Big Cliff Posted March 9, 2009 Report Posted March 9, 2009 A couple of years ago I bought a mold for casting jigs and some hooks, they are still sitting in my basement un opened. I was going to try to use wheel weights to melt down and cast my jigs and managed to get about 150-200 lbs of wheel weights but they are still sitting in my garage and from the sound of it I'm not going to have time to get into making any jigs so I am thinking of just selling the stuff. Only thing is, I'm not sure if wheel weights are any good for making jigs or should I just take them to the scrap yard and see what I'll get for them there?
OhioFisherman Posted March 9, 2009 Report Posted March 9, 2009 Cliff I have been using wheel weights for as long as I have been making some of my own jigs, like 40 years? They are a bit messier than pure lead but I always got them for free so they worked for me. Make sure the are dry before you drop them in the pot to reduce splatter and the iron mostly floats to the top with the other junk or you can get it out with a pair of needle nosed pliers. I ran all mine through the pot first and cleaned the junk out and took a tie rod end and used it for a mold to cast ingots.
Bernie Posted March 9, 2009 Report Posted March 9, 2009 I use wheel weights Cliff. But I have this never ending supply of them. The only thing you may get is a sore back carrying them to the scrap yard.
ecmilley Posted March 9, 2009 Report Posted March 9, 2009 dirty lead isn't worth much cliff, but wheel weights work fine for jigs, just have to skim the impurities off the top of the pot. may as well keep em cause lead wheel weights are going to be in short supply soon, there moving towards steel weights now do to enviromental concerns
bigugli Posted March 9, 2009 Report Posted March 9, 2009 Wheel weights are just fine Cliff. A lot better than some of the casing lead I've used. At least it does not flame up.
FishHeadRic Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Like everyone said, they will work just fine as long as you don't mind scraping all the slag of the top when you get them boiled down. Just PLEASE DO THIS IN A VERY WELL VENTELATED AREA! Even if you do it outside get a fan going and use a proper mask! Lead poisioning is not something you want to go through. Lead, when heated lets off a lot of fumes and can very easily be inhaled. Always use gloves and wash your hands after casting anything in lead. Also pleas be careful with hot lead. Keep the kids and pets away! FHR
Greencoachdog Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Some folks won't use anything else but wheel weights for pouring jigs! They're a harder lead than pure lead. I wish I lived closer, I'd buy them from you!... a lot of places get 25 cents a pound for them.
Sinker Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 I would also love to have that much lead lying around! I know most of my buds use wheel weights for making jigs too. You just have to take the crap off the top of the pot. If you wanted to make some decoy weights, I'd be more than happy to buy them off you Sinker
Rage Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 One of the best ways to clean the lead is to flux it with Bees Wax...it dont take much....a small piece the size of a pea....just drop it into the pot and stir well...it may cause a few fumes but it will bring stuff to the top of the lead you wont believe. I use the Lee Electric Lead Melters in my sinker operation and if i am going to use wheel weight's as my lead i first melt them down on the side burner of my barby outside in the summer and make small ingots that will fit into my melter, this melting is done in a 6 inch cast iron fry pan and am using a small muffin pan for the ingots...you can still flux the lead even in this type of pot. I do most of my sinker pouring in the winter indoors....have a range hood mounted to the basement wall and piping to vent it outside vie a window fitted with a plywood partition for the pipe to go through. The saying is (if your exhaust system will draw away the smoke from a lited match then you are ok) and mine is more than ample. Safety is NO1, wear a long sleeve shirt, heavy leather gloves , i also use a particle mask, plus a full face mask just in case i get a lead pot explosion....this is caused by even the smallest particle of water hitting the molten lead. Cliff if you want i would be only to willing to pour jigs for you at no cost if you can get the mold down to me in Peterborough....dont need the wheel weights you have can get plenty here in town. As far as the fluxing goes i believe that there are other things that can be used.....parafin wax...not sure of....i bought my bees wax at a Craft Store it came in sheets about 1/8 thick by 12x15 something like that...just roll it into little balls and drop it into the molten lead. Cheers for now and tighlines rodpody....
OhioFisherman Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 Rodpody is right about the bee`s wax, I used it on mine also. I always pour out in the barn with the doors and windows open. Also use an electric bottom pour pot since all I pour is jigs and the molds all fit under it well. The clothes and gloves he mentioned are also a good plan, I let the mold I am planning on using sit on the pot while the pot is heating, first few pours in a cold mold can be irregular until it heats up. Tube jig heads are one of the easiest pours, no painting or such involved just pour and trim. I always poured all I needed or wanted first before worrying about about finishing them. Most expensive part of the deal for me was the electric pot, also a lees, and hooks. I don`t mess with average hooks, Gammies, Mustad , Owner, VMC. With care you can open the mold up to accept a larger size hook than normal, since I am mostly targeting bigger fish, bass, ect. a 1/16 ounce jig with a size 6 hook doesn`t do me much good, I like a 1/0 minimum. For some of the crappie tubes I use I stick in a 1.
Big Cliff Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks for all the replies and information! Sinker, how heavy would your decoy weights have to be and how many of them would you need? Rodpody: That is a very kind offer, thank you! I do have plenty of jigs. Now, anyone have a sinker mold that they would like to trade for a jig mold???
Sinker Posted March 10, 2009 Report Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) They'd need to be about 1/2lb Cliff. Shaped like a J. More like a square J though. I have some here I'll take a picture for ya. I put a foot long piece of bungee cord on the end of my decoy lines, and attach the weights to that. Then the J weight hooks onto the keels of the decoys. Nice and neat, no weights falling off decoys and making tangles at O dark thirty The mould can be made from a peice of hardwood, and just routered out. I've used a 3 ft piece of wood, with 6 moulds in it. Just let them harden, and give the board a good smack with a hammer and they pop right out. I can even supply the mould. I'd take a whole bunch if your into making them. I could also use a half dozen the size of a tuna can, with something set in it to tie onto, for long line weights. If I had the lead, I'd make them myself. I can't seem to find anyone who wants to get rid of any. I've melted down my other strap weights into the j weights. It saves the paint on the heads of your decoys, and I find they hold better in a good wind. Sinker Edited March 10, 2009 by Sinker
Big Cliff Posted March 11, 2009 Author Report Posted March 11, 2009 Give me a call, you've got my number. We'll work something out.
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