snapshotmd Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Hello, I'm new to casting and wanted to know if hard lead is a show stopper when it comes to pouring blade baits and jigs. I got some lead off eBay for a good price before learning that soft lead is the stuff to use. The guy I bought it from said it was a BNH 10 or 11. I compared this lead to the stuff I got from smelting old sinkers and I have to press real hard with my thumb nail to make any impression. Right now I'm using a ladle to pour, with a cast iron pot on top of a single burner camp stove. Can I just increase my pot temp and make sure my mold is hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 You can give it a try and see how it does. Frankfort Arsenal dropout release will give you best chances to make it work. If you have problems, you can always cut the hard lead with soft. I have had excellent results using 50/50 wheel weights and soft lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I have printer's lead that I sometimes use. It just takes a hotter setting. The ladle should do a good job for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblades Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I like the harder metals for spinnerbaits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Usually I use whatever random scrap I have on hand. 10 or 11 really isn't that hard. But each mold can be a bit different in how it casts so trying it is likely the only way to know. I do like Drop Out it gets used in all my molds. If it just won't fill out try adding a little tin to the mix. Bullet casters use that to get fill out in bullet molds using much harder lead than you have. I would try ~ 2% tin or so. If you don't have tin you can sometimes find cheap pewter at thrift stores and use it. Pewter is over 90% tin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 You'll be fine as long as your pot and mold is hot. I have poured with lead that had a BHN of 15 - 17 and the main adjustment I made was having my pot cranked up and my mold really hot. I use a mix of 70% soft lead to 30% hard lead for just about everything but I have a smaller pot that I keep a 60% soft to 40% hard mix in for spinnerbaits, the harder mix will make it less likely the wire form will come loose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) Like everyone mentioned, you will be fine. You can pour with any lead, as long as you figure out how to get good pours without any bad ones on a consistent basis. Make sure the mold is hot as well as the pot. Yes turning up the pot to get it hotter does help with better pouring. Also use Drop-Out and many of your problems will go away. Edited December 6, 2017 by cadman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elkins45 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 I’m a bullet caster of many years experience, and my experience has always been that alloys containing some tin or antimony cast easier and fill out better. The hardest bullet to cast is usually a pure soft lead bullet for muzzle loading rifles. I was genuinely perplexed when I read the instructions for Do-it molds that said pure lead casts better. To cast a good pure lead bullet I generally have to get the melt and the mold crazy hot and cast as fast as possible. My experience making jigs has been the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 On 12/11/2017 at 2:16 PM, Elkins45 said: I’m a bullet caster of many years experience, and my experience has always been that alloys containing some tin or antimony cast easier and fill out better. The hardest bullet to cast is usually a pure soft lead bullet for muzzle loading rifles. I was genuinely perplexed when I read the instructions for Do-it molds that said pure lead casts better. To cast a good pure lead bullet I generally have to get the melt and the mold crazy hot and cast as fast as possible. My experience making jigs has been the same. Your experience is just that, what happens and works for you is the way to go. On all the tackle making forums I go to, you are the first person I've ever seen that said that. Like I said, if it works for you, that is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 I have also read many times on bullet casting forums that tin helps molds fill out and that many bullet(or boolit as they say on their forums) casters use tin for mold fill out. Started casting boolits myself last year. Bullet casters are certainly more particular about molds filling out perfectly. It makes a much bigger difference in a bullet than a fishing jig. I wonder why tin helps bullet molds fill out but hasn't caught on in the jig casting community? Could it be that jigs have more nooks and crannies,lead barbs etc, and bullets just have grooves in the molds? May have to experiment sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
