Weights Get Lost in the Mail... but there's an upside

[rpcarpe]

I ordered some tungsten weights, they never arrived.
Dear Vendor... sent another batch. Free of charge. Never arrived.
Third batch going via Sign on Dotted Line... should be here any second now.

Here's the upside,
I called the USPS Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta Georgia. (404) 344-1625.
A real human answered on my third attempt, she listened patiently to my sad tale. Put me on hold. A guy answers next, listens to shortened tale of woe. Says he hasn't seen anything like what I describe as the missing tungsten cylinders. But.

He does have a bunch of fishing weights and other lead stuff sitting in the corner waiting for the scrap metal guy. Would I like some of those?

Sure! Send all you care to send.

I'll post pix of how much 'weight' the USPS feels like getting rid of. Meanwhile, you may find these USPS links interesting in case you lose track of some weights or anything else.

BTW, the FIRST question they ask is if there was a tracking number.

Cheers,

http://about.usps.com/doing-business/au ... elcome.htm" target="_blank
http://blog.stamps.com/2011/04/28/usps- ... ry-center/" target="_blank
http://www.auctionzip.com/GA-Auctioneers/1510.html" target="_blank

rp

[Darin McGrew]

Hmm... I wonder how much of the "fishing weights and other lead stuff" are really tungsten derby weights. The idea of buying tungsten weights for derby cars is pretty alien to most people. (Of course, the idea of building low-profile derby cars that require tungsten derby weights is also pretty alien to most people.)

[FatSebastian]

He does have a bunch of fishing weights and other lead stuff sitting in the corner waiting for the scrap metal guy.

Why? Are small, dense pieces of metal prone to come out of packaging when "processed" by the postal service? Although it seems to be finding a good home with rpcarpe, the thought that the USPS has "a bunch of ... stuff sitting in a corner" just waiting to be scrapped is a bit unsettling!

[rpcarpe]

Speaking from experience... metal, especially dense metal, tends to burst/cut/wear through conventional packing.

We'll see how much lead, steel, tungsten, zinc or whatever. The propane torch will quickly sort out the lead (low melting point), steel and zinc will float, the tungsten should sink. I use a small old cast iron pan for 'sorting'.

What I find most interesting is that the Atlanta center holds an auction of items on a regular basis.

[Derby Evolution]

I am the vendor in question and I am truely sorry that this has happened. I can not understand how this has happened twice to the same person in less then one month time. I have never had a package lost by USPS and to have it happen to the same person twice is really odd. Reed has been a great customer about this issue and has really been patient. I am hoping that this has not ruined him as a customer of mine, but I could certainly understand if it did. Again Reed I am truely sorry that this has taken place and I have shipped the third order to you.

[gpraceman]

I do a lot of shipping via USPS and fortunately do not have many problems. Though, after shipping hundreds of packages over the years, I have had a mail truck run over one, a machine eat one and a few CDs that never showed up at the customer. On the machine eating the package, it was a flat rate box that likely popped open on one of the sides. Some of the contents made it to the customer eventually, but the rest never surfaced. Since that incident, I have made sure to tape the sides of those type of boxes and haven't see a re-occurrence.

Steve, if you haven't already, look at how you are shipping those weights. There may be something going on with your packaging that could be leading to the problem of product not showing up at the customer.

1) Is there free space in the box that will allow the weights to shift around? Contents that can shift during handling can lead to tears in the packaging. The equipment that these shipping companies use can be rough on packages, not to mention the human handling that is involved.
2) Are you shipping via boxes or envelopes? With weights, I would definitely use a box. Envelopes can tear too easily. The flat rate boxes are a great option, but as I mentioned earlier, the sides need to be taped.
3) Are you using strong enough packaging tape? The cheap stuff can too easily loose adhesion or just break.
4) Are you using good quality shipping labels? I use good quality labels, but on some things (bubble envelopes) they don't stick as well. I add some packaging tape over the labels to make sure they will not come off (keeping the postage part uncovered).

[Derby Evolution]

Randy,

Thank you for your thoughts. I do almost everything in flat rate boxes, it is my prefered method. I am use very high quality tape and tape the side and top. I am also using the labels provided by USPS. I have shipping several hundered pounds of tungsten weights so far and this is the first problem that has occured. It is just so odd that it happened and happened twice to the same customer. I am thankful that Reed is a very understanding guy and continued to be patient with me during this.

Steve

[rpcarpe]

Steve's weights showed up yesterday... the density of tungsten amazed her.
We'll see what the mail recovery center sends...

[rpcarpe]

Okay, so I'm expecting some loose weights of some kind... got 30 lbs of diving weights.
Lead bars, paint 'em gold, and sell them for thousands, kind of bars. And they're all about 7" long.
The box from the Mail Recovery Center almost broke open.
No shipping charge!
Zero tungsten.

Where can I post photos for free so that I can paste them in here?

Cheers

tungsten 1/2 oz cylinders & lead pix...
see pix at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 299d5567c1

[FatSebastian]

got 30 lbs of diving weights.

About ~$30 worth of lead ingots. Neat! Should last a lifetime of PWD building... easily enough Pb for over one-hundred cars.

[rpcarpe]

Now,
Where do I find cast iron molds for 3/8 lead wire, tear-drop shapes, discs and the like??

[Derby Evolution]

When I was melting lead for car weights I had a mold made that I cast the lead into. I took a torch and used an old bread pan to melt the lead in. I then poured it into the mold. I then let it cool and made more. This made it easy to keep the weights the same size.

[rpcarpe]

What size mold and where made? I'd like to make 3/8" 'bullets' that are just shorter than the width of a car body.
Would you sell the mold if you're not using it anymore?

I currently use three old small cast iron pans to smelt recycled tire weights, removed the dross and steel, and then pour into 1 1/4" forstner bit made holes. Forstner bit holes let me make 1-4oz discs/buttons depending on depth of hole.

And - I actually weighed the lead bars, it's FORTY pounds. My Pb runneth over...

Have tried making 3/8" bullets using old scrap wood, but have to split the wood to remove the Pb. Also tried making a ceramic mold... not much good luck.

[68sportcoupe]

have you tried using some 3/8 threaded pipe pour it in when it gets hard it should slipp right out
maybe you could drill a hole in a block of wood to put the pipe in and then take it out.
i was thinking of doing this myselfe becouse i have plenty of led but i have 1/2 round and my son wants to build a thiner car this year.
have you ever thought about melting it right into the budy of the car.
im sure others have done this maybe they could share.

when i use to melt it for the race car we would use 2x3 square tubing with one side cut out and make bars to slide in the weight boxes on the race car.
good luck

[Derby Evolution]

I no longer have it. I gave it away a couple years ago, because I no longer have interest in lead weights.