Need Small Non-Ferrous Weights

Brass strips (or other shapes to suit) would be a likely choice. You might be able to get them from McMaster-Carr, or any local sheet metal supplier. (Large sheets can be easily sheared to any desired sizes.) Good luck with your project; it's a neat idea.

Thanks so much! Yes, I imagine brass would do well with the washing requirement. I'm familiar with McMaster-Carr and I live in a city so sourcing locally might not be too hard.

Another quick question. In looking at McMaster-Caarr they have a lot of great info about the other material properties but not weight. Do you have info on either standard weights or maybe relative weights?

The garments I'm making are sort of like weighted upper arm sleeves; I'd like to get about 1lb per sleeve. Does that sound do-able without going too think on the strips? The problem with most of these garments is that they are too obvious and people feel self-conscious wearing them.

Used carbide tooling inserts are what first come to mind for me.

They are dense inert and if you explain your needs for them to a good machine shop the odds are they would be free too!

Thanks! I love free. The triangular and diamond shaped ones would allow me to use a standard quilting pattern on an industrial sewing machine, and give the overall garment a relatively normal-looking flexibility.

I've never heard of these before so I am excited to get my hands on some.

I would mix shot and flexible potting compound, like RTV silicone. I imagine shot comes in various metals. Even steel as shot should not be magnetic. You could form it with cookie cutters or such. Sewn into patches or pads you could have different thicknesses and shapes.

"Even steel as shot should not be magnetic."

Did you mean "stainless steel" ?

Steel shot may be picked up by a magnet, but I don't think a bag of it can be magnetized, or will affect compasses, gps' etc.

Thanks, I'm kind of embarrassed that I didn't think of that, I have a sample of Sugru in my desk drawer. Doh!

That would be a great way to do a quick prototype because I could use jewelry molds with a release and get a hexagonal shape that would have even better flex than the triangular shapes. They should still have a regular enough pattern for the industrial sewing machines. Another option is to make short rods this way. It would save on sewing labor and still sit fairly flat. It's a harder mold to find, but I might be able to find a candy mold that would work.

For prototyping I sometimes go to a thrift store to autopsy something, like old soft weights in this case, and jury rig something up. This would be fairly easy.

Found this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zUpCZqFHySc

It seems these wrist and ankle weights may be adaptable....with a little velcro

http://www.walmart.com/cp/Ankle-Wrist-Body-Weights/1078289

Denim vests....

http://www.amazon.com/Velcro-Products-Industrial-Sticky-Back-positioning/dp/B004E2OJ84/ref=pd_sbs_op_6

Thanks. Most of the weights on the market use ferrous metal, for kids that's not too much of a problem but for adults it makes it difficult for them to use computers and gps, the metal causes interference and will sometimes cause gps to go haywire.

For a while I carried magnets with me and tested weights at stores. Everything that was made specifically for fitness contained ferrous metal. The product I'm working on is meant for everyday wear so that won't work for adult users.

The vests in the video contain sand which is fine for home sewers because they can make little pouches that are inserted into hidden vest pockets. To make these on a production level the extra sewing gets expensive, so I was looking for something that wouldn't require the pouches. Most of the current autism products are made by home sewers or very small companies that have to charge a premium. If I can simplify the design I can make these more accessible.

Well I use GPS all the time and have never had a problem with interference from ferrous metals, either in the car, my van or my Iphone....Since the majority of GPS use is in automobiles you would think if there was a problem, it would be well documented....In any case I would make the weighted pouch, whatever may be used as weight, removable...This would facilitate the use of a single set of weights for several different garments, and some wear and tear on the washer dryer....

Another alternative that might even be seen as stylish and create a new craze would be to use woven metal, or even chain mail from non ferrous wire.

I've seen chain mail vests and upper arm protection and with a little adventure it could be made to look very attractive and be comfortable to wear.

Of course, I'll claim copyright on the idea and share in any marketing advantages you get.

Industrial produced chain mail would have welded links, so no sharp ends and easily joined into other fabric.

Thanks JaE, I thought about chain mail too, but WOW that stuff is expensive. I think it's more reasonable in the UK, but here it's really spendy. I have looked at some other woven metals, but so far I've only found fairly high-end decorative stuff. I also thought about a cuff style bracelet but they bang around a bit.

I'm looking at the thick brass foils they have in McMaster-Carr, but I'm not sure there would be enough weight. I do like the idea of having the weight be integral to the fabric but haven't found anything with the right combo of weight and flexibility. There is some very cool fabric with a metal foil core that I may be able to use for another project.

It's so nice to see some interest in this, I wondered if it might be too low tech for this crowd ; )

Another alternative might be woven wire products. McNichols (www.mcnichols.com) has a variety of woven wire and expanded metal products in steel, brass, SS, etc. for sieves, screens, architectural use, etc. Lots of options for wire size and weave dimensions. From my catalog, I see weights per SF of screen from 0.09 to 10 pounds per SF and more if you go with large diameter wire.

I'd have thought pea shingle sewn into small bags might be good. sand would be a pain to dry, but pea shingle (available from builders merchants) could be ideal.
It may be called something else in the US, but it's just pebbles about the size of peas.

Problem with stamped or cut metal is the sharp corners and edges and cost.
Del

"Powdered Tungsten" in some sort of mouldable medium to make it the right size and shape. It is very heavy so it would not need all that much compared to brass and the like.

There are lots of options. If you want something fairly dense yet soft, you can buy or mix a tungsten putty.

Alternately you could mix glue or epoxy with tungsten powder to yield shapes to your liking.

Tungsten is >50% more dense than lead. Mixing with other substances will of course lead to a density somewhere in between tungsten and what it is being mixed with.

Tungsten powder is available many places online including ebay, and probably in globalspec.

If you don't need the pieces quite so dense (small) then you could use bismuth metal with the same putty, glue or epoxy options. Bismuth is more dense than iron, but not quite as dense as lead, it is a replacement for lead to avoid lead toxicity.

Bismuth is also readily available. Bismuth shot is available for reloading shotgun shells as a replacement for lead shot, so that might be a good option if you want shot instead of powder.

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There are many other non-ferromagnetic metals that could work. But I'm a little curious about
your concern....Computers and GPS function well around ferromagnetic materials....even inside a loose cage of ferromagnetic material, like an automobile. Is there more to your concern?

I'm confused. I have tested some weights in the car and had trouble with GPS. Of course it could have been something else entirely. There are some weight sleeves on Amazon and there were many complaints about the metal interfering with computers. I tried to find some to list here but it's a bit of a needle in a haystack. There were enough complaints reported that I assumed this is a real problem.

I know that a computer's internal magnets are encased, but I thought that the BIOS ROM could be affected. Is this an old wives tail? If so, it does give me more options. The complaints I read could have been from people with really old PCs.

GPS relies on a signal from earth orbit satellites. There should be no effect on those incoming signals.

Weight sleeves? I don't know.

It is near certain that the weights were not causing the interference .... unless it was a portable GPS unit AND the weights were covering and nearly enclosing the GPS unit...then some degradation is plausible.

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Iron doesn't have much affect on computers. Consider that many desks and rolling office chairs are steel, and computers work fine around those. There is probably much more steel in a rolling office chair than you would put in a garment.

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Even though iron doesn't have those effects, the perception that it does can be widespread. There are many things that many or most people believe that simply aren't true.

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Even without GPS or computer interference problems, it sounds like there are some good reasons for your redesign of weighted garments.

The use of bismuth or tungsten shot or powder sealed in silicone (as someone suggested) or even as loose shot in small packets, has the possibility of being far more comfortable and less noticeable to others. Those benefits may improve the 'wear-ability' and therefor the benefit.

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Best of luck. Let us know how this project progresses. Pictures would be great too.

Thanks to both of you. Good to know, it was a portable GPS, it could have been something else causing interference.

I do still like the idea of a smaller weight unit metal or not. The existing models are really clunky because they were meant for working out so they don't expect you to conceal them. The silicone might be nice because it would have some flex, the metal squares or bars can be a little clunky.

Re photos, I have a sewing shop working with me on this. He's looking at ways to reduce the amount of sewing / cost, and I'm looking at weight options. If I can mock up some weights easily I should be able to get him to make a prototype when he has time between production work.

There are plastic resin suppliers that have heavy metals already mix into them. Heavy metals like tungsten and bismuth. Mostly use for the cosmetics industry to give the product some weight so it feels more durable.

Check out one of these suppliers. The resin may be in small pellet form.

Metal beads might fit the need, stainless steel is expensive but copper might do, there are a couple of different sizes of copper beads here.There are painted steel beads but once the paint wears off the steel can rust.

Hi, Wow, this community is a wealth of information. I'm going to have to spend some time to look into these options. I really appreciate all the help, it shows just how good brainstorming can be.

I may not be able to get to it until the weekend because I've got some other deadlines, but the info won't go to waste.

Check out Scuba diving supply sources. Lead weights are available in pouches of different weights and also wrist & ankle weights that are lead shot in neoprene with quick connects that can be joined together.

Your sleeve or sheet could be easily constructed out of watertight fabric (plastic) with dual (outer and inner) layers which will allow for fill. Filling the "garment" with water or a heavy gel will give you the effect you desire without the metal conflict. This would also allow adjustability of weight per the individual for comfort. If you are dealing with severely impaired individuals you will need a heavier material and tamperproof fill port. The discussion about slightly ferrous or minimally ferrous materials will not work if you have someone near an MRI magnet. Shot will become a projectile or heat enough to cause injury. But agreed with previous statement about minimal impact on GPS/computers. Good luck - let us know how it turns out.

That is what I was thinking too. Only between the inner and outer layers, how about an absorbent material (a foam or something) so the water wouldn't slosh around. I'm thinking of something like the material used in racing car fuel tanks to stop fuel spills when ruptured (not sure what that is though).

I don't know that the magnetic properties would be a problem. What you should consider is that if iron or steel gets wet in the rain or washing machine, it's going to rust, and the rust stains will likely ruin the garment.

Good Answer! Drapery weights are even used in some shower curtains. I'd guess that ferrous alloys would be a real problem there, so that type should handle repeated washings & etc. One caveat: at least some weights contain lead: http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/drapery+weights.do gives an example. Contact the suppliers; they may offer alternatives. Putting "Drapery Weights" (including quotation marks) into Google returned LOTS of hits; some mentioned "lead free". Look at the cord or ribbon forms; I think that they might be especially useful. Example: http://draperydiy.com/drapery-weights/drapery-weights/cat_1660.html.

Google helpfully provided:

Searches related to "drapery weights"

drapery chain weights

drapery weights by the yard

how to use drapery weights

drapery cord weights

drapery weight tape

fishing weights

curtain weights

Good luck finding what you need!

My first thought was ceramic pie weights. I have daughters and a wife who sews and I have an interest in materials science. My first thought was ceramic because metals can deteriorate and discolor fabric. Also, a local artisan could make and bake any shape and size you want, glazed or unglazed and it would be easy to scale up production.

Ceramics won't wear out, or be magnetic, or electric, or corrode and can be made from cheap material without loss of quality in your application. It could be a great way to meet a nice local potter too.

An alternative is to make the weights into a design feature. I've drawn a typical stylised figure as an example. The figure shown below is nominally 40mm x 60mm, laser cut from 5mm brass sheet and tumble polished to take off the sharp edges. It weighs 60grams, so a frieze of 7-8 sewn around the outer sleeve would give you roughly 1lb.

The magnets inside the door gaskets on refrigerator doors are a flexible plastic material. You may be able to find something like that but not magnetic. They are fairly heavy for their size, and while they are magnetic, I have had torn gaskets with the magnet exposed and never seen any rust. If you would like a sample, give me an address on CR4 mail and I will send some. -- JHF

Hi City Girl, some suggestions some of them free! There is a type of weighted rope used by fishermen to weight gill-nets. If there are any fishing harbours near you the fishermen will have some pieces of it. Otherwise you could google < 'gill net gear suppliers' > or you could use 'pea gravel' or very coarse sand off the seashore. I live near the shore and can assure you that some of the pea gravel on the seashore is beautiful stuff, clean, smooth, colourful, and shiny. and of course you can get it in gravel pits. Glass disposal people also have huge amounts of glass pebbles of many colours and sizes. For a city girl the glass disposal people would probably be the easiest to find. Of course there are costal cities! Good hunting to you.

1]You can use silicon crystals which will be soft and also offer the necessary weight factor

2] Hylum plates / bars can be used but the hardness factor need to be taken care. You wrap it with soft sheets / fur fabrics.

3] You can use stones / sand / pebbles wrapped with air pellet sheets which are normally used for packing fragile materials.

4]Compressed Carbon rods wrapped with plastic sheets / direct fabric can also be worth trying.

5] Steel balls wrapped with air pellets.

6] Power metals encapsulated in water proof capsules.

7] Saline water tubes.

8] Sand / Pebble packed tubes with outer soft surface.

9] Nylon rods / bars

10] Sand filled rubber tubes / hoses

11] In general use hard core material with outer wrap like Velvette / fur fabrics, it is sure your problem will get solved.

It will be my pleasure to have your trials & feed back if possible.

The makers of vertical drapes use a quite heavy plastic material in the bottom of their products, that may work for you and could be readily adaptable from the existing drape products. Check with your local curtain maker for samples.

Hi City Girl, Google "barite" or "baryte" and consider crushed barite. You can find all the details there and suppliers. It is used in a mud for deep drilling and there may be a supplier near you. It is about twice as heavy as stone and is a powder or fine sand so it would need to be contained in a sock or tube. Have a look in Wiki and take it from there.