Are There Any Alternative Brass Weight Sets for Lab Equipment?

[jfmcghee]

For the past 8 years I have used weight sets like the one below and they have been very versatile. But, just before Christmas, most of them were stolen. The person was nice enough to leave me some of the 100g and below masses.

I've finally gotten permission to get new sets and now I can't find the exact same ones. They were ancient so I guess they're out of production. I like the fact that they are brass (non-magnetic); have double-sided, sliding hooks so they can be attached to each other; come in a small case so I can fit them all on a small cart. I have one replacement set that is also brass but for whatever reason the masses are wider and don't fit my lab equipment nearly as well, and the case is nearly twice as big. I've seen some stainless steel sets that look identical but I'd prefer brass.

Before I get some less than ideal replacements, does anyone use sets that you are particularly fond of or that have a clever design? I have about 1200 dollars to get 8 sets.

 

[kuruman]

I cannot help you with a recommendation but I have one question. Are you sure you want to replace the stolen weights with brass instead of some other material? Yes, you prefer brass, but so do the thieves. They will probably sell them for the metal, that's why they picked the larger ones; they didn't leave you the smaller ones because they were nice but because their fence accepts scrap from a certain size up. The thieves may very well come back for the replacements or, if you store them under lock and key, they may disappear one by one during lab sessions. Unfortunately, I have seen it happen in the labs that I taught.

 

[jfmcghee]

I caught the thief. He was supposedly using them for fishing weights...

I have no real objection to another material other than I am Navy and love my brass. Honestly I'm probably going to go with the stainless ones. Just wanted to see if there was some secret, amazing set of weights out there.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I caught the thief. He was supposedly using them for fishing weights...

And now he sleeps with the fishes?

I looked at Thomas, and they have them for $161/set. Stainless or mixed (heavy ones steel, light one brass) are half that.

 

[jfmcghee]

And now he sleeps with the fishes?

I looked at Thomas, and they have them for $161/set. Stainless or mixed (heavy ones steel, light one brass) are half that.

Ha, actually he wasn't even fired. The cleaning contractor our district uses just moved him to a different school's outdoor crew. Apparently the way I caught him wasn't usable.

Thanks for checking the masses. It's funny how all these equipment companies seem to sell the exact same weight sets but under different names and prices. Those ones were the set that I had that just didn't seem to fit any of my existing lab equipment.

I'm thinking that these stainless ones will be the sets I get. They're 303 stainless so they should be ok. Not sure what I'm going to use all my never dull polish on now, it's just not the same without brass.