bigfruits Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 can you recommend a good ebay seller to purchase lead from? i plan on using the lead to make bass jigs. what percentage of soft lead vs wheel weight lead would you recommend for 1/8oz-1/2oz jigs? thanks in advance -z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeves Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Bigfruits, Try this guy, Junkateer Jerry ebay ID: sher120. Has a lot listed, ships immediatedly and will sell outside of ebay. A 50/50 mix should suffice but if you have trouble with the smaller ones, increase the amount of pure lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywood100 Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Reeves, Trying to learn here. When you state 50/50 on the mix, is that personal preference? In other words, if you pour with the 99% soft lead that is advertized on Ebay, will it work ok or do you really need some "harder" lead mixed in? Will the harder lead flow better or does that much soft lead make the jig too soft? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Why would you want to buy lead from someone on Ebay? I'm not knocking anyone; I'm just curious. When I need lead, I get wheel weights from a garage and pure lead from plumbers. Most of it I get for free and to some of them I give a few baits. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeves Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hollywood, Just about all Do-it molds state to use soft lead in them. Soft or pure lead flows better than harder stuff. You will find this out as you go from small (1/16oz) size items, to larger (3/8oz and bigger). Those smaller ones are often difficult to pour with harder lead. Guys that pour and fish jigs around rocks prefer the 50/50 mix because the when the jigs bounces off the rocks, they don't dent as easily. The 50/50 mix is a starting place for you. If you find you are more comfortable with a different ratio, it won't hurt a thing. You will need to experiment as you progress in your pouring and find what suits you best. BTW, Nova is really right when he suggests the wheel weights and plumbers lead. I guess if you are just starting and want an easy purchase, ebay is OK, but there is tons of it out there for the asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSC Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) Reeves and Nova pretty well covered it on why to use different mixes .. Just to add one ... harder lead will help on a spinner bait to keep the wire going into the head from getting "loose" this is especialy true with smaller wire (I use smaller than normal wire for my personal use and have run across this problem a lot just takes a little longer with larger wire to loosen and possibly break). Note if you live in an area such as where I live you have to be quick to get any kind of lead as it is "Scarfed Up" real quick by those pouring large weights for off shore bottom fishing .. like 16 ouncers +. My JSC Edited October 29, 2008 by JSC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywood100 Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Reeves, Thanks for the info. I was just curious as I have trouble sometimes with incomplete pours. Wheel weight lead in my neck of the woods (E. TN.) is not easy to come by as many local garages sell it locally to someone(havent found out yet who it is). While we are in the discussion of lead, I think I just ruined about 150 lbs. A friend gave me some lead that was in big pieces, so I melted it down on a turkey fryer base with an old wok I had bought for $2. I mixed in lead that I know was to be "good" with it and some other scrap lead that had been given to me. Now the problem- the lead when melted is gritty on top of my pot almost like sand. I can skim this layer off (bout 3/4" thick) and see clean lead but it does the same thing shortly. I have fluxed several times and still get this result. What have I done to this lead and can it be fixed? I now am afraid to put it into my RCBS pot until I can find out what contaminate is in it. My wok may have been teflon coated and am now wondering if it could cantaminate the lead. Could this lead have zinc or something else in it. Anyway, I apoligize for the long post but I need any help available. Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexPredator Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 The wok may very well have been teflon coated (which I think most are) and could be causing you problems if your heat was too high. Also when I do wheel weight lead I try to melt it in as low a temp as possible due to the fact that not all wheel weights are lead alloy. Some wheel weights are made of materials other than lead alloy so I am afraid of melting those with too high of a temp and ruining the batch. I know what some of you guys are going through trying to find lead locally since I am going through the same difficulties here in South Florida where all of the garages either have buddies to whom they sell it to or the companies melt down the old wiehgts and then recast them. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I wasn't able to get lead from tire shop here in Brooklyn. I asked 3 times in different shoppes with no success.So I went to Ebay. Let me ask you ,guys, a question regarding plumber lead: what exactly should I ask in the plumbing store ? Parts name or ????? Thank you, in advance. Regards, PSV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 What you are looking for is the old lead drains that are taken out of older homes during retrofits. Get to know the plumbers and go from there. Also, as said, if you live near commercial fishing areas sometimes you can get large pure lead weights from the fishermen. You can also take a walk on the "out of the way" shorelines and sometimes you can find nets washed ashore that have a whole string of lead weights (2 oz) on them. Sometimes it's more weight than you can carry. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookUp Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 (edited) I found a bunch of diving weights at a garage sale. Took a walk once and picked up a 1/2 gallon can full of wheel weights right off the blvd. Bribed my cousin with a 12-pack of beer to get some plumbers at his construction sight for lead. Boughts some loose lead from the fishing dept of a major outlet store that had no idea what to do with it for pennies on the dollar. Be creative, its around. Edited October 30, 2008 by HookUp redundancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
