Funny lead discussion on a fishing forum

[ghh3rd]

I was Googling something and came accros this thread on a fishing forum. They were bemoaning having to use "tire weights" to make sinkers... sort of funny:

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Digger02-24-2006, 06:41 PM
Another problem with the tire weights is they are lighter than soft lead(i.e. Purer). The alloy that is mixed in with has a higher melting point which is why it does not pour as well.
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rattler02-24-2006, 09:27 PM
tire lead leaves a "skum" on the surface that must be skimmed off...you lose about 20% of your weight...but it works if its free...
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Heaver02-24-2006, 09:42 PM
I guess tire weights will work if thats all you have.
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Shoebag2202-25-2006, 12:50 PM
I figured that tire weights weren't the best thing to use, but the price is right... what do you guys use to skim the impurities off the surface... is that necessary?
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Digger02-25-2006, 07:10 PM
Yes you have to skim. I use a old spoon or fork(just hit the thrift store).
Digger02-25-2006, 07:10 PM
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rattler02-25-2006, 08:27 PM
tire weights have(had) a lot of tin content to make the lead hard enough to hold the rim of the tire rim...that you skim off...as digger said anything that works...
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fcbandgdog102-26-2006, 06:14 PM
I agree about tire weights...
1. Price is right...Free.
2. Lots of Non-lead contant...so you have to "clean it up" and make it into ingots. then the ingots are easy to work with. Use an old muffin tin to make the ingots.
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fcbandgdog102-26-2006, 06:16 PM
Lots of good informations here...sounds like we have some really experienced pourers...
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I would gladly trade my pure lead for their nasty "tire weights" with the scum that floats on top

[Orygun]

Don't tell them anything.

[rvpilot76]

Maybe they'd like to trade those 'ol nasty wheelweights for some zinc?

[Avery Arms]

Maybe they'd like to trade those 'ol nasty wheelweights for some zinc?

Why waste good zinc that could be used for making lorcins?

Sinkers can be made from steel...just have to crank up the furnace a bit


PP

[randyrat]

Welcome the fellow "Pourer" Hi there, i'm a fellow bullet Stuffer.

[OLPDon]

Hmmmm!!!!
I do think we need to infeltrate the fishing forum,,,,, and ask how to cast, also explain how new we are to casting sinkers (which in itself is not a total Lie) (maybe). Perhaps we can flux them out of thoes nasty Wheel Thingys with all that useless tin stuff. Its just a thought perchance we will all learn the finer points of making our own with what apears to be in there view.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the caster.
Don
PS Remember when one thing in the venture. Loose lips shinks ships. When it comes to Love, War, and WW all's fair.

[montana_charlie]

The members of that fraternity call themselves 'pourers', while we prefer 'casters'.
Considering that they are making sinkers to fish with, you can imagine how confusing it would be for them to use 'caster'...since they become 'casters' when they start waving that fishing rod around.

I can see another area of confusion where our use of 'smelt' would be quite different from that of a 'pourer' who was netting some bait.

If some 'pourers' seek precision in a manner similar to ours, I can see where the weight difference between lead and wheelweight could be a problem.
When the pourer judges the speed of a stream, and decides his hellgramite will present best with two quarter-ounce split shot, he selects his sinkers by physical size...as produced by the mould.
If cast (or poured) from w/w, the bait will ride too high in the water, and miss that old lunker in the hole under the willow branch.

Somebody needs to invent a little digital scale that will clip onto a fishing vest...along with the forty other items hanging there...so the 'pourer' can put the right amount of weight on his line, regardless of alloy used.

If we were to do this favor for them, perhaps one of those 'pourers' would tell us how you skim 'skum' with a fork...!

CM

[FN in MT]

I just cast several hundred .41 SWC slugs for a buddy who was supposed to give me some ingots of linotype as a pay back. He calls me and tells me his elderly Father had used over 100#'s of linotype casting large SINKERS that he uses for halibut fishing off the west coast.

Apparently the WW ingots were on the bottom of the pile and the Lino on top. So it was more convenient to throw in the pot. What a WASTE.

FN in MT

[hemiallen]

"I can see where the weight difference between lead and wheelweight could be a problem.
When the pourer judges the speed of a stream, and decides his hellgramite will present best with two quarter-ounce split shot, he selects his sinkers by physical size...as produced by the mould.
If cast (or poured) from w/w, the bait will ride too high in the water, and miss that old lunker in the hole under the willow branch."
--__________________________________________________ ________________________

I think you are overthinking the process.

I am fishing ahead of my good buddy charlie, as we fishermen work upstream to avoid the fish from seeing us before they see out bait offering. I get to a hole and catch a few good fish in a few minutes, and release them and move upstream. Ole Charlie gets to the hole expecting to do the same as I did, and finds he can't get bit. He hollers up to me and I tell him the bait of choice and tecnique, but he still can't get bit. I remember to have him add 2 of your theoretical split shot, but ole Charlie has pure lead splitshot and I used Lynotype....

Trust me, he will be close enough with the difference to catch the fish, unless Charlie has consumed a Banana and/ or is Jinxed..... My point is, the difference between lead and lynotype's density won't make a hill of beans difference in fishing... in the manner I assume you are talking....


And to us West coasters, Halibut rigs do not RELEASE the lead, we use 4 to 12 ounces of either torpedo ( to reduce snag-ups and lost riggs) or triangel weights attached to the mainline a few feet above the flasher/ bait setup, assuming drifting or trolling and not Jigging.

Hope this clears up any questions from the fishing portion of this website...LOL

BTW, 6 months ago , before I thought about casting bullets again in my lifetime, I used some of my Lyman #2 cast biscuts to make downrigger weights ( 8 and 10 pounds) as I had a free opportunity to use a guys 2 molds and I forgot I had a stash of WW biscuts out in the barn...... I figured I won't loose these weights, even though I made a dozen of each, but the store bought ones were going up fast at about 4$ per moulded pound........

I also bought many torpedo's and 3# salmon balls ( that w/o a downrigger release to the ocean floor on a hard strike) at .50c/ lb from boat ballast, knowing the balls were 4+ times his asking price and I may ( salmon fishing here may never come back..) sell them for profit, ie stocking up. I figured $200 worth of lead could be profitable, or recast in the future.

Allen

[wilddog45]

I actually got my start smelting wheelweight lead for 1lb sinkers used in snagging spoonbill. We used to do it on the riverbank on an open fire and a case of beer. I had been loading condom bullets all along so casting the grand galena into boolits was a natural progression.

[whisler]

I recently bought some lead from a fellow who does a lot of salvage work. He got the lead from a guy who was cleaning out his deceased father's garage. I said any molds with this lead and he says "yes, a couple". Imagine my disappointment when I found out they were sinker molds. Some of the lead was ingots in the form of a small spouted lead pot but quite a bit was in the form of 38 wadcutters, and lubed 44 SWC, and 45 RN boolits. All were bevel based and the lube was hard and dried out, so it seems the old gentleman was melting down commercial cast boolets for fishing sinkers. Something wrong with that picture! I gave the sinker molds to a friend who is a fishing fanatic and he proceeded to reward me with several sets of reloading dies and a very old RCBS press (JR 2). Now that's a nice trade!

[Ghugly]

I know that this makes no sense. Unfortunately, knowing it's senseless makes no difference.
Whenever I hear that the guy, who just left the tire store before I got there, is going to take all my precious wheel weights and throw them into the ocean, I get pissed.

[jonk]

I cast sinkers from time to time. I didn't know I was supposed to say I 'pour' them.

I just use wheel weights. The fish don't seem to mind.