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???
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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.
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?;)
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.
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.
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.
Nothing personal PanMan, I am trying to quit smoking and I tend to be a little more defensive. Figured I would leave it just for some laughs.
I didn't say it accounted for any amount of the lost weight.:cool: All I said is it made it impossible to get the actual weight out of them because of the addition of the hook. How in the world could anyone try to account for the exact weight loss? Different metals in different brand hooks expand differently so that causes lost weight, some don't expand as much, heavier weight. Go ahead and try to find pure lead. Even the large pigs I find say they are only 98.7% pure. Wheel weights, good luck getting everything to melt and mix in a pure solution, I for one don't have a metal stirring pot that at least tries to keep it mixed. Get the mold hotter in some places and cooler in other, loss of weight. I imagine the only way to get close would be to propose some senseless project for some government grant that comes to the conclusion that you simply can't do it unless you perform the pour in more than ideal conditions.
This all assumes that you can trust the initial mold to pour a perfect weight in the first place. Maybe we can come up with a $250K grant proposal, do some research and by the time we are done have enough jigs poured to supply every member with jigs for life.
Oh no, not offended at all, just telling why I feel good about what I got when weighing the jig heads. I got tired of not remembering what some jig head weighed and trying to weigh them on something that shouldn't be used. So I bought a new scale not log ago and also bought the 200g weight to make sure things stay good.
Not a problem here at all so don't worry about that. I didn't take it like it was something bad and just pointing out why it may not be as stated or as it is said to be by the people making molds. I just wanted you to know that I did at least have a cross check to make sure what I was saying was correct at least in the ones I have. Now someone else may have some that are not just the same as mine and that would be easy to see.
Guess I could have had a different closing line, but I have been sick for over 2 weeks now and tired of that so maybe just a short answer in place of more yakking from me.
Thanks,
Skip
I know you might think I'm crazy but I still think the lead type might play a pretty big role....I can add about 3 grains (10 percent) to my jig head weight just by painting them with a fluid bed instead of just sticking it in the top of the powder paint jar....go figure??? Must not take much to make a difference....
One thing for sure is the lead will weigh different when you get it from different places it was used. One example is the tire weights are not going to be the same a lead you can get from contractors that replace the lead in the X-Ray places in hospitals. This is a great place to get lead so if you have not looked for the guy that replace the lead in the X_Ray rooms at hospitals then you should.