black haze Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Im new to pouring jigs and was wondering if i bought say, 1 pound of lead can i expect to get 32 half ounce jigs???? lol.......I have access to wheel weights, so i guess im just trying to figure out if it would be worth my time to go that direction....and would i really be saving all that much money.......Hope my question makes sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 If you are using a melting pot, 1 pound of lead will not be enough to pour 32 half ounce jigs because when you pour it lead a "spru" that you have to break off later. If you are using a 10 pound pot you ought to have 6 to 10 lbs of lead. but yes, 32 half ounce jigs weighs 1 pound. Your mold might be a little heavy or a little light. All Do-It molds don't always weigh what they say on the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 saving money depends on how much your time is worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black haze Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thanks for the reply....ive just kind of been playing with numbers and trying to break down per half ounce jig how much i would be having in one......i knew my math was right....i guess there r several variables..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think many of us pour our own to improve on what is available made by others. Especially, to get just the right hook into a favored head design. Mold modifications if necessary for these "improvements" can often be tinkered with a Dremel, drill press, and/or simple hand tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Are you asking this because you are trying to come up with a price for your jigs or is your budget that tight you need a number to justify making jigs? If the answer is budget you may want to forget this as you aren't going to save much unless you lose a lot of jigs in a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWJigs Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I make them for friends and others, so in return I save myself money making jigs. It was a HUGE cost starting up with one mold, hooks, weed guards, skirting, paint, and pot ... not huge but about 200. Then I started selling and making money and haven't looked back. I don't get a lot of business because with my overnight work schedule It will take me 2 weeks for a few orders. I only do it on the weekends, and 6 day weeks I only get Sunday to do anything. But if you also sell them, it will save you money in return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black haze Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thanks for the replys, much appreciated.......I just sold and traded all my rod building stuff for molds, pots, hooks, skirts, ect....I fish two hundred plus days a year and am a die hard jig fisherman and go through a ton of jigs....Ive been buying jig heads and making and tying my own skirts....I just wanted to try my hand in pouring and thought it would be a great way to get through winter here, lol...Im not on a tight budget, so buying lead is not a problem.....Im guessing if i was selling a bunch of jigs the wheel weights might be worth the trouble.....But im only making these for myself and fishing buddies.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 On 1/21/2012 at 3:47 PM, black haze said: Thanks for the replys, much appreciated.......I just sold and traded all my rod building stuff for molds, pots, hooks, skirts, ect....I fish two hundred plus days a year and am a die hard jig fisherman and go through a ton of jigs....Ive been buying jig heads and making and tying my own skirts....I just wanted to try my hand in pouring and thought it would be a great way to get through winter here, lol...Im not on a tight budget, so buying lead is not a problem.....Im guessing if i was selling a bunch of jigs the wheel weights might be worth the trouble.....But im only making these for myself and fishing buddies.... If getting wheel weights isn't a problem and if you have the time to melt, clean, and pout into useable ingots then it makes sense but if you don't have a tight budget then you may want to go a different route that is less troublesome. I'm very lucky to have a friend that is a plumber, he gets me a lot of good lead that all I do is just add it to the pot and I have another friend that is into sporting clays and he likes to make his own shot, this guy has money and he gets his lead by the pallet and they are in 1 and 5 pound ingots and he shares his with me so I really am lucky when it comes to getting lead. For someone like you who fishes that much it probably would save you money as you would go through more than enough tackle to make up for the start up, I know my post might have sounded rude but it wasn't meant that way, I was just trying to help as I've met a lot of people who wanted to make their own tackle to save money and when they realize what things cost and the start up money they quickly lose intrest, these are people who fish a few times a month and it would take years to make up for the start up costs to justify doing it in the first place. If you live close to a hospital you may want to contact them and ask what they do with the x-ray lead, you may be able to get some at a very low cost or even free. Good luck with pouring, it is fun and time comsuming so it does help with cabin fever, at least for me it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWJigs Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 And on pouring, some guys might do it different, but I clean my lead in a side pour pot from Lee, and make ingots, then melt with my bottom pour. I am getting into spinner baits also so I gotta buy another pot to use a ladle with. Good luck with either way. As small jaw said, cures cabin fever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
