Another “busy work” project I was saving was the elevator counterweights. I really hesitated dealing with these, but as always it was a non-event. There isn’t really any consensus on how much weight is needed, but I’ll say right now it’s about four pounds of lead. In this and the next two entries I’ll describe the process.
I took a one pound weight and hung it 7.5 inches aft of the elevator spar centerline per Russ Erb. I then took a bunch of scrap lead, clamped a plate on the counterweight end of the elevator and just added it until it balanced out. I took the whole schmeer to the scale and weighed it. It came to four pounds five ounces. I knew I would need less than that since the further out on the tip I place the weight, the less I’d need. The pour would fill in all the gaps. Also, I used pure lead. Wheel weights typically have some tin mixed in to make the lead harder, but use what you got.
