Making leads ?

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:27 am

does anyone make thier own leads?

i ask as i have a few queeries.

firstly, all of the places i've looked (mail order and on line so far) offer a lead making kit but not the furnace/crucible etc to melt the metal in the first place.

second where ould i get the lead from, appart from my old ones or any i find?

lastly, is it cost effective? once you take into account the cost of materials, equipment and manufacture, surely it would work out cheeper just to buy them, unless you are going to produce them on mass and sell them yourself.

graham

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:59 am

Ok Grayham, Fist of all it is very cost efective when you consider juast how much one weight is £1.65? Second if you have a gun club near you, you could offer to do the sweeping up for them for the wasted lead pellets or as an alternative buy the sweepings up for next to nowt.

You need on old cast iron saucepan as it retains the heat for a considerable time. (Car Boot)? I have know others to use any old saucepan and either the handle has dropped off or the bottom has fell out of it.

A cast Iron Gas ring can be had off Google and powered by a camping gas cyl with regulator.

I make all my own and used to make them for others until they started to take the wee wee.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:13 am

cheers kieth, only thing is i dont know if there is a gun club locally....will ask in my tackle shop though as they are also a regestered gun smiths... so there must be one somewhere neer.

if not how much would lead retail at wholesale?? still less than 1.50 per 5oz (30p per oz if my maths is right big grin

)

graham

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:19 am

The other source may be demolition sites on old houses as the sink overflow pipe was predominately lead. Sugest you leave out church roofs lol big grin

Cheers
keith big grin

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

I thought lead pellets were the hard kind of lead (ie contains other metals such as molybdenum) and unsuitable for fishing leads.

Making cheap weights is dependent on finding a cheap source of lead. I know someone who makes them, but he finds getting lead from scrap metal dealers on the expensive side. Lead's dear stuff these days. Still cheaper than gold, however.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 1:36 pm

Lead pellets melt down very quickly and have very little corossion on them so less scum to scrape away befor you pour.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 1:33 am

you could also see if there is a company that make/restore lead/stained glass windows in your area, they will have old lead or off cuts etc..

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:04 pm

I've got a few kilos of lead waiting to be made up into leads. Belive me...it's more than cheap enough to buy. Should have more than enough to last me a few months lol.

I can't be bothered to buy a mould to make them because of how long it will take. I'm planning on using a bucket of sand..wet it..poke it, fill with lead. stick a tail wire in, let cool and hey presto. Hoping I can make roughly 10-15 each bucket load. Then repeat the process with the same sand. I'm only using them for rough ground/rotten bottoms so I dont mind if they come out a bit rough

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:46 pm

if you are gonna sand cast, use the finest sand you can, casting sand is preferable.. if you use an existing lead as the 'pattern, be aware of shrinkage of the metal during cooling and therefore the cast lead will be lighter than the original (by how much i dont know). also if you are not using casting sand, you may not be able to make two halfs of a mould (the cope and drag) and put them together without them falling apart..

i've only ever used sand casting with a clay or mdf patern and pewter (when teaching school kids) so not sure how viable or precise it would be for fishing weights

graham

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 5:21 am

Pouring molton lead into wet sand is a surefire way of courting disaster.

Molton metal and water is a definite NO NO. It worse than trying to put out a chip pan fire with water.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 6:39 am

just a thought kieth....

dont know if you know of 'oon sand' the kids play stuff.. that apears to be of a similat consistancy as casting sand (though never had them side by side) so do you rekon its useable for sand casting?

graham

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 6:47 am

In all seriousness I would hate to advise you mate as I am not familiar with it.
I would more than likely be talking out of my rear end if I did.

I have always stuck to making weights with the proper moulds. The only time I use anything else is for nice shiny pirks.

Old bicycle handlebars cut at an angle and drilled at each end to take a split ring and trebble and filled with lead.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 6:07 am

I know it can spit, i'm more concerned about the choking toxic fumes, but I think your making things more complicated than it needs be. I don't care how they look because they are only probably going to be used once

Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 6:19 am

Hi, I make mine in small plantpots, my sis had one of those bill n ben plantpot men in the garden, it broke so i kept the good ones that were left, for casting weights i filled one with polyfilla, made a hole of appropriate size and let it dry out. When i make the weights i put tinfoil in the hole, compress it to fit all the way round and over the top, then i just pour the lead in. The foil stops it sticking, and can be peeled off after when cooled. I use the bigger pots to make boat weights, 1/2 pound, and 1 pound. Cheers..Mick

Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 6:46 am

Now we know what programs Mick watches when not on here. lol big grin

Cheers
keith big grin