JayC37jigs Posted June 19 Report Share Posted June 19 Ok. I’m not new here and I’m not new to pouring my own baits. However, in my collection of what all suppose to be soft lead…. I grabbed a bar and put into the melting pot and poured some jigs. I went to cut the spures off and it almost popped off halfway through the cut. It felt different than cutting through most my soft lead I’ve poured. I shrugged it off and continued. When I went to cut off some of the keeper collar off the lead just kind of popped off or broke halfway through the cut. So….. is the lead hard lead????? Something else? Is it ok to continue to pour with what I have in the melting pot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted June 19 Report Share Posted June 19 (edited) I do not pour straight soft lead. My lead is 70% soft 30% hard. I like this mix. You can pour any lead you want. If you get flawless pours with hard lead and it works for you then use it. Many times straight hard leads is hard to pour because it doesn't want to fill all of the features in the cavity. However there is a solution to that, just turn up the heat and many times this will solve your problem. No point in throwing the lead away if you get the desired results you want. Edited June 19 by cadman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted June 19 Report Share Posted June 19 I agree with cadman. I was given 75# of printers lead several years ago. I believe that it contains antimony. I’ve been mixing it with soft lead for a long time. I prefer it to soft lead especially for spinner baits and chatter baits. Like he stated you may need to have the heat higher to achieve the desired results. Good luck and please report back. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayC37jigs Posted June 19 Author Report Share Posted June 19 3 hours ago, cadman said: I do not pour straight soft lead. My lead is 70% soft 30% hard. I like this mix. You can pour any lead you want. If you get flawless pours with hard lead and it works for you then use it. Many times straight hard leads is hard to pour because it doesn't want to fill all of the features in the cavity. However there is a solution to that, just turn up the heat and many times this will solve your problem. No point in throwing the lead away if you get the desired results you want. Awesome!!! Thanks for the replies guys! I was making my version of “the bladed jig” and swim jigs and happen to have the heat cranked up for spinnerbaits. It was mixed with my soft lead. But the way it reacted when I cut the sprew (not sure how to spell it, but you know what I’m talking about). Went to cut the sprew off, it cut some then just kind of popped off. It worked, just different consistency of lead. I might throw some more soft lead into it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayC37jigs Posted June 19 Author Report Share Posted June 19 3 hours ago, Jig Man said: I agree with cadman. I was given 75# of printers lead several years ago. I believe that it contains antimony. I’ve been mixing it with soft lead for a long time. I prefer it to soft lead especially for spinner baits and chatter baits. Like he stated you may need to have the heat higher to achieve the desired results. Good luck and please report back. Thanks for replying. LOL! I’m thinking I may have possibly at some point bought jigs off you many years ago when I first started learning to make and tie my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassjiggin1955 Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 I use 80% soft 20% hard lead mix I have a local company that makes up my lead in 3 to 25 pound ingots. Im there only customer I buy every thing they pour. Ive never had a pouring problem I pour Jigs Spinnerbaits Buzzbaits Blade baits & Drop shot weights 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRum Posted July 2 Report Share Posted July 2 On 6/19/2024 at 4:42 PM, JayC37jigs said: Awesome!!! Thanks for the replies guys! I was making my version of “the bladed jig” and swim jigs and happen to have the heat cranked up for spinnerbaits. It was mixed with my soft lead. But the way it reacted when I cut the sprew (not sure how to spell it, but you know what I’m talking about). Went to cut the sprew off, it cut some then just kind of popped off. It worked, just different consistency of lead. I might throw some more soft lead into it. Thanks Harder lead crumbles or breaks. Soft bends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayC37jigs Posted July 3 Author Report Share Posted July 3 5 hours ago, RedRum said: Harder lead crumbles or breaks. Soft bends Yes, I’m starting to see that with this batch. It isn’t real bad. I’ll probably just add a bar of softer lead to it and see how that does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
