ScottC Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 My dad and I are trying to find unpainted tungsten jigs for ice fishing and I am not having much luck, the one place I have found them is from a place overseas but you have to import a couple thousand at a time and we just don't want to do that. I am starting to wonder if I could pour them like you would a regular lead jig, does anyone have any experience with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 I'm sorry to inform you that casting tungsten at home is just about impossible unless you have a blast furnace. I'm not sure on the melt temp but I believe I read somewhere that it is around 2500 degrees or something like that so you would need special molds and a blast furnace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCD Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 (edited) The melting point for tungsten is 6192*F, you cannot pour them like a regular jig. Tungsten jigs are made 2 ways. The most common is to mix tungsten powder with glue and mold it, this will not give you as nearly dense/heavy of a jig as pure tungsten. The second way they're made is by a process called sintering. Tungsten powder is mixed with alloy metals with lower melting points, then pressed into a mold and heated under pressure. This process is very expensive and is where the better tungsten products come from. The hooks aren't molded into the sintered jigs, the head is drilled and the hook is soldered in. Your better tungsten jigs won't have a hook eye, they'll have a hole drilled through the top of the head and out the bottom. The line is pushed through the hole and tied to the jig hook.. There are places on the web to buy unpainted tungsten heads for about $2.50 each, but most of these are the glue and powder heads. Edited March 27, 2011 by GCD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkvnmtr Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 If there is some reason you do not wish to use lead try tin. It is easy to work with and probably costs less than tungsten. Non toxic also. Easiest to buy as lead free solder. Usually contains 95% tin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiTackleGuy Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 If there is some reason you do not wish to use lead try tin. It is easy to work with and probably costs less than tungsten. Non toxic also. Easiest to buy as lead free solder. Usually contains 95% tin. Tungsten gives a very hard return with electronics. This is helpful in ice-fishing for those who target fish at specific depths by watching their flasher or graph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottC Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 If there is some reason you do not wish to use lead try tin. It is easy to work with and probably costs less than tungsten. Non toxic also. Easiest to buy as lead free solder. Usually contains 95% tin. The reason I want tungsten is for ice fishing. Small jigs fall like jigs two to three times their size because of the density of the jig. Helpful when fish are finiky and deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
