Poured some jigs and spinner baits with a batch of lead that was given to me.. The wire in the SB's and the hooks in the jigs seem to loosen up pretty quick with this stuff. Never really had this issue before with other lead. Any thoughts?
IMG_2581.jpg
Yes, some people check the hardness with a Lee hardness tester. I use one for cast bullets. Dont really use it for fishing molds.
Yes. That lead is probably pure 100% virgin lead for plumbing. It just needs some antimony added. Look at rotometals.com
Marks Props 317-398-9294, 1850 East 225 South, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176 propellerman59@gmail.com http://www.marksprops.com/index.html
Thanks Guys !Originally Posted by 21XDC
In the past you could add wheel weight lead to harden it but now it contains zinc which I’ve been told can ruin the lead pot.
Wheel weights--yes you can use them, if they are 12-15 yrs old. I add 25% by weight for spinnerbaits. Head will not come loose.
What about melting down old worm weights?
The ones I have from the 70s-80s are fairly soft.
I had that problem when I first started making jigs and spinnerbaits. Now I use lead that they use to cast .44 magnum bullets. I get it from Buffalo Arms. Can't find an invoice for it but I am pretty sure it was Lyman #2. Never had a spinnerbait wire come loose since switching to it.
Save the lead for future use. You may need it for very small jigs with small bait holder barbs or jigs with inserts that won't fill the mold properly if your using the ladle Hot Pot. You won't need the extra soft lead if you're using the Lee or RCBS production pots. Even at the lowest settings the production pots keeps the molten lead at a higher temperature than the Hot Pot. Also the production pots have a precise spout and release handle, where you can sometimes miss with the Hot Pot. If that's the case maybe you trade someone for some hard lead for your soft lead.
Last edited by smokewagon; 08-15-2021 at 10:39 AM.
2012 Stratos ChampioN 183 Elite
Mercury 175 ProXS
Reply With Quote
.jpg)
