Weight by Measure: The Simplest Way to Calculate Your Rigging Ballast
If you’ve ever been on a job site two hours before doors, you know the vibe. The LED wall is up, the truss looks solid, and then the site manager or the structural engineer walks over with a clipboard.
"How much weight do you have on those bases?" they ask.
In the old days, you’d point at a pile of crusty sandbags and say, "Uh, about twenty-five bags? They’re supposed to be 50 lbs each, but half of them are leaking sand and the other half got wet in the rain last week, so… maybe 1,000 lbs?"
That answer doesn't fly anymore. Not with today's safety standards, and definitely not with the high-stakes LED ground support systems we're running.
At Pig Iron, we decided there had to be a better way. We call it Weight by Measure. It’s the simplest way to calculate your rigging ballast without a scale, without a calculator, and without the "guesstimate" headache.
The Pig Iron Math
When Randy and Sonny were hashing out the design for our steel ballast plates, they weren't just thinking about how heavy they could make them. They were thinking about how a rigger actually works on-site.
Most people hate math. Especially on a load-in. So we made it simple with a formula you can actually use in the field:
- 40 lbs per inch
- 480 lbs per foot
That’s it. That’s the whole system.
If you have a stack of Pig Iron plates and want to know exactly how much weight is on that base, you don’t need to guess and you don’t need to count every plate. Just grab a tape measure.
- 6 inches of plates? That’s 240 lbs.
- 12 inches of plates? That’s 480 lbs.
- 2 feet of plates? That’s 960 lbs.
No more guessing—just measuring.
Modern venues are asking for more paperwork and more proof, and for good reason. Engineer-stamped drawings are becoming the standard because safety has to be documented, not assumed. The nice thing about our Weight by Measure system is that it makes compliance easy. If the drawing calls for a certain amount of ballast, your crew can measure the stack and confirm it on the spot. Simple, clear, and easy for everyone to verify.
Instead of hoping a pile of old sandbags still weighs what it’s supposed to weigh, you can show the exact ballast by measurement. That makes life easier for riggers, production managers, and engineers alike.
Why This is a Game Changer for Safety
In the live events industry, "close enough" isn't good enough. Structural engineers (PEs) and safety inspectors want hard data. They want to know that the wind load calculations they did on paper are actually being met by the physical ballast on the floor.
When you use the "Weight by Measure" method, you can walk an inspector over to any base, put a tape measure against the stack, and prove the weight in three seconds.
No More "Leakage" Math
Sandbags are notorious for losing weight over time. A 50 lb bag that has been dragged across fifty different parking lots usually weighs about 38 lbs of sand and 2 lbs of hope. Steel doesn't leak. If it was 40 lbs an inch when it left our shop, it’s 40 lbs an inch when it hits your show floor.
Engineering Compliance
By using a consistent, measurable product, you make the engineer's life easier. When they write the rigging plan, they can specify "18 inches of Pig Iron ballast" rather than a vague "720 lbs of counterweight." It creates a standard that is easy to follow and even easier to verify.
More Weight, Less Space
One of our mantras here at Pig Iron is "More Weight, Less Space."
If you’ve ever tried to fit enough sandbags to support a 30-foot tall LED wall onto a truck, you know the struggle. They are bulky, they shift during transport, and they take up a massive amount of "real estate" on the stage floor.
Our steel plates are dense. Because we use high-quality steel, we can pack a massive amount of weight into a tiny footprint. This has a few huge benefits:
- Truck Pack Efficiency: You can fit more weight in a smaller corner of the trailer.
- Clean Aesthetics: Let’s be honest, sandbags look amateur. A neat, black stack of steel plates looks professional and stays out of the way of the cameras.
- The "Ladder" Problem: Modern LED ground support systems often use ladder-style supports. Trying to stack sandbags around those legs is like playing a high-stakes game of Tetris. Our plates are designed to fit into and around these structures perfectly.
Designed for the Way You Work
We didn't just make these plates heavy; we made them functional. Each Pig Iron plate features:
- Integrated Grab Handles: Because nobody wants to pinch their fingers on 40 lbs of steel.
- Precision Notches: To allow for quick attachment and removal from truss systems.
- Thumb Notches on the top: Allow for secure attachment to the truss or pipe with ratchet straps along the top and around the pipe or truss
Whether you are a rigging company looking to standardize your inventory or a live event producer tired of seeing messy stage floors, the "Weight by Measure" system is the way forward.
How to Implement "Weight by Measure" on Your Next Show
If you’re ready to ditch the sandbags and the guesswork, here’s how to get started:
- Check Your Specs: Determine the total ballast required for your structure (consult your engineer or the LED manufacturer’s ballast calculator).
- Divide by 40: Take your total required weight per base and divide by 40 to see how many inches of Pig Iron you need. (e.g., 800 lbs / 40 = 20 inches).
- Measure and Stack: Stack your plates until you hit that measurement.
- Verify: Snap a photo of the tape measure against the stack. Send it to the PM. Show's over, you're safe.
The Bottom Line
At Pig Iron LLC, we’re riggers and manufacturers first. We know that when you're on a load-in, you need tools that work as hard as you do. The "Weight by Measure" concept isn't just a marketing slogan, it's a practical solution to a real-world rigging problem.
Stop guessing. Start measuring. Ditch the sandbags.
Ready to clean up your ballast game?
If you're a rigger looking for a faster, cleaner, more reliable way to hit your numbers, it’s time to switch to Pig Iron.
Want to upgrade your rigging kit?
[Check out our full line of Pig Iron Steel Ballast Plates here.] (Note: Reach out to Randy or Sonny for custom quotes on bulk orders).
FAQ: Rigging Ballast and "Weight by Measure"
Q: Do these plates fit standard 12-inch truss?
A: Yes, our plates are designed to integrate seamlessly with standard aluminum truss and most proprietary LED ground support systems.
Q: Are they rated for outdoor use?
A: Absolutely. While outdoor rigging requires specific engineering for wind loads, our steel plates are the preferred choice for outdoor events because they don't shift or degrade like sandbags.
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