The JJ has two weight tubes, one on either side of the backplate. I wanted to use those instead of having weight pouches hanging off my oxygen and diluent cylinders, so I decided to make a pair of tube weights.
I used a section of inexpensive shower curtain rod as the mold and filled each tube with just under 4 lbs of lead. I bought a small lead melting pot from Amazon and put together a stand using scrap 2x4s. I placed foil underneath the tubes to prevent direct contact between the hot lead and the potentially damp wood. The pour went well, with no splatters or pops.
Afterward, I finished the tubes with black electrical tape and added bungee at the top to make them easy to remove. One of the bungee loops has already broken after a few removals, so I'm going to try a piece of plastic zip tie next.
The weights fit inside the JJ's existing weight tubes. The JJ stand handle also stays in the fully up position with the weights installed, which was important to me.
The material cost was about $30. It's a simple project that lets me get rid of the weight pouches on my oxygen and diluent cylinders.
