Where to buy lead shot in SoCal for B&W stands?

[tboooe]

Hi, does anyone know where I can buy some lead shot to fill up my B&W speaker stands with? I am not the hunter or gun type so I have no idea. I tried Big 5 but to no avail.

By the way, I live in SoCal so I would appreciate local suggestions.

[Andrew Pratt]

IMO I wouldn't use lead shot since its so toxic. Yes the chances are slim that the pellets could get loose and be injested by a pet or child but why risk it. Sand or kitty litter in plastic bags are just as suitable and ecologically safe.

[tboooe]

Andrew, thank you. Do you think sand will add enough weight to my 805S stands so my kids wont push them over? Would hate to put up a kid for adoption

[weijst]

I filled my FS-700 stands with aquarium sand. They became darn heavy! Heavy enough to withstand a running toddler / tiny tod / child (boy, you English sure have funny ways to describe a small child ) attacking the stand from the right angle? No, but to be honoust (and knowing my nephew), I don't think leadshot will be any different in this matter...

[greggz]

I filled my FS-700 stands with aquarium sand. They became darn heavy!... I don't think leadshot will be any different in this matter...

There's darn heavy and then there is DAMN heavy. 1 cubic foot of aquarium sand weighs about 100 pounds. 1 cubic foot of lead shot weighs about 700 pounds. 8O

[jlee]

There's darn heavy and then there is DAMN heavy. 1 cubic foot of aquarium sand weighs about 100 pounds. 1 cubic foot of lead shot weighs about 700 pounds. 8O

I agree...

Lead shot is the way to go. The risk of it falling out and poisoning your pet or kid is next to nil.

Furthermore, consider the following:
1. Sand that is not PERFECTLY dry, can cause corrosion on the inside.
2. Sand is MESSY!!!
3. If you put the sand in bags to help alleviate the mess, it's still not going to jam pack the stand as nicely as tiny lead balls.
4. Once again, 7:1 ratio for weight... lead is my filler of choice for my amp stands .

[tboooe]

Thanks everyone...so where do I get lead shot from? Do I need to go to gun shop? Is it expensive? How much per pound? Also, why do some people use aquarium sand instead of playground sand? Aquarium sand costs almost $1/lb while playground sand costs $4/50 lb.

[greggz]

I had to go to 3 different gun shops all over town in order to get the 7 bags I needed. I paid on average $20 per bag. You can order it over the internet, but the shipping would exceed the cost of the product.

Start calling gun shops and ask if they stock "Lawrence Brand Chilled Lead Shot". Shot comes in different sizes. The larger the number (i.e. #9 shot) the smaller the pellet. The most common sizes in stock seemed to be #7 1/2, #8, and #9. The smaller the pellet the tighter it will pack. I really didn’t have a choice. I had to buy what ever they had so I have a mixture of all 3 sizes in my stands.

One other option you can try and find is "Remington Hevi-shot". It’s not lead but a tungsten-nickel-iron alloy. Its actually 10% denser than lead. Unfortunately I could only find it already in the shells and not sold by the bag. I have no idea what it would cost if you were able to find it.

[greggz]

Oh, I forgot to mention, lead shot is sold in 25 pound bags regardless of pellet size.

[KvHagedorn]

If you're worried about the toxicity of lead shot, you could always use gold.

[tboooe]

Thanks for the info Gregg. How much did you pay per bag?

[greggz]

$13 was the cheapest and $25 was the highest. It averaged out to about $20 per bag.

[purplepeople]

Might be too late, but how about stainless steel ball bearings? I'll bet there is a surplus store that has something like this. Not quite as cheap or heavy but not toxic. Also, I don't know how big the stands are, but maybe they will fit free weights (from the gym machines). Or other similar types of surplus steel.

ensen.

[jlee]

I paid $25 CDN per bag... which is about $20 US. I got them in 7.5 to 8.0... smaller is better like Greg said... will pack better which means you can make it slightly heavier. Once I discovered that 8.0 was available, I special ordered it and got all 8.0 from that point on. 9.0 wasn't available where I live.

Oh and about the 7:1 ratio, it's probably more like 5 to 1 after you take into consideration the empty space left by shot being relatively large compared to sand. Sand basically packs with no empty space.

[tboooe]

man, for as many guns as we have out here, it is impossible to find lead shot! every place I called was out and was having trouble getting more inventory.

looks like i will just stick with sand and hope that my daughter doesnt tip it over.

[Miroku]

Put the sand in a casserole dish and bake it for about an hour. It'll remove the moisture from it, so you dont get rust/corrosion inside your speaker stands.

[tboooe]

miroku, good idea...i will have to get permission from the wife before I potentially ruin another one of her baking items...

[tboooe]

I just had a thought...how many of you fill your stands up all the way with sand or lead? The main reason why I want to do this is to prevent my daughter from pushing over the speakers. If you fill them up all the way to the top then the center of gravity will be somewhere neare the middle of the stand, factor in the weight of the speaker on top and the cetner of gravity will be shifted upward, making the whole system top heavy which is easier to push over. So I was thinking about only filling my stands half way. This will keep the center of gravity lower and make it more difficult to topple.

[caleb]

For what it's worth, be patient and try to sind lead shot - it has much more density than sand.

I have my 805 stands filled with lead shot and then very fine sand so there is no air left in there.

[Mark_C.]

Has anyone just tried loose gravel that you can buy at the local hardware? I'm talking about bagged gravel (smooth edges) used to fill cracks in cement. That's what I use. It's cheap and there's no moisture issue. Forget the lead shot. A waste of money IMO.

[JetFlyGuy]

I was able to locate lead shot at several dive shops in s. florida, but the prices were between 2-3/lb. I finally found some 7.5 sized 25 lb bags for $30 USD at Outdoor World in Ft. Lauderdale.

[aphexist]

If you're worried about the toxicity of lead shot, you could always use gold.

I found that gold colored the sound. I switched to depleted uranium and it was as if several veils were lifted from the speakers. The bass became tighter and the soundstage snapped into place.

[caleb]

I found that gold colored the sound. I switched to depleted uranium and it was as if several veils were lifted from the speakers. The bass became tighter and the soundstage snapped into place.

Not to mention that your stands glowed in the dark! ! ! !