After we built the elevator, our next job was to add two lead weights to be hung on the left and right end ribs. Before attaching the weights, we reinforced the ribs so they would not twist. We then used several rivet sets to get an idea how much weight we needed. And finally used bottles of water for balancing which were easy to weigh with an electronic scale. We used those weights to tell us how heavy the permanent lead weights had to be. To make the lead weight, we melted lead with a MAPP gas torch and poured it into a mould sent to us by another Sportsman builder, Wayne Milbauer of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. In a couple of photos you can see it was not easy to get the lead out of the mould! We achieved final balance by trimming the lead carefully.
We used a pair of 20P nails driven into wood blocks to form the equivalent of a knife edge on which to initially balance the elevator. In order to have an idea of how much weight we needed, we used a pair of jugs with water in them. Then we poured two lead weights using Wayne Milbauer's steel molds. Unfortunately, years later, we found one of the weights had developed what appeared to be a good bit of corrosion dimples in the lead. So, we had to rebalance the elevator with a repoured and trimmed weight.