Source for Tungsten square rod...

[peteski]

Hmmm...so the lead flashing I buy in Home Depot is actually an alloy?!  Bastards! 
I have an accurate digital scale - I'll have to investigate this.

[sizemore]

Thanks Zox, you pretty much nailed why I didn't care for the putty. As for creating my own blobs...pretty simple. While it works for things like tenders, I can't cut it in strips in the ten thousands with precision.

I had a little brain fart, which I'm also tinkering with to add more weight to the RDC.

I've shot an email off to the vendor and hopefully it won't come back with a billion dollar quote.

The S.

[peteski]

I had a little brain fart, which I'm also tinkering with to add more weight to the RDC.

I'm a bit puzzled why an RDC (assuming Kato, but even a Con-Cor) would need extra weight.  Kato's are all powered, so each is more than capable of pulling itself. Even with Kato (or Con-Cor) dummys, one powered RDC should be able to pull several of them.  Also, isn't there some room in the RDCs to add some plain lead weights?  Unless of course you are using the RDC for some other purpose...

[jdcolombo]

Beware using tungsten powder or any of the tungsten "putty" products.
The density is much less than pure tungsten, enough so that you would do just as well to just use
lead, which can be crushed, sliced, and easily formed into custom weights.
It's true that a powder can completely fill a void better than you ever could with a weight.
But be sure that a simple lead weight, even if it doesn't completely fill the void, doesn't actually
weigh MORE than the powder/glue mix.   In my case, I almost always found that filling up, say, a dome
with tungsten powder, and adding a few drops of glue to fuse it all together and keep it there,
was not as good as just using a little slug of lead.

I used tungsten putty for a while, until I uncovered the simple truth Max stated above.  Pure lead is very moldable and in most cases works as well or better as tungsten putty.  And if you really want to get fancy, you can melt it at fairly low temps (600 degrees? - I forget) and make a custom weight.  It IS more dangerous to handle than tungsten, but I've been using it for 20 years, and I'm still here - use latex gloves; wash your hands, and don't sand it (!).

Now I'll say that it would be nice to have an entire frame for, say, a LifeLike Berkshire made out of tungsten.  But I'm pretty sure that would cost an arm.

John C.

[nkalanaga]

As John says, the key to safety with metallic lead is simple:  Wash your hands!  You won't absorb it through your skin, and in solid form, there are no fumes.  But don't put your hands near your mouth, not even to hold a cigarette, while working with it.  Sanding it does make dust, and that can be inhaled, so should be avoided.  Sawing is almost as bad.  Pure lead sheet can easily be cut with a hobby knife or scissors.

Melting it can produce fumes, so one should take extra precautions there, and certainly beware of the fire danger.  If possible I'd do it outdoors on a fireproof surface, such as a concrete driveway or DRY bare ground.  With the wind behind you the fumes should go the other way.

Incidentally, enough soldering can also result in lead exposure, both from handling and from the fumes, unless you buy lead-free solder.  Most people, even after years of soldering, don't get enough fumes to cause problems.  But watch, and wash, the hands!

[sizemore]

I'm a bit puzzled why an RDC (assuming Kato, but even a Con-Cor) would need extra weight.  Kato's are all powered, so each is more than capable of pulling itself. Even with Kato (or Con-Cor) dummys, one powered RDC should be able to pull several of them.  Also, isn't there some room in the RDCs to add some plain lead weights?  Unless of course you are using the RDC for some other purpose...

Kato always gears their stuff high which means slow speed suffers (its a convex vs. concave curve), using a decoder I've got it trimmed the way I like without giving the tiny passengers whiplash. The problem is that the slightest bit of dirt or oxidation interrupts the awesome. Basically they're too light on their feet.

The S.

[mmagliaro]

EZ Weights from dspproducts.com  is 9.5g/cc  (I just measured an actual piece and computed it).

So that is pretty darn good, and how easy is it to get that special binding polymer to make a tungsten powder
weight that is over 10g/cc?

But I'm liking what I see at rotometals.   The prices are good (about $17 including shipping for a 12" x 12" x 1/32" thick
sheet) and the lead is 99% pure, so my weight will gain 10% over what I'm getting out of lead now.  And a square foot
of lead 1/32" is quite a lot.

Thanks for the info.

[gary60s]

Beware using tungsten powder or any of the tungsten "putty" products.
The density is much less than pure tungsten, enough so that you would do just as well to just use
lead, which can be crushed, sliced, and easily formed into custom weights.
It's true that a powder can completely fill a void better than you ever could with a weight.
But be sure that a simple lead weight, even if it doesn't completely fill the void, doesn't actually
weigh MORE than the powder/glue mix.   In my case, I almost always found that filling up, say, a dome
with tungsten powder, and adding a few drops of glue to fuse it all together and keep it there,
was not as good as just using a little slug of lead.

That may be true with powders mixed with fillers but the Golfsmith tungsten is 99% pure. Read the MSDS. I found it to be ultra easy to use compared to lead wool, and was able to fill the smallest of shell cavities without putting any on the frame.

[Chris333]

I have some of the Golfsmith powder, but no matter what you do with it there will be non-tungsten all around it and it will be less dense because of that. Density is measured in grams per square centimeter. So the same exact cm cube of lead would weight more than a cm cube of tungsten powered or putty. Powder and putty are convenient so feel free to use them. In N scale spaces are small and I like to get the max weight I can.



That is a tungsten alloy cube that I squeezed in there.

These are 90% pure tungsten (so it could be machined) and doubled the weight of this 44T   90% is 17.12g/cm3​


This is a 99.9% tungsten welding rod in a Berkshire:


Nn3 loco boiler full of 1/16" welding rods:


Another welding rod inside a Z scale mikado


Custom made tungsten weights in a 0-8-0:


And a piece of welding rod stuck in the nose:


Welding rods are easy because you can score a line around it an snap it off.

[Chris333]

Don't forget Bismuth. It can be melted down into a cavity with a soldering iron and it is 9.78g/cm3  again not the best, but easy.

[C855B]

...

This is a 99.9% tungsten welding rod in a Berkshire:


...

I'll bet you can't let that Berk sit parked on the track for any length of time without denting the rails, right?   

[timwatson]

Chris what's the diameter on this welding rod?

This is a 99.9% tungsten welding rod in a Berkshire:

[mmagliaro]

I have some of the Golfsmith powder, but no matter what you do with it there will be non-tungsten all around it and it will be less dense because of that. Density is measured in grams per square centimeter. So the same exact cm cube of lead would weight more than a cm cube of tungsten powered or putty. Powder and putty are convenient so feel free to use them. In N scale spaces are small and I like to get the max weight I can.

...

Exactly.   The Golfsmith powder is 99.9% pure, but that doesn't matter.  It's still powder and there will still be a lot of air
in any cavity that you fill with it, so your effective density is nowhere near that of a solid tungsten slug.  I even have this problem using bunches of little tungsten disks.  You simply cannot completely fill any void.  However, if I'm not going to the extent that Chris does, getting a machined piece, the disks do work better than trying to mold or crush a piece of lead to exactly fit, which isn't always easy.
Thin lead sheets are the only lead I use.  They work great in applications where I need something broad and thin (like lining the inside wall of a boiler shell) that I can customize and fiddle with until I can get the shell to fit.

[gary60s]

Whether I'm getting the same density as solid tungsten or not doesn't matter to me. I'm getting the desired weight in my shell cavities (with room to spare) without going to the trouble of cutting tungsten rod or lead sheets or machining anything. To me mixing tungsten powder with white glue is an ultra easy method of adding weight. The bottom line however, is to use what you are comfortable with.

[Sokramiketes]

Chris-  Can you elaborate on the score-and-snap of welding rods?  Are they that brittle that you can do this with hand tools?  Sounds easy!