making your own weights for fishing

[diggin4grouper]

might be useful to some on here

pouring your own sinkers can be very cost effective if your like me and lose a bunch while fishing ( fishing holes with structure you will lose a bunch )

the way I'll do this is I will tell you what you have to do and then the picture of said items will follow

"warning"this is do at your own risk , please do it in an outside area and do not drop hot castings in a bucket of water as the will explode apart and cause injury to you and surrounding people and pets

here is a list of items you will need ..

the molds of course , you can find them at many places http://www.do-itmolds.com/ and http://www.snlcorp.com/ are where I get mine , but use can find them at bass pro and other tackle suppliers.

a turkey fryier ,a cast iron skillet , cast iron ladel , and a good pair of leather gloves, this will be useful to melt down the lead and prep it for ingot casting

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

now my ingots mold i found at a garage sale they are old cast iorn cornbread molds in the shape of ears of corn . hey it works i cast ingots due to i am putting them in to a production bottom pour pot .

now you need to find your lead , a good place to find some is on ebay , or you can get the tire weight like i have and refine them , and what i mean by refine them it to melt them down to get the metal tab off and get some of the impuritys out of it ( warning a 5 gal bucket with tire weights can weigh up to 80 lbs so be careful )

now for some if you dont want to buy a production pot you can use the ladel straight from the lead you have melted down and pour in to the molds you will have to pour a few runs to get the molds hot enough that the casting dont have cold start wrinkles

after my ingots have been poured i can use them in my pot and start pouring , it will take a bit to learn when to let the haddle go to stop the flow of lead comeing out and get how fast to let it pour out. now while your pot is heating up set the mold your going to use on top of the pot this will help heat the mold .

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

once the mold is hot you can start pouring and when you get the amount you need . you will have to go back and either cut the sprue of or twist it off with pliers , i prefer to twist them off due it it makes a cleaner separation , but have found there will be a few that need to be cut off and for this i have an old pair of wire stripers that have a cutter on the front of it

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

now for the other sinkers that use a brass eye , need a bit more attion - you can get the eyes from do-it mold , i have found this is diffacult to do with gloves on so i use one glove just to hold the mold , the eys need to be pressed in to the mold a little but to get it to stay once you have it n there close the mold and then open it back up to insure the seated in there properly , after a while your finger will get use to the little bit of heat and you will able to do it in a timely fashion .

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

and these will be your end product

 

[duke33]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Right on. How do you drill your holes?

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Right on. How do you drill your holes?

you dont drill the holes the molds have pull pins that you put in and then pour the lead and pull the pin which makes the holes

currently i can make these

Egg Sinker

1/8,1/4 - 3/8 - 1/2- 3/4 - 1 - 1 1/2 - 2 - 3 -4 -5 OZ'S

Bell Sinker with Brass Eye

1/4 - 3/8 - 1/2 - 5/8 - 3/4 - 1 - 1 1/2 - 2

No Roll Sinker

1 - 1 1/2 - 2 - 3

Pyramid Sinker with Brass Eye

1 - 1 1/2 - 2 - 2 1/2 - 3

Bank Sinker

3 ,4 , 5 , 6 ,8 oz

 

[duke33]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

 

[ajgraz]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

If I may add a tip...

Sometimes old lead (whether tire weights, sinkers, etc.) may have some pores, tunnels, channels, etc in the casting that are holding water. Like said above about hot lead and water, these will explode when you try to melt them. Dry out your lead in a warm oven or dehydrator before melting down.

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

ok you re-posted the pic , whats up


very true ajgraz especially reclaiming lead that has been on bottom a while under water

 

[duke33]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

ok you re-posted the pic , whats up


very true ajgraz especially reclaiming lead that has been on bottom a while under water

I reread your post about the pull pins. Can you put up a pic how they work? Thanks.

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

I reread your post about the pull pins. Can you put up a pic how they work? Thanks.

here ya go duke

 

[duke33]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

I see. That's simple enough. Thanks.

 

[Reel-hip]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Looks good! I go a different direction here in California. While I like using lead, it can get costly here. I use other metals. This picture is of a stainless steel rod that was scrap. I also use rebar. I cut off the weight amount I need , grind the edges smooth and then drill a small hole and insert a twisted wire. I crazy glue the wire. Holds real good and if you go through as many weights as I do it doesn't take much off of the pocket book. I hope you will not take offense to my reply. I just wanted to show how I make them on the west coast. Doug

 

[kfa4303]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Cool posts. I love anything DIY.

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Reel-hip

theres no offence taken i like learning what others are doing , i like makeing my own weights though its cheaper than buying them at stores plus the fact i sell a few now and then for like 2.25 a lb to people around me so makes me some fishing money and there happy , some have even pay for me to ship them to them , was thinking of selling a few on ebay still dont know if i want to get in to that yet though

 

[wasabi]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

What a great post! The pictures are great as well. I would have some questions about procedure. How long to melt the lead? How long before you open the mold? Thanks again!

 

[diggin4grouper]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

What a great post! The pictures are great as well. I would have some questions about procedure. How long to melt the lead? How long before you open the mold? Thanks again!

the time it takes to melt can very depending on how your doing it , like when i refine the wheel weights if your starting from scratch ( no lead in the pan ) it can take up to 25 mins to melt the lead , with some lead in the pan about 15 mins , and with my bottom pour pot it heats up in 15 mins and ready to pour !

when to open the mold depends on hot hot the lead and the mold is you want to heat the mold to a point that the lead flows threw it with no voids , and after 2 or 3 sec you can pull the in if one and open the mold , now if the mold is extremely hot it will take longer , you can watch the sprue cool off and tell when to open .

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

Been making 12lb lead downrigger balls for years. After reading this might start making other weights too. Already have some of the equipment needed, just gotta get some molds. Thanks

 

[wasabi]

Re: making your own weights for fishing

the time it takes to melt can very depending on how your doing it , like when i refine the wheel weights if your starting from scratch ( no lead in the pan ) it can take up to 25 mins to melt the lead , with some lead in the pan about 15 mins , and with my bottom pour pot it heats up in 15 mins and ready to pour !

when to open the mold depends on hot hot the lead and the mold is you want to heat the mold to a point that the lead flows threw it with no voids , and after 2 or 3 sec you can pull the in if one and open the mold , now if the mold is extremely hot it will take longer , you can watch the sprue cool off and tell when to open .

Thanks. I'm down in Mexico. Most of the lead I have access to is from old dive weights. I noted what you guys said about lead and water!