Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions on balance weight kits? Right now I'm using some home made c clamp type weights made of various size nuts that are drilled and tapped for set screws. They work very well, but they are time consuming to make. It would obviously be cheaper to buy them premade over having my machine shop to make them. Are there any good suppliers out there?

Bwze,
Check the reliabilityweb. The have a pretty good assortment. Also try a google or yahoo search for balance weights. I did this last week and found several hit's. We bought a kit a few years back but will have to check where it came from.

Bwze,
I bought my balance kit from CSI. It included a scale, and a variety of weights for two different thickness ranges. They use opposed setscrews. One is a standard setscrew, the other is pointed. After having one fly off, I would recommend making a small indentation first. I used these for trial weights only. Flying weights can be exciting!
After using these for a while, I found a better way. I drill a hole for the reference run. The program doesn't know the difference between grams/ounces/depth of hole-diameter. It assumes you are using what you select as the weight. I leave it at the grams setting and leave the weight as part of the calculation. It then tells me where to put the correction weight in grams, which I convert to depth of hole-diameter.
Example: If it tells me to place 8 grams @ 135°, I drill 8 holes equal to my first hole @ 135°
It works in my environment and the weight kit is not needed.

Thanks for the info Roy. I see that you're in Goose Creek. I'm up here in Columbia. Glad to see some fellow South Carolinians on this message board.

Good info Jon, I'll take a look a the CSI kit. Really haven't thought about drilling holes. I can think of some places where this would work wonderfully.

CD International has a wide range of balance weights for many different applications. You might check them out at

http://www.balancingweights.com/

Jon
Spintelligent Labs

I agree with Jon C.
I've bought weights a lot of different places over the years. CD International has the ones I think are the best. Good assortment. You can mix and match. SOme have single set screws, some double. Different thickness throat.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

Dave

bwze,
CD International is where we got our last kit from so I'd have to agree with Jon and Dave. They have a very good assortment, sizes and types, and if memory serves me right they were resonably priced.
Where abouts in Columbia. I used to live in South Congaree and have a sister that lives in Lugoff. Living in Bonneau now, about 3/4 mile from good ole lake Moultrie.
Kind regards,

My FastBal I doesn't actually mention the "units" of the weights, just the amount. You can just put in '1' as the amount (no matter what you are using) and the balance weight will be "relative". Same with the weight angle... if you use '0' as the weight angle, and it says put the weight at '45', that's +45 from where you put the trial weight. If you're using a TTL tach, then it's 45 degrees opposite rotation. If the result is '350', then move your weight -10 degrees. You can enter '0' as the weight location for every trial, and your results will be "relative to the current trial weight location."

Careful with drilling holes.... put them in the wrong place and you may be inviting crack propagation.

I use the CD International weights. There are 4 different types (plus the C clamps) and you'll need them all if you do much balancing on a variety of machines. Maybe not if you are at a single sight.

For balancing sheaves and such, I use a 2-part steel putty. Just slice of what you need and stick it to the inside of the rim, but don't mix it up. When you have the amount right, then mix it up and stick it in place. The stuff they sell at Wal-Mart in the automotive department works fine.

Hey Roy, I live in Sandy Run. Just 10 minutes south of Columbia. South Congaree, or "Hong Congaree" as a friend of mine use to call it, is right up the road. I know a couple of people there.

Anyway back to the subject, I checked out CD International's website. Am I correct in assuming that a c clamp type weight weighing in at only .04 ounces is going for $6.75. If so, then man am I in the wrong business. I could spend all day making those things and retire at a very young age. How about guys, wanna buy some weights from me? That seems a little outrageous to me. I mean 6 bucks for 4 hundredths of an ounce of steel. I think I may be better off just getting the guys in the machine shop to make these things out of nuts like they have in the past. A box of nuts is the same price. It ain't my money I'm spending, but I got stock in this company. Does anyone know of any other places to get the c clamps at a more reasonable price, or am I just being cheap?

Another convenient source for balance weights, accessories and balancing analyzers - and you can purchase securely on-line:
http://www.reliabilitydirect.com/balancingproducts/balancingindex.htm

I guess I'm cheap too. I've never purchased balancing weights in 20 years of doing this. We run our off in 12" blanks, and then cut to size. It does require a milling machine, but it works better for us.

Just talked with my machinist this morning. He says he'll be happy to make these weights. I'll just get him a few boxes of different sized stainless nuts and he'll mill a slot and drill and tap for set screws. Normally when I balance with these type of weights in the field, I'll have to go back to a shop to sand or grind off a few tenths to hundredths of an ounce to get what I need. Sometimes it requires a little extra material which is easily remedied by just adding a little filler rod. I just thought maybe their was an easier and more economical way of doing it. Anyway, alls well that ends well. Thanks for the suggestions guys.