Tungsten

General topics of interest to racers and race coordinators alike.
kokoruz
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Tungsten

Post by kokoruz »

Can anyone recommend a web merchant to buy tungsten weight from for an economical price. It seems to be a pretty expensive option so I thought I'd ask if anyone has any favorite resources. My son and I have always used lead wire but as this is his last year we thought we would build a low profile car and focus on speed.

Thanks Everyone,

K.
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FatSebastian
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Re: Tungsten

Post by FatSebastian »

:welcome: kokoruz
kokoruz wrote:Can anyone recommend a web merchant to buy tungsten weight from for an economical price.
This is an interesting question, as I also would be curious to know what others recommend. When we started using tungsten, we scoured the Internet for the best price; the vendor that we considered the cheapest source for tungsten at that time is no longer in business. Our impression has since been that prices tend to be fairly consistent across the various vendors we've shopped recently.

I'll offer that what may look like a really good vendor price may be less so once shipping charges are added. Several vendors offer free shipping on orders larger than, say, $75; when we have needed tungsten recently it was usually acquired as part of a larger order that includes items other than tungsten (so a rock-bottom price on the tungsten has not always been our primary motivator for the purchase).

FWIW, some brick & mortar hobby shops (like Hobby Lobby) offer 40%-off coupons that apply to their derby supplies. To the best of my knowledge this is the least-expensive retail way to acquire tungsten.

For what kind (shape) tungsten are you shopping? :?:
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psycaz
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Re: Tungsten

Post by psycaz »

DerbyEvolution has great prices on his tungsten. Just add dot com and you will get there.
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MaxV
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Re: Tungsten

Post by MaxV »

The wholesale price of tungsten increased significantly this year. I have tried to hold the line on raising prices, and just cut the profit margin. So, in reality vendors are not making a lot on tungsten. I try to keep a very wide selection of tungsten products, and keep reasonable prices.
rpcarpe
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Re: Tungsten

Post by rpcarpe »

I've used Derby Evolution as well as some others. PM me if you'd like more information.
I did notice a slight increase across the board for this year.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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Derby Evolution
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Re: Tungsten

Post by Derby Evolution »

As other vendors have said the price of Tungsten has increased in the past year. As a vendor I have tried hard to keep the cost down, but at the first of the year I will have to increase my price. I have not wanted to do this either and have held my price since beginning in the business. It has come to a point that I just have to increase my price as I will be losing money if I do not. Those that are wanting to get tungsten as current pricing should order before Dec 31st.
kokoruz
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Re: Tungsten

Post by kokoruz »

I ordered some stuff from Derby Evolution and had a minor issue. I have to say their customer service was top notch, they addressed my issue and I will gladly use them again for future derby purchases. Thanks!
rpcarpe
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Re: Tungsten

Post by rpcarpe »

Same Here!
Tungsten isn't cheap, and I let the build teams know how much I pay and they either reimburse me or switch to 4oz out of my 40lbs of lead.
But that's another story.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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Noskills
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Re: Tungsten

Post by Noskills »

Speaking of Tungsten,
It is only required when ones car has minimal wood? With a basic wedge can I still use lead strategically placed to have a COG about an inch from the rear axel?
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drathbun
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Re: Tungsten

Post by drathbun »

Tungsten is more dense than lead, allowing you to concentrate more weight in a specific area. From what I understand, a larger amount of lead can make a car slightly slower through the transition from the slope to the flat area. Think about an ice skater. With their arms pulled in, they spin faster. With arms extended out, they spin slower. With lead the weight is spread out more, and the rotation (spin) of the car through the transition from slope to flat could be impacted.

Or maybe not, I'm sure one of the more experienced folks here will chime in if I am wrong. :)
mebetree
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Re: Tungsten

Post by mebetree »

IMO the big advantage to tungsten is that if you like hiding your weights internally, you can get away with a much slimmer vehicle.
rpcarpe
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Re: Tungsten

Post by rpcarpe »

drathbun & mebetree both got it right.
A nice tight COM, and increased flexibility in design.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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FatSebastian
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Re: Tungsten

Post by FatSebastian »

Repeating something expressed here, optimizing mass MOI appears to be a secondary or tertiary design consideration that no one should lose sleep over, in light of experiments conducted by MaxV. IMO, the primary advantage of tungsten over lead is that it allows better control of the CoM location. It also offers a lower cross-sectional area which reduces air drag and a lower CoM which promotes stability (but these are lesser effects relative to CoM location).
resullivan
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Re: Tungsten

Post by resullivan »

Last year at our district race which had over 200 cars there was a car in the top 5 (may have been top 3 can't remember) that used lead. It looked like they cut out the bottom of the car and poured molton lead into it. Not sure if that is what they did, but you could tell the lead was melted down and then added to the car. Just saying it can be done with lead.
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Stan Pope
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Re: Tungsten

Post by Stan Pope »

resullivan wrote:Last year at our district race which had over 200 cars there was a car in the top 5 (may have been top 3 can't remember) that used lead. It looked like they cut out the bottom of the car and poured molton lead into it. Not sure if that is what they did, but you could tell the lead was melted down and then added to the car. Just saying it can be done with lead.
Winning district races with lead has been done frequently up here in Illinois away from the sons of all those "rocket scientists"! :)
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