Looking to make my own fishing weights

[plinker]

I have gone all over Calgary looking for anything to do with smelting pots, ladles, jigs. Nothing!!! Everyone says oh Russells always had that stuff. Hmmm whats wrong with this picture! :mad3: If anyone knows where I can get, or has for sale a melting pot and the jigs for weights please tell me or pm me. I went to Wholesale, Bass Pro and The Fishing Hole today. Also tried some of the hobby stores.

[Goater]

Bass pro-- Might have to order ? Pgs 328,329 Master Catalog 2010 (Do-it Molds)
. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResults?hvarSearchString=lead+mold&searchOption=products&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO&scSearched=true&x=0&y=0
. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_44523_100011003_100000000_100011000?cmCat= CROSSSELL_SEARCH
. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResults?hvarSearchString=do-it+molds&searchOption=products&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&CMID=TOP_SEARCH_GO&scSearched=true&x=12&y=9

[madatter]

I make my own weights,tho just basic ones for the bottom of a pickerel rig mostly.
I use bottle caps,bendable heavy wire,an old steel pot,and leftover lead shot from when I reloaded shotgun shells.
Bend the wire into a loop(almost figure eightish) and lay it into bottle cap.
Melt the lead(I use an old camping stove in case I make a mess).
Pour it into cap,making sure a loop of wire is exposed to connect to line.
Thats it....nothing fancy but they seem to be about perfect for pickerel riggin on the SSR.

[plinker]

madatter what are you using to melt the lead? An old cast frying pan? I like the idea you have.

Goater I went to Bass Pro in Calgary and got blank stares downstairs and upstairs even though it is in their catalogue. I think I would have to order it from the U.S. warehouse.

[ishootbambi]

I make my own weights,tho just basic ones for the bottom of a pickerel rig mostly.
I use bottle caps,bendable heavy wire,an old steel pot,and leftover lead shot from when I reloaded shotgun shells.
Bend the wire into a loop(almost figure eightish) and lay it into bottle cap.
Melt the lead(I use an old camping stove in case I make a mess).
Pour it into cap,making sure a loop of wire is exposed to connect to line.
Thats it....nothing fancy but they seem to be about perfect for pickerel riggin on the SSR.

lead wheel weights from the tire shops works pretty good too....and if you ask nice at the right shops they give em to ya free. i have some moulds if ya want some bigger sizes for the river.

[hillbillyreefer]

check out ebay. Last time is was looking for stuff like that it was plentiful.

[madatter]

madatter what are you using to melt the lead? An old cast frying pan? I like the idea you have.

Goater I went to Bass Pro in Calgary and got blank stares downstairs and upstairs even though it is in their catalogue. I think I would have to order it from the U.S. warehouse.

I am using an old camping pot,made of some very heavy metal(not cast iron).
Any old pot of frying pan should do as lead melts at 600F....
Its the pouring of the lead that is a pain....

[big zeke]

I cast a few dowrigger balls a few years ago from unused lead shot, handling 20 ish lbs of lead and sucessfully pouring it into a mold is not that easy but stuff like jig heads should not be too bad. I ended up using a small tiger torch for heat as I didn't think a stove could get hot enough...the tiger torch gets plenty hot. If you had the burner from one of those turkey fryers (they are sold everywhere) you certainly have enuugh BTUs and the stand is a safe place to keep your pot or skillet while melting the lead.

Make sure you are doing this in a ventilated area, this stuff is lead and exposure is very hazardous. You might want to Google the recommended protective equipment (other than the obvious burn protection stuff). I seem to recall something called "Mad Hatters Disease" attributed to lead exposure.

Do you really think you are going to cast enough heads to be cheaper off then just buying them?

Zeke.

[jeprli]

Dude it will pay off for him in the first year for sure, have you seen the prices of lead weights? It is not cheap like it used to be!

To melt lead, all you need is some stainless steel pot with a shaped pouring spout, they're light and easy to work with, no need to use cast iron skillets and what not, it does work but it takes much longer to heat up and is not so easy to handle. All I use is an old soup ladle, it takes about 4oz to fill her up, and over propane torch it melts lead like ice.

Make a cast of your favorite weight in plaster and use that as mold, its just a bottom weight, no need to spend $40 for CNC'd aluminum.

Do smaller batches of lead at first, till you figure out what you're doing, just be safe!


P.S. Jig hook(something with a quality hook) at a store average from $4.50(3) to $7(8-10). Quality jig hooks, like Eagle Claw635 are very cheap and waaaaaaaaaaaay superior to those cheap wire hooks they use in commercial jig making. 100 hooks comes out to $7-$9, lead is pretty much free if you know where to look, and a mold is anywhere from $30-$40.

Do the math and tell me if it is not worth it??? With first 100 jig heads it will pay itself off, and more you make cheaper it is for you.

WSS has cheap eagle claw 630 hooks(best by test ;) ),

[floppychicken]

Casting stuff is kinda' fun... Check out a couple of these links...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxrLri0R5_g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JsbZI7t_eU&feature=related

Just don't have and Molten metal anywhere near water or anything too wet. The water will immediately expand up to 30 times and spray that metal at you with some serious force....

Face Shield, Breathing apparatus, Gloves, etc... Not worth losing an eye over a few sinkers!

Cheers,

/J...

[209x50]

i have a small melting pot and 8 or more molds for weights and different jigs if anyone is interested I'd sell them. I don't do as much as I used to.

[aulrich]

I have seen the molds at wholesale, look for the pots and ladels in the reloading stuff.

Lead is not to be trifled with personally I would only do it outside under cover. No kids around the fumes are toxic let alone the burning risk.

[BlueNorther]

WSS Calgary has the Lyman melting pots, from 4# up to 20# capacity. I just bought the Lyman kit for casting bullets on Saturday.

As stated by others, you can get by easily using cast iron or stainless pot for melting. It's not advised to use aluminum or anything with teflon.