Jacob Krahenbil Posted August 23, 2014 Posted August 23, 2014 hey yall i wanted to start making my own jigs. i know i need a good jig mold and have been lookin at some. however im kinda confused where do you get the lead from to make jigs? Quote
cadman Posted August 23, 2014 Posted August 23, 2014 You can get scrap lead from a salvage yard, construction sites or this place. Soft lead is about $2.00 per pound. Start with soft lead, as it is easier to pour and you get more complete pours. http://www.rotometals.com/Lead-Products-s/20.htm If you have any more questions feel free to ask. One thing and that is please be safe. Pouring lead is safe as long as you follow rules and pay attention. There is more info on how to pour lead, coat molds and a lot more at tackleunderground.com. There are also a lot of good safety tips there. Please read them. Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted August 23, 2014 Super User Posted August 23, 2014 I have gotten lead from recycle facilities, guys who remodel hospitals, Dr. and dentist offices and home remodelers. I got a couple of 4x8 sheets from a hospital radiology remodel. You just have to look around. Quote
Broadcreek karl Posted August 23, 2014 Posted August 23, 2014 Try asking some tire shops for there old wheel weights. You will have to do some sorting though. There are clip on that are fairly hard, stick on that I think are very close to being pure lead. You also have to sort out zinc, steel, and composite weights. This may be a bit more labor intensive. Depends on how many jigs you want to make, but, it is another avenue to explore. You could also check with roofing companies They sometimes have scrap that comes off of roofs. 1 Quote
BuckMaxx Posted August 24, 2014 Posted August 24, 2014 Tire shop....that's where I get all mine. 1 Quote
Super User Hi Salenity Posted August 24, 2014 Super User Posted August 24, 2014 You can get scrap lead from a salvage yard, construction sites or this place. Soft lead is about $2.00 per pound. Start with soft lead, as it is easier to pour and you get more complete pours. http://www.rotometals.com/Lead-Products-s/20.htm If you have any more questions feel free to ask. One thing and that is please be safe. Pouring lead is safe as long as you follow rules and pay attention. There is more info on how to pour lead, coat molds and a lot more at tackleunderground.com. There are also a lot of good safety tips there. Please read them. Hey I've got a question, I had a bunch of lead bullets I melted down and have been using but in having problems getting the lead to go clear to the bottom of the mold around the hook on my 1/2oz football jig mold. Should I try softer lead? Would that "flow" better? I use a lee production pot and last time I had the temp maxed... It starts working ok once the mold gets hot but were still talking about only about 40% are usable and the rest have to be redone. Help! Quote
cadman Posted August 24, 2014 Posted August 24, 2014 Hey I've got a question, I had a bunch of lead bullets I melted down and have been using but in having problems getting the lead to go clear to the bottom of the mold around the hook on my 1/2oz football jig mold. Should I try softer lead? Would that "flow" better? I use a lee production pot and last time I had the temp maxed... It starts working ok once the mold gets hot but were still talking about only about 40% are usable and the rest have to be redone. Help! All lead will melt and pour the harder lead should be mixed with the softer lead to achieve the hardness you want. I have poured straight hard lead and also straight soft. I don't have a problem with either, however some molds are more problem prone to hard lead than others. I use a 60/40 or 70/30 lead ratio. The bigger number being the softer lead.With that said If you are having problems getting good pours try this first. #1 Your Lee IV pot should pour any and all lead on #7. The higher the number you go #9 max the hotter the lead, the more fluid it is and the better it should pour. If you are at #9 with bad pours, first thing I would do Is have your t-stat repaired. The cost is very nominal, as Lee does a great repair job for minimal cost. #2 If that is not the problem, make sure your hooks are warm to very warm before you put them in the mold. Use a 100 watt bulb, that works well. #3 If that doesn't work, try this as well. Take a business card and tape it to one 1/2 side of the mold. This is called gapping the mold. What this does is eliminates any air that might get trapped in the mold as the lead flows. The closer you tape the card to the hinge, the bigger the gap. What you want, is to get the gapped mold to pour full without any flash. #4 Lastly and I stress this to everyone, get and use mold release. 95% of your problems will go away with bad pours. Lead bullets are fine for pouring they may be harder, but pose no real major problem. It seems like you know what you are doing and at least have some knowledge, so try some of the things I mentioned. Post back with your results. Also if you have anymore questions feel free to ask or PM me.. Quote
zachvu Posted August 25, 2014 Posted August 25, 2014 I don't know if it's the same in tacklemaking, but in pouring bullet molds heating the mold will help with this! Quote
Super User Munkin Posted August 26, 2014 Super User Posted August 26, 2014 Check with the guy that just posted the 9k lbs on a trailer. Allen Quote
Broadcreek karl Posted August 27, 2014 Posted August 27, 2014 Hey I've got a question, I had a bunch of lead bullets I melted down and have been using but in having problems getting the lead to go clear to the bottom of the mold around the hook on my 1/2oz football jig mold. Should I try softer lead? Would that "flow" better? I use a lee production pot and last time I had the temp maxed... It starts working ok once the mold gets hot but were still talking about only about 40% are usable and the rest have to be redone. Help! Try preheating your molds. I heat my bullet molds over the pot for 15 or 20 mins. Not sure this will work with your molds but I would suggest find someway to preheat them. Quote
tholmes Posted August 27, 2014 Posted August 27, 2014 Hey I've got a question, I had a bunch of lead bullets I melted down and have been using but in having problems getting the lead to go clear to the bottom of the mold around the hook on my 1/2oz football jig mold. Should I try softer lead? Would that "flow" better? I use a lee production pot and last time I had the temp maxed... It starts working ok once the mold gets hot but were still talking about only about 40% are usable and the rest have to be redone. Help! I've used salvaged bullet lead for years with no problems. Just be sure to flux it well and like Cadman said, use a mold release. I use Drop-Out from Frankford Arsenal. I get it from Midway USA http://www.midwayusa.com/product/763758/frankford-arsenal-drop-out-bullet-mold-release-agent-and-lube-6-oz-aerosol Try preheating your molds. I heat my bullet molds over the pot for 15 or 20 mins. Not sure this will work with your molds but I would suggest find someway to preheat them. This method works with jig molds also. I'll sometimes do a "dry run" to heat up the mold. Just pour the mold full of lead with no hooks in it, let it cool for a few seconds, remove the lead and (CAREFULLY!) drop it back into the pot. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Hi Salenity Posted August 28, 2014 Super User Posted August 28, 2014 All lead will melt and pour the harder lead should be mixed with the softer lead to achieve the hardness you want. I have poured straight hard lead and also straight soft. I don't have a problem with either, however some molds are more problem prone to hard lead than others. I use a 60/40 or 70/30 lead ratio. The bigger number being the softer lead.With that said If you are having problems getting good pours try this first. #1 Your Lee IV pot should pour any and all lead on #7. The higher the number you go #9 max the hotter the lead, the more fluid it is and the better it should pour. If you are at #9 with bad pours, first thing I would do Is have your t-stat repaired. The cost is very nominal, as Lee does a great repair job for minimal cost. #2 If that is not the problem, make sure your hooks are warm to very warm before you put them in the mold. Use a 100 watt bulb, that works well. #3 If that doesn't work, try this as well. Take a business card and tape it to one 1/2 side of the mold. This is called gapping the mold. What this does is eliminates any air that might get trapped in the mold as the lead flows. The closer you tape the card to the hinge, the bigger the gap. What you want, is to get the gapped mold to pour full without any flash. #4 Lastly and I stress this to everyone, get and use mold release. 95% of your problems will go away with bad pours. Lead bullets are fine for pouring they may be harder, but pose no real major problem. It seems like you know what you are doing and at least have some knowledge, so try some of the things I mentioned. Post back with your results. Also if you have anymore questions feel free to ask or PM me.. I heated the mold by laying it on top of the mold until it was fairly hot. I put the business card in and re smoked the mold and everything turned out great! I had to redo one out of every ten but I can live with that. Thanks for the advise!!! Quote
cadman Posted August 29, 2014 Posted August 29, 2014 I heated the mold by laying it on top of the mold until it was fairly hot. I put the business card in and re smoked the mold and everything turned out great! I had to redo one out of every ten but I can live with that. Thanks for the advise!!! No problem always willing to help. If you think the business card is too thick, you can also use masking tape. The options are endless. Also if you want to eliminate the business cards altogether, you can cut reliefs in your mold to let the air escape. That would be the best of both worlds. Anyway, happy pouring. Quote
Super User Hi Salenity Posted August 29, 2014 Super User Posted August 29, 2014 I may actually try and enlarge the area around the keeper, I'm using 5/0 hooks and the mold was designed for a 4/0 hook. Quote
cadman Posted August 29, 2014 Posted August 29, 2014 I may actually try and enlarge the area around the keeper, I'm using 5/0 hooks and the mold was designed for a 4/0 hook. Most of Do-It molds are designed for a specific hook size, and then you can safely either go up or down one size, without any problems. If you go up one size, and depending on the hook brand, you may be taking out the tolerance where the hook shank lies in the mold. This may be why you are getting bad pours, and gapping the mold is helping you relieve trapped air. You can open this area up with a small miniature round file. Now if you do this and then decide to go back down to a smaller hook, you will get some lead flash coming out by the collar. You can easily trim this off. I would rather have some lead flash on a perfectly poured jig, then waste time on a badly poured jig and have to re-melt and re-pour again. If you need more info or some pics let me know and I will e-mail them to you. Quote
richienyc Posted September 6, 2014 Posted September 6, 2014 Craigslist sometimes has guys selling huge lots of saltwater sinkers, which you can melt down and use as lead. Quote
zachvu Posted September 8, 2014 Posted September 8, 2014 Scuba weights may also be an option that are available used! Quote
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