How to Melt Lead for Jigs
Avid fishermen and women can custom make jigs to suit their needs and save money. Jigs are fishing lures made from lead sinkers with an attached hook. The lead sinker can easily be melted at home using a few simple supplies. Jigs can be crafted with hard or soft lead, although soft lead is easier to melt and holds its shape well. You can purchase lead-melting equipment and molds from a hobby or fishing supply store.
Things You'll Need
- Electric lead melter or pot and hot plate
- Jig mold
- Lead
- Hooks
- Leather gloves
- Eye protection
- Gate shears
Instructions
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Melt the lead. Don the leather gloves and eye protection. Use an old pot and a hotplate or an electric lead melter. The pot and hotplate are more difficult to use. Electric lead melters come in three different varieties: the dip out melter, the bottom pour melter and the side pour melter. Plug in the electrical melter, then just add the lead.
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Prepare the mold. Place one hook into each sinker mold and close it. Place it on its side so that you can pour the lead into it.
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Pour the lead. Put on the leather gloves and pour the lead into the mold. Lead cools quickly, so make sure that you pour it quickly enough to fill the mold before setting, but not so fast that the mold overflows.
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Remove the jig from the mold after a couple of minutes and trim off spruce (extraneous pieces of lead) with the gate shears.
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Tips & Warnings
Extended exposure to lead my result in health conditions including abdominal pain, headaches, anemia, confusion and irritability.
Always wear leather gloves and eye protection in case of spills or splatters.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
