If you had a chance to buy a lot of lead how much would one need to satisfy the rest of their fishing life?

I have a spoon mold and possibly thinking on buying a jig head mold. I cannot see making anything bigger than 1 ounce for anything I fish at this point.

The lead I will be picking up will be sheet lead.

I was given some sheet lead many years ago which was formerly used for sheathing on a cable. It worked very well, as I remember, nice and soft, I believe I cut it with tin snips. Soft lead fills the mold cavities better, normally a potential problem on very small jig heads / very intricate configurations.

Re: How much will you need for as long as you live - pretty difficult to determine, depends on too many variables.

Bill

I agree with Bill,to many variables to know how much you'd need for life. I would say figure on if you know for sure that you will only ever cast spoons and one type of jig for ever maybe you could get away with 100 lbs,but what happens when you get a new jig mold or a walking weight mold?Or a new mold of something you like comes out.If it where me and I had the room to store it I'd buy as much as He'd sell me.

FC

He would sell me it all but i dont think i can afford 2000 pounds of lead.

He would sell me it all but i dont think i can afford 2000 pounds of lead.

Man, think of the cannon ball or anchor that would make!

I think i will go with either 300 or 400 lbs. It should be more than enough for my life time of fishing.

How much a pound? If it's cheap then stock up. If not, then buy a little to tide you over and wait for a better deal. I used to buy 30-40 pounds at a time from the local scrap yard which was good enough for 2-3 years for me. I have a couple friends who keep me in lead now for free. I have not bought any lead in over 10 years now.
Point being, be sure to let your friends,fishing buddies (especially ones who work in construction) know your looking for lead to make jigs etc. You might be surprised what they might come up with.

As far as how much to buy. 3 or 400 pounds x 16 = 4800 or 6400 1 oz jigs. THAT should last you a LONG time I would think. :)

Cannon ball? Anchor? LOL Bill

I looked on ebay at ingots and his price for me i think was good. $0.67 per lb

I looked on ebay at ingots and his price for me i think was good. $0.67 per lb


That's a great price.I paid more on ebay.

As far as 300-400 lbs yes I think that will last a long time!!

How close are you to Philly I just might have to take a trip!!

FC

About 1300 miles. :)

About 1300 miles. :)

I need to plan a trip! :huh:

FC

It may be a long shot but are there any scrap metal dealers near either of you? I used to buy my lead at a local scrap dealer and paid less than half of what comercial ingots cost and that's not including shipping. Even if you had to drive 50 miles (maybe more) it would pay to see what's available through a scrap metal dealer. Just give them a call and ask what they are charging for lead.
The place I went to ( still could) had anywhere from 6 to a dozen 55 gallon drums of scrap lead. Some times it was even sorted = hard or soft lead.

Not sure where you live, but post where and maybe someone near you would go in on the lead and have some molds you don't have, kinda a mold pool.

Al

Douglas, Wyoming. Not many people out here. :)

Douglas, Wyoming. Not many people out here. :)

Big Sky Country!!I was there once playing music.Awesome time awesome people!Forget the lead I would just love to come out west again.Being on the east coast in all of these people is a tad trying on the nerves.

FC :huh:

picked up the lead, this stuff is crazy soft. you can scrape it with your finger nail. I am glad I picked up 300 lbs today.

As for the area, yes it is great. Work is good, 4 days off a week to fish a great walleye reservoir. low population. Life is good out here.

Hey Jopes,

I am down in Eaton, Co...any way I can get my hands on some of that lead? Let me know if we can work something out.

Thanks,

Todd

Jopes,If you don't mind me asking, how much did you end up paying for the lead?

$200 for 300# or 67 cents per pound.

Was the soft 300 pounds of lead already cleaned?

it was sheet lead, it had some small staples on it, and a little sand and dust from our lovely winds, but melting it down and making small ingots to toss into my melting pot for pouring.