Lead for Sinkers?????

[Trophycats]

Just got a new sinker mold in...No Roll for 3/4/5 oz sinkers. I have a limited supply of lead, was wondering if anyone had any ideas on where to get some besides the tire shops, seems everybody is hitting those guys up. About 6 more weeks and the big cats should be turned on..i am getting the FEVER bad..Thanks Warren

[Mando]

i remember one guy thinking about using lead from car batteries...i think everyone talked him out of it.

[Bob]

I don't know where you live but I live in Jacksonville Fl. and a buddy of mine that races is holding about a 5 gallon bucket full of wheel weights for me to come get. I am only gonna keep 1/2 of it though. You are welcome to the rest.

[Channelcat]

mold did you buy?

[love2fish]

I live in Austin and have plenty, so if you're in the area shoot me a PM your more than welcome to some.

[Profish00]

cut rate <Fishing Unlimited> sells it if you live in Houston

[Rockfish]

I purchased a 5-6 oz jig mold a few months ago and have used tire weights and also purchased lead for scrap medal shops(cheep). The tire do not pour as good as the tire lead. I end up mixing in about 25% tire lead with the purchased lead. Tire weight are not as pure and will not pour as well as the pure soft lead. Just my 2cents. Good luck

[Rockfish]

And I bought about $15 of lead and have made about 100 5-6 oz jigs and still have over half of the lead left.

Eddie

[Catfish]

He is close to Nashville ..I think he got a Do-it mold -- They are nice ...

[Channelcat]

earlier, I'm flying up to Nashville Thursday for a few days, I have over 200 lbs of lead at my other home. I could've stuck some of it in.

[Catfish]

That makes for some heavy luggage ... lol

[Channelcat]

Yeah, it does. lol


TrophyCats....check your local scrap metal yard. Locally they only pay around 5 cents a pound, so they would probably sell for around 15 cents.

[MUDHOLE KID]

Warren , I Lucked Up And Found 150lbs For 30.00$ At A Pawn Shop Near The House, I Poured It All In Sinkers And I've Got Enough For A Life Time. May Need To Look Around The Pawn Shops.it Was Pure Lead And It Was A Little Hard To Deal With.when Your Mold Gets Hot After A Few Pours The Pure Lead Takes Longer To Cool And Want Come Out Of The Mold As Easy," I Tried Pam"it Dont Work.so I Ended Up Adding A Little Junk Lead To It ,because Hard Lead Sets Faster, You Can Find Lead Most Any Where For 1 $ A Lb You Dont Want To Fool With A Battery Either,theres Not Enough In One For The Trouble

[Hawkeye]

Wheel weights are not pure lead, as many of you have probably already figured out. They are alloyed with antimony and tin to make them harder than pure lead, so they stay on the wheels of the vehicles they are installed on instead of becoming missiles... I used to melt and use them to make extremely hard bullets for pig hunting... 320-340 grain 0.429" in diameter for my Ruger Redhawk .44 Remington Magnum....... they are death on about anything on the North American continent... including many two legged vermin.
As Mudhole Kid has already stated, you do not want to fool with lead/acid batteries as a source for lead sinker material. The acid is not worth fooling with (you don't want your yard to become an EPA "SuperFund" site) and there isn't enough USABLE lead in a car battery to make the disassembly of one worth the effort... forget that one before you start thinking about it...

Junk yards might be an excellent resource for pure lead... plumber's supply stores used to be where we'd buy lead, back in the day of cast iron sewer pipes, and lead joints... I haven't bought any pure lead in fifteen years or so... for the hardest weights money can buy, go with wheel weights... if you want them a little softer, mix in pure lead. The wheel weights will harder sooner because the alloy has a higher melting point than pure lead... the weights will also be a little lighter than the advertised weight on the mold, but not so much lighter that I can tell the difference...

I am sure this doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway. Lead is very toxic to humans, and you should NEVER melt or pour lead in an inadequately ventilated space... best that lead pouring and melting is done out of doors... wear safety glasses... and what ever you do, don't sweat into the molten lead as the drops of sweat will "explode" into tiny clouds of steam (expansion ratio of water to steam is 1:1500 at atmospheric pressure) and propell molten lead at speeds to fast to be seen...

I saw a kid spit into a pot of lead once. It blew back and stuck molten lead to his face. I bet he never tried that trick again...

Good luck in the search for sinker material. If you happen on any sure things, let us know.

Tom <><

[NightTrain]

Yeah,Hawk,dat antimony is a b*tch...my buddy says his ex gits over half of the money he makes...in my opinion dats just plumb WRONG,man.
But,gettin' back to the lead thingy...I've got a coupla old castnets dat I cut the weights off of...prolly 15 lbs. or so.If'n ya tear up nets like I do,save the weights.

[Trophycats]

Yeah i got the Do It mold..it is sweet...got some lead today..found junk metal yard that sells the lead pretty cheap..cheaper than buying the sinkers, and heck i might go thru 200lbs of sinkers a season if not more...thanks guys

[Trophycats]

I got the lead and it was lead pipes..prob old plumbing pipes..but was already cut to a workable length..50 cents a lb..guess i didnt do too bad...thanks for the info on the tire weights...tight lines..warren

[Channelcat]

By the way, beeswax will work wonder for the mold and melting pot. Melt a little before and after use to stop rust and corrosion. Also helps release the lead from the mold.

[catman]

Hey warren give me a holler and i can get you some lead if you still need.

[Trophycats]

Bob..appreciate it, but i got a bunch already..thanks

[catman]

Any time warren and your welcome..... if ya ever need just holler and ill smelt some igots up for ya.