Not sure how to ask this question...if I pour a jig head with soft lead and then pour a jig head in the same mold with wheel weights will the jig head weigh the same? Are there certain lead sources that will be heavier or lighter???
Printable View
Not sure how to ask this question...if I pour a jig head with soft lead and then pour a jig head in the same mold with wheel weights will the jig head weigh the same? Are there certain lead sources that will be heavier or lighter???
The alloys in different types of lead have different densities but you would be hard pressed to measure the difference on the finished product.
A pure lead jig will be heavier than a lead alloy jig.
Lead is the 3rd heaviest metal in the elemental chart with an atomic weight of 207.
Plutonium is the heaviest with a weight of 244, and Uranium is second with a weight of 238.
Thie difference in weight of a pure lead jig and an alloy jig in a small jig head would be minimal.
I don't find any normal size jig heads that actually weigh what the size says. Now when I get to looking at my 1/80 & 1/64 oz jig heads they actually weigh about what they are said to be, but once you hit 1/32 and larger they are all off some and weigh a little less than the mold size says. They are also more shinny than all just lead and hold the shine longer which I think is a good thing.
Example 1/16 is .0625
I just tried an old more soft lead 1/16 with a #8 Sickle hook and it was .055
Then tried an newer most shinny 1/16 #6 Sickle hook and it was .050
Don't think I can remember ever getting a 1/16 that was actually .0625.
1/8 is .125 and just tried a newer one and is actually .105 with #4 Sickle.
1/4 is .25 and just tried one and it was .180
I have a small digital scale so know what I say is good info.
Skip
I agree in principle with what you are saying. There are many elements that are heavier than lead but they are very rare or have a very short half-life. Tin and antimony are the two most used alloys in lead.Quote:
Originally Posted by GCD
A slightly incomplete head, air pockets, and where you cut the sprue are more likely to be the largest contributors to a lower total weight than the alloys added. I have always wondered if the designer of the mold adjusted for the volume and lower weight of the steel hook in the head.:confused: How does the weight of a sickle hook compare with a 570 or 575 style hook the mold was probably designed for? What is the accuracy on your scales and when were they last calibrated?;)Quote:
Originally Posted by skiptomylu
Life is too short to worry about these things. Use the lead you have access to and don't worry about it.:D
Accroding to Do-It-Molds they weight them without a hook. mpossible to get the actual weight then. Then you have different hook types, different alloys and so on and you get different weights.
But as said, what does it matter, find the size you catch fish with and use it. 1/80 and under the head is more to allow a small bead to make it easier to tie a nice body on, lol. Makes it easier than wrapping the shank with lead wire or something else to give it some weight.
Lead is almost four times heavier than iron (steel). The weight of the hook outside the head in a mold with a collar cannot make up for the loss of the lead weight displaced by the hook in the head if that is the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by fish_4_all
Do-it molds are usually off in their weights,even the pro molds.My 1/32 weighs about 1/38 and a 1/32 button or pillhead actually weighs about 1/22. That's a significant difference in just one weight size. The road runner molds run heavier than what the weight says.The softer the lead the heavier the jig will be but with your typical crappie jig it won't be significant.
Well funny you should ask since I have a 200 g. weight to do just that and it was checked within the last couple weeks. So can check it any time I wish.Quote:
Originally Posted by PanMan_VA
Good enough for you?
Skip
Thanks for the responses....here is the background on my question...I bought some 1/8 oz minnow head jigs (both I feel like came out of a do-it mold)...If there is any size difference you can't see it with the naked eye....one weighed 65 grains and other weighed 50...The lighter heads were a much duller color so I got to wondering if it wa a different type lead....
I'm using a small pocket jewelry scale that I know is probably not completely accurate but it seems VERY consistent which is all I'm concerned with...I don't care what anything ACTUALLY weighs but I'm am concerned with what it weighs in relation to the jigs that I learned to fish with.