# Home brew wheel weights for JD



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

I intened tomake my own rear wheel weights for my GX 335 just like I made them for my 317. However I have had problems finding a piece of roundstock 6 to 8 inches i diam and 12 inches long. I had made them before by cutting a slab of roundstock and welding it to a round plate which was bolted to the wheel. It looked just like a OEM wheel weight. I figured out how much they would weigh if I cast them from lead, but lead is kid of soft. SO next was cast them in cast iron. I can cast cast iron in my furnace I have, but on figuring how much it would take to fill a mold I also came up on the short end of enough capacity for what I have to work with. I plan on keeping them in the 50# per wheel range.

Then it hit me, I have steel plate, and I have a piece of 6" diam steel pipe. So I cut off and trimmed the ends on 2 pieces of steel pipe after figuring how much lead weighs per cubic inch and how many cubic inches I needed in the pipe and the weight of the metal, I got the weights to figure out at 49.21 pounds (not counting the welds I made mg: ) each when finished. I made the disks that bolt to the wheel, and made standoffs for it, and welded the piece of steel pipe to the disk. I welded the pipe on the inside so no visible welds are seen outside. So tomorrow I intend to melt some lead, and fill up the pipe. I figure I have enough of lead as last count I had close to 600#'s of it left after I filled in the channels on my Ford 1720 Bumper with it. So if its not raining tomorrow, I hope to pour these weights. 

Sure beats paying what JD wants, besides since I found Krylon JD Yellow paint at Wally world for a fraction of what JD gets, no one will ever know the difference.

I guess it sounds like I am down on JD and prices when you look at a alot of my posts, but its dealers like I have locally that set me off and leave a bad taste in my mouth.


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## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

See I got my wheel weights the easy way. I bought a $200 446 non running parts tractor that had wheel weights, a plow blade, and a 48"mower deck. Kept those, then sold the rest of the tractor for the same $200.


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## cousy51 (Sep 16, 2003)

Chipmaker, I did something very similar to what you did. I borrowed a cast ladel from a friend and melted lead on an open fire pit. Then I poured it into a 10" fry pan (my wife hates to cook) and let it cool. I made four of those in an afternoon. After a day of cooling, I mated up two halves together and drilled holes through them that corresponded to the wheel hole pattern and mounted them. At approximately 1.5" thick and 10 " diameter per weight, I figure I have over 50 pounds per wheel. The only cost was the bolts to mount the weights to the wheels.


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## tisenberg (Sep 20, 2003)

Go to a metal works shop near you. You can get them to give you what you need for cheap. They can even prep, cut or assemble something probably cheap too.


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