Lead

[lcookie]

I have been tying my onw jigs now and like it alot. I want to start pouring my own heads as I found a mold, hooks, and a pot on sale. Where is the best place to get good quality lead and what is the going rate?

Thanks,

[slabslinger]

I melt a thousand at a time and its a great hobby especially with the little extra money made. Some people swear up and down that you need pure lead or else u will have a bad pour. personally i use tire weights yes you have to get the metal clips off of em after you put em in and have to get a little more slag out but its free and its for me. I can get about a five gallon bucket full a month or more. If you decide that tire weights arent for you ebay is the next cheapest place for pure lead.

[crappiedoc]

Go to your local recycler that's about the cheapest place to "buy" lead. Plumbers, roofers, Contractors, tire centers, shooting ranges, it's everywhere, and you can usually get it FREE. There's some posts on other pages and I'm sure everybody else will help you out. Welcome, you've entered a "Twilight Zone".

[skiptomylu]

Especially contractors that replace the lead in X-Ray rooms in hospitals. Lots of places though and someone just a few days ago mentioned a ton of places to get lead. If you search this board a little you can probably find that one post where he listed many.

Skip

[slabslinger]

O yea and i forgot to mention im glad ur taking the hobby up but when people say you need adequete ventilation for melting lead they are not just saying it to say it and the fumes and lead dust are some serious stuff and can mess you up real bad so make sure you got open doors windows and plenty of air circulation and keep food and drink or anything that can come in contact with your mouth away and a respirator isnt a requirement as long as you got the ventilation good

[Redman]

Here is the thread on some ideas. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/jig-t...-jig-head.html I have found it in the most unusual places. I like to trade a lot and have done fairly well in trades. One thing I have found out is don't be afraid to ask.

Redman

P.S. Welcome to what has to be the worlds most addictive hobby

[skeetbum]

Not to disagree with slinger, but I will say that wheel weight lead is finicky when pouring the heads smaller than 1/8. The working temps are tighter than pure, and I keep my pure and WW separate and use them both frequently. With pure I get less incomplete collars in small jigs. I also cut the lead off the incompletes with some do-it cutters and this leaves the finish on the hook, whereas melting it back off frequently removes the finish.

[crappiedoc]

Not to disagree with slinger, but I will say that wheel weight lead is finicky when pouring the heads smaller than 1/8. The working temps are tighter than pure, and I keep my pure and WW separate and use them both frequently. With pure I get less incomplete collars in small jigs. I also cut the lead off the incompletes with some do-it cutters and this leaves the finish on the hook, whereas melting it back off frequently removes the finish.

I can agree with Skeetbum, When using production molds I'll stick with the softer leads cause I use the top of the mold to pour them all together. I just don't get the flow with ww lead for this. However, on single pour and specialty jigs I'll blend the two. The harder lead doesn't dent or scratch as easily and provides a better, longer lasting paint job. IMO. And Skeet use your melt-offs for black paint, can't tell the difference. I know when I'm really popping them out I don't get but 10 out of a thousand that are blems. I love to crank up the heat and won't start till my molds are even hotter, esp on specialty heads. WW lead is excellent for weights as it doesn't oxidize as fast as softer lead, which is another reason I'll blend it on specialty heads.

[skeetbum]

Popping them out is a relative term. In my limited experience in pouring, Popping them out doesn't happen for the most part. I poured a hundred for someone earlier this week, first in a long while, and I did good to get 6 out of 8 to cooperate. I got em done but I think I need to smoke the mold again. I think once I get back into it more I'll smooth out and things will work fine.

[lcookie]

Well I went around to all the tire stores in my area and was not able to collect much lead. I kept getting the we are contracted with xxx or we recycle. What I did get had alot of zinc and/or iron. Since zinc melts just higher than lead could I use that? While I search to get a good supply chain I have ordered some soft lead off of ebay to get me going.

Thanks All