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Post by bensdad on Dec 10, 2007 11:07:58 GMT -6
Hello all! I am a frequent reader but this is my first post.
I am searching for some economical weighting options (lead is outlawed under our rules) and l especially like the idea of fine tuning at weigh in with tungsten putty.
I was thinking of buying some tungsten powder anyway to mix with epoxy for our basic weighting and thought maybe we could make our own tungsten putty. I read something out there (fishing information) that indicated that tungsten putty is just tungsten powder and regular white glue. Can anyone comfirm if this is correct? Anyone have a recipe to share?
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Post by Lucky 13 on Dec 10, 2007 14:18:05 GMT -6
Welcome to the DerbyWorx board !! I really can't give you any info on the tungsten putty mixture ?, but, I would go with straight tungsten cubes or cylinders for weighing instead of the mix. When you mix the tungsten powder with epoxy you basically only get the same density as lead (which defeats the purpose of using tungsten), where as if you go with the solid tungsten you can get a better weight concentration and use less to achieve it. I know winderby.com sells a 4 oz. tungsten cylinder/putty kit that includes both. Hope this helps !!
Lucky 13
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Post by derbyace on Dec 10, 2007 20:42:59 GMT -6
TWO suggestions for weight adjustment.
1.. Use tungsten beads instead of putty.
2. Use the tungsten cubes or cylinders, but leave a small space for the lead....FOR EXAMPLE...if the car called for 20 cubes, use 18, then fill in the extra space with lead.. THEN you can always drill out a small amount at the end, whereas you can NOT drill out extra with only tungsten.
Good Luck D.A
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Da Pine Racing
Head in the Pine
kamaniwannaracedakinepinekah
Posts: 172
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Post by Da Pine Racing on Dec 11, 2007 10:34:24 GMT -6
I am searching for some economical weighting options (lead is outlawed under our rules) and l especially like the idea of fine tuning at weigh in with tungsten putty Is lead totally not allowed even if you paint it or bury it in the body?. I don't have a tungsten powder recipe, never used the stuff & it gets pricey to me when there are all kinds of stuff everywhere that weighs something. You could get your car close to 5 oz, then bring along some various pieces of thin steel, get the one that puts it right on weight or adjust the weight of the steel with a file or cutters & super glue it to the bottom of you car. Just throwing out an option.
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Post by woodenshoe1 on Dec 11, 2007 18:06:24 GMT -6
Another idea is to use swing weights from your local golf shop. It is about 1/2" wide by 1/16" thick by 1' long. You just peel the paper off and it sticks to your car. It's very easy to work with and doesn't cost much either. I have used this for final weigh-in several times. I don't know if it would be classified as lead?
Wooden Shoe
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wedge
Pine Head
Posts: 32
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Post by wedge on Dec 11, 2007 22:11:52 GMT -6
You should be able to get the car within a few grams of 5oz. before weigh in.
My son and I have raced the past two years at 4 7/8 oz. and taken districts both years.
We use the same scale as our pack but like to leave 1/8 oz. light for safe measure.
We believe that fussing with the car at weigh-in just to add 1/8 of an oz. after fine tuning it just risks putting it out of whack.
Focus on alignment and reducing friction and chances are that 1/8 of an ounce won't matter by half a car length.
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Post by DerbyDoc.com on Dec 11, 2007 22:30:36 GMT -6
You should be able to get the car within a few grams of 5oz. before weigh in. My son and I have raced the past two years at 4 7/8 oz. and taken districts both years. We use the same scale as our pack but like to leave 1/8 oz. light for safe measure. We believe that fussing with the car at weigh-in just to add 1/8 of an oz. after fine tuning it just risks putting it out of whack. Focus on alignment and reducing friction and chances are that 1/8 of an ounce won't matter by half a car length. Perfect post Wedge, I agree 100%
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Post by scooter on Dec 12, 2007 17:25:55 GMT -6
You should be able to get the car within a few grams of 5oz. before weigh in. My son and I have raced the past two years at 4 7/8 oz. and taken districts both years. We use the same scale as our pack but like to leave 1/8 oz. light for safe measure. We believe that fussing with the car at weigh-in just to add 1/8 of an oz. after fine tuning it just risks putting it out of whack. Focus on alignment and reducing friction and chances are that 1/8 of an ounce won't matter by half a car length. I also agree about the focus on alignment and friction. I also agree that last minute weight ajustments can sometimes be more armful than good. Far as the lead being outlawed, I would consider tungsten cubes, cylinders, and if so desired BB's also make a great final weight addition cause BB's most of the time weigh about .01 ounzes. But in reference to the 1/8 th inteval, is that the scale intevals? If that is the scale intevals your car can actually be weighing any where from 4.89 to 4.99999 ounces and still show 4 7/8 ounces; In fact you car can weigh 5.12 ounces and still show only 5 ounces on a 1/8 inteval scale. So to me knowing the inteval of the scale being used at race time and knowing the type and length of the track is just important, but by no means more important than friction loss and alignment.
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Post by ninjarabbi1997 on Dec 31, 2007 9:22:40 GMT -6
Last year we made our own tungsten putty by getting some tungsten powder from max v and some cheap modeling clay. Roll a piece of the clay out flat, fold in some powder. We repeated this 3 or 4 times.
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Sappington R
Head in the Pine
"The Sappster" 10oz
Posts: 210
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Post by Sappington R on Jan 9, 2008 9:14:34 GMT -6
Ninjarabbi, I appreciate your clay/powder recipe. I will be looking for some clay today to try my on concoction. I was trying to figure out a good material to use with the powder and kept failing. One thing that I discovered though, is that you can mix the powder with vinyl painters spackling if you are looking for a quick filler for larger areas- good adherence. Also works well for setting cubes & cylinders- not quite as "permanent" as glue.
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Post by ninjarabbi1997 on Jan 9, 2008 15:36:52 GMT -6
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