Cast Iron Weights -Aldi

Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

Just seen that Aldi have sale on and one item is 4 x 2.5kg weight lifting disc weights at £ 4.99.

Could be pullies or handles?

Could be handy if the CI is ok

I turned one I found down and used it as a lashup hacksaw crank

The main thing is the thickness at the thinnest point, usually the mid section

The thicker the better for skimming down purposes

Messy too

I collect these weights along with cast iron scales weights etc if cheap enough at the local boot. So far I have machined about 10 per cent of my total stock without a problem. In fact it machines very well indeed. The only stuff that is variable is CI sash weights. Some of mine are "untouchable".

Rik.

Do verify that they are actual cast iron first. Mulit-gym exercise machine weights are frequently plastic cases filled with sand. Be unsurprised if similar construction was used on inexpensive weight lifting disks.

Clive.

You take pot-luck with this stuff, a while back someone reported opening up a heavy lamp base to find it was made of compressed swarf and resin. One of my weights was a sort of rusty concrete. If you win, smile. If not try again.

Sash weights are notorious. I think it's because many foundries made them as a quick and dirty sideline. Any left-over molten metal from the main job would be carelessly poured into a handy mould. Because they're only rough window  weights, slag and waste could be thrown in, the type of cast-iron doesn't matter, sand would get mixed in, and no-one worried about chilling. So sometimes you get good quality metal, other times awful.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 01/08/2018 10:42:14

...a while back someone reported opening up a heavy lamp base to find it was made of compressed swarf and resin...

​I have found the same with an broken lamp, thinking 'this'll make a flywheel somewhere' but ... any how its now one of those items that may well be 'useful in the future', stuck on a shelf in the garage .

​George.

In the early days when Taiwanese machinery was the predecessor to "Chinese" machinery, the same question was put forward re the cheap weightlifting sets that appeared for use as flywheels. They seemed to be the same as the sash weights for material quality. Paint hides many sins.

Regards Ian.

Haven't tried the 2.5kg weights, but I've machined three of the 10kg ones so far. One's now a Hardinge faceplate and the other two are bases for cup stands for SWMBO's pottery selling efforts. I found that the cast iron was more like cast steel. Fairly tough to machine to get a fine finish with carbide. It machined ok mostly, just had a 'gnarly' finish (it'd catch on your fingers or a bit of cloth if you rubbed it).

Because I'd come across some CBN inserts on EBay some years back for a give away price, I finally got to trying one on the weights. The result was a mirror finish with high speed very fine cuts.

So give them a try. They might work, but even if not, they can be used to hold things down!

Tried to use sash weights once,never again ! they are CRAP,and I mean CRAP !! The only thing they are fit for is in balancing windows,which I suppose is what the were made for. Not much use for anything else.

Now Aldi,s offering,I cannot comment on that,but I would approach it with caution. Why would they use good cast iron in something like that ?