Lead is a wonderful material for counterweights. It is its combination of material characteristics that make it the favored counterweight. It is inherently dense for its volume, more than any other material. And therefore it is able to save on space for both storage and functioning as a ready weight attachment.
Lead is naturally anti-corrosive to weathering or wears, though do they get oxidized and corrode very slowly after a long time. Oxidation actually forms a film of protection over the lead that keeps it from further oxidizing.
One other quality of the lead is its malleability, enabling it to be formed in whatever shape suits the need. That’s why they’re strapped on as counterweights for scuba divers.
Custom lead counterweights are used in construction such as in cranes, transport such as in forklifts and commercial spaces such as in building elevators. They are even found in bridges that enable the structure to move as they allow boats to pass on rivers.
Lead counterweights are, in fact, keeping the leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over, a modern remedy to stopping the continued tilting due to land subsidence while still keeping its famed lean.
Counterweights stabilize a balancing system in any lifting mechanism where it acts to counter the weight force of the other side past the fulcrum, the tipping point. The positioning of the counterweight on one side of the balance allows the lift to become adaptable in raising a variety of weights and objects within its capacity.
