough sash weights to make my cylinders out of.I found some ginormous half round ones which i guessed at about 20KG each,about 3 1/2"wide.
I used these to make my axleboxes,and a few bits left over for other purposes.
I might go back and get a couple more of these,they were only 7 bucks apiece.
I'm thinking steam chest and cylinder end plates.
As for purity,I only had to saw out a 1" piece that had a blowhole in it.The price can't be beat,and I'm doing my part for conservation,recycling cast iron:).

[Tel]

They sound like a good deal to me MM - you wanna snap up a few to keep on hand for future projects