KAYAK FISHING BLOG | CORNISH KAYAK ANGLER
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Information Guides
    • Choosing a Fishing Kayak
    • Choosing A Paddle
    • What to Wear
    • Essential Safety Equipment
    • Paddle or Pedal Kayak?
    • Installing A Fish Finder
    • How to Anchor A Kayak
  • Kayak Modifications
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Places to Fish
    • North Cornwall
    • West Cornwall
    • South Cornwall
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Photos
    • 2013 Photos
    • 2014 Photos
    • 2015 Photos
    • 2016 Photos
    • 2017 Photos
  • Marine Life Photography
    • Fish
    • Cnidaria
    • Echinodermata
    • Mollusca
    • Crustacea
  • Links

Kayak Fishing Blog

Making Lead Fishing Weights

8/4/2015

 
Picture
Lead weights are an item of tackle practically every bait fisherman uses in some form or another. They can be an expensive item of terminal tackle if you lose them often in snags. It can be much cheaper to make your own once you have purchased some basic pieces of equipment. Here is how i make my fishing lead weights.....
Firstly, and most importantly, you will need a particulate face mask/respirator. Lead fumes are toxic and can make you seriously ill - do not make weights without wearing one! They can be purchased online or from most hardware stores for around £20. Melt the lead in a well ventilated space and take regular fresh air breaks. Your hands also need protection from the heat. Lead melts at a reasonably low temperature compared to other metals, at 327.5 degrees celsius, but that is way more than enough to cause serious burns and a trip to hospital. Invest in some heat proof gloves - £10 should get you a pair. You can't make weights without them. It is also important to mention that any lead you add to the melting pot must be dry - if liquid water comes into contact with molten lead it evaporates at such a rate it causes the lead to spit and explode from the pot. You can wear googles and an apron/thick jacket but as long as your careful and not splashing the molten lead, and any lead you add to the melting pot is dry, you will be ok.
Picture
Picture
Secondly you need a source of lead. If your lucky enough to be one, or know a builder then you will have access to scrap lead. If not then lead can be brought at a reasonable price from your local scrapyard. The price has fluctuated over the past few years but has steadily been increasing and is currently around £1-£1.25 a kilogram. I usually buy £10-20 worth for a weight making session. If you can, ask for clean lead. If its coated in muck its not too much of a problem but clean lead makes life easier. The lead will often come in sheets or strips and will need to be cut into smaller pieces to fit into a melting pot. I use a bench guillotine but a pair of metal snips (below) will also do the job too.
Picture
Next you need a means to melt your lead. I use a simple gas cooking ring linked up to a bottle of gas. A basic cooking ring can be picked up online or sometimes at a car boot sale. Gas bottles, gas regulators and piping can be brought from some petrol stations and DIY stores. These are set up on a bench lined with aluminium sheeting (inexpensive from a local metal supplier). You could set it up on a concrete floor but i find it easier working when standing up. Cast iron saucepans are used for melting the lead - one with a lip for pouring. 
Picture
I have two gas rings set up - one to keep lead melting on to replenish the pouring pot on the other ring. I use a thermalite block to place the moulds on when pouring, you could equally use a standard brick. This is set up in a garage but next top a door to provide sufficient ventilation. 
Picture
Once the lead has melted you need to scrape off the slag (muck and impurities) that will have floated to the top. The cleaner the lead the less slag. As previously said, try to get clean lead if you can. I use a trowel to scrape it off into a metal ladle, once its all removed it gets thrown into a metal waste pot. You should now have a pot of clean molten lead ready for pouring into your mould. 

Make sure you heat the mould up before pouring your first lot of lead into it otherwise the weight may not form properly or the pouring hole may seal over. Just place the mould beside the saucepan on the ring whilst the lead is melting to heat it up. I use a Do-It mould to make 6oz & 8oz Swivel Bombs and standard aquapedo moulds to make 3oz, 4oz & 5oz weights. The Do-It moulds are expensive but incredibly easy to use.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The swivel bomb mould, unsurprisingly, requires a swivel, the aquapedo weights require a brass loop, these can be purchased from most tackle shops in packs of 50 or 100 for a few pounds.
Picture
Picture
The Do-It mould is hinged so the two halves of the mould can easily and quickly be put together. The standard moulds can be a little tricky to put together without knocking the loop out of place. A simple task made difficult when wearing heat proof gloves! Make sure the mould is fully closed or else lead will pour out. A small G-clamp can come in handy to stop the mould falling apart. 

Its now time to pour the lead into the mould. The melting pot will be heavy so grip the handle firmly with both hands. Slowly pour the lead into the mould until it emerges from the top. If the mould is too cold the entrance hole may seal up so you will need to start again. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Give it 10 seconds or so for the lead to solidify. Open the mould to see if the lead has formed properly and filled the entire mould. At this point the mould will be at its hottest and you will sometimes find your fingers getting hot through the gloves. Take them off and let them cool down. I have often ejected a glove from my hand at high speed because it has become to hot!
Picture
Picture
The weights will be scorching hot and can sometimes be difficult to remove from the mould, especially if some of the lead has creeped out from the mould when pouring. Use a trowel or knife to prise the lead from the mould. Once free i transfer them straight into a metal bucket of cold water.
Picture
It takes a while to get the hang of it but once you find rhythm you will soon get through a pot of lead. Make weights until the pot is about 25% full, then add new lead and wait for it to melt before starting the process again. A few hours later and you will have made plenty of weights. 
Picture
Now its time to use metal snips to remove the lead pieces that formed in the pouring hole and any other unwanted pieces of lead from the weights. Place all these scrap pieces in a pot and they can be used for next time.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Before long you will have a pile of shiny new homemade lead weights!
Picture
A mornings worth of weight making will probably produce enough weights to last me the year, with some to hand out to others along the way. Quite a few items need to be brought to set up a lead making station like the one shown here but in the long run you save a lot of money over buying weights. The most essential items are the particulate face mask and heat proof gloves! So if you use lots of weights then start building up the equipment to make your own!

Here is a video outlining how i make my lead fishing weights. Check it out!
Gavin
8/4/2015 13:16:41

a great reference, how much do you reckon each weight costs to produce?

Cornish Kayak Angler
8/4/2015 14:13:59

Hi Gavin,

The lead is around £1.25 a kilo at my local scrapyard. Theres about 35oz in a kilo so that will make 4 x 8oz or 5x 6oz weights with a few ounces of offcuts for next time. An 8oz weight costs around £1.20-1.40 and 6oz weights around £1-1.20 in the local tackle shops here. You can soon see where the money is saved. You need to factor in the cost of gas and swivels/loops too. I have been making weights for around 7 years now and i reckon you make them for around a third of the price you would buy them for. After a couple of hundreds weights you have soon paid off the cost of the equipment to make them. If you go through lots of weights it can therefore work out more economical to make your own. I don't use so many when kayaking but when i used to shore fish all the time i was mainly rough grounding so making my own weights saved quite a bit of money in the long run. Now its a case of buying £10-20 worth of lead every so often and a bottle of gas every few years.

Steven Kurtz link
6/2/2019 06:38:54

Making your own fishing lures is a great way to have fun, save money, extend your fishing season and catch more fish. The methods you have used here, I think its one of the best way to make own fishing lead.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Liam Faisey

    Liam Faisey Cornish Kayak Angler

    SPONSORS

    palm-equipment-logo
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Navionics Logo

    Proudly associated with
    Cornwall Canoes
    Cornwall's only specialist kayak fishing shop

    Archives

    January 2023
    November 2022
    February 2022
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Anchor
    Anchor Chain
    Anchoring
    Anchor Reel
    Anchor Trolley
    Atom Bib
    Baillons Wrasse
    Ballan Wrasse
    Basking Shark
    Bass
    Battery
    Black Bream
    Blonde Ray
    Blue Shark
    Boat Fishing
    Bull Huss
    Buyers Guide
    Camera
    Clothing
    Cod
    Common Skate
    Competition
    Conger Eel
    Corkwing Wrasse
    Cornwall
    Couch's Bream
    Crate
    Cuckoo Wrasse
    Dab
    Diy
    Dolphins
    Drift Fishing
    Drysuit
    Equipment
    Extendable Pole
    Fishfinder
    Fish Finder
    Fishing Kayaks
    Flounder
    Footwear
    Gilthead Bream
    Goby
    Goldsinney-wrasse
    Go Pro
    Gps
    Greater Weever
    Grey-gurnard
    Grey-gurnard
    Haddock
    Herring
    Hobie
    Hobie Eclipse
    Hobie Outback
    Hobie Outtfitter
    Jellyfish
    Kayak Fishing Guide
    Kayak Review
    Kayak Surfing
    Kayak-wars
    Launce
    Launch Venues
    Leashes
    Lesser Spotted Dogfish
    Ling
    Lithium Battery
    Live Bait
    Lowrance Elite 4x Dsi
    Lure Fishing
    Lures
    Mackerel
    Marine Biological Association
    Measuring-fish
    Megrim Sole
    Mirage Drive
    Modifications
    Mother Shipping
    Mounting-board
    Oceanic Pufferfish
    Ocean-sunfish
    Octopus
    Paddle
    Paddling
    Palm
    Palm-kaikoura
    Pedal Drive Kayaks
    Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet
    Pfd
    Pilchards
    Pilot Whales
    Places-to-fish
    Plaice
    PLB
    Pollack
    Porbeagle Shark
    Pouting
    Railblaza
    Ram Mounts
    Ram Tubes
    Ray
    Raymarine Dragonfly
    Red Band Fish
    Red Gurnard
    Red Mullet
    Reef Fishing
    Review
    Revolution 16
    Rigging
    Rock Cook Wrasse
    Rod Holders
    Rod Rest
    ROKK Mounts
    RPF Master
    RTM
    RTM Abaco 420
    RTM Abaco 420
    RTM Luxe Seat
    RTM Ocean Duo
    RTM Rytmo Angler
    RTM Tempo
    Safety
    Scad
    Scorpionfish
    Scotty Mount
    Selfrescue
    Shark
    Shore Fishing
    Skate
    Slide Track
    Small Eyed Ray
    Smoothound
    Spotted Ray
    Starting Out
    Storage
    Storm
    Streaked Gurnard
    Tandem Kayak
    Team RTM UK
    Teksport Xplore 330
    Thermals
    Thornback Ray
    Tompot Blenny
    Tope
    Triggerfish
    Tub Gurnard
    Turbot
    Ugly Stik Elite Spin Rod
    Ugly Stik Kayak Rod
    Undulate Ray
    VHF Radio
    Video
    Viking Kayaks
    West Cornwall Kayakers
    Yak Attack

    Add my blog to your feed reader by clicking the button below 

    RSS Feed


    Cornish Kayak Angler - Kayak Fishing Blog

    Get blog updates via email

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    blog web counter
    Web Counter

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Kayak Fishing Videos

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Kayak Bass Fishing Video
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed Widget
    Custom feed reader powered by FeedWind

    Useful Links

    Anglers Afloat
    Cornish Shore & Kayak Fisherman
    Cornwall Canoes
    ​Palm Equipment
    ​Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet Info
    Saltwater Kayak Fisherman
    Magic Seaweed
    XC Weather

    Picture

    Choosing a Paddle for Kayaking

    Kayak Fishing Clothing

    Pedal and Paddle Fishing Kayak Pros and Cons

Cornish Kayak Angler - Kayak Fishing Blog

Popular Pages

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Kayak Modifications
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Places To Kayak Fish

Sponsors

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Navionics UK

YouTube

Facebook

Website powered by pasties and the hope of good weather!
© 2023 Liam Faisey
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Information Guides
    • Choosing a Fishing Kayak
    • Choosing A Paddle
    • What to Wear
    • Essential Safety Equipment
    • Paddle or Pedal Kayak?
    • Installing A Fish Finder
    • How to Anchor A Kayak
  • Kayak Modifications
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Places to Fish
    • North Cornwall
    • West Cornwall
    • South Cornwall
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Photos
    • 2013 Photos
    • 2014 Photos
    • 2015 Photos
    • 2016 Photos
    • 2017 Photos
  • Marine Life Photography
    • Fish
    • Cnidaria
    • Echinodermata
    • Mollusca
    • Crustacea
  • Links