OK guys. After being a fan of bead heads for so long because of all the anticipated trouble of pouring my own leadheads, I finally did it. I poured my own - and do you know what? It's easy. And I'm not dead from lead poisoning, either - at least not yet.
Our local rivers are all blown out right now so this is as good a time as any to do a tutorial. Here's what you need and how to do it for making your own jig heads/hooks.
Start with the equipment. Here's what I used:
1 "Hot Pot 2" lead melting pot. (I like this one because the pot and the pouring is all one piece. Some of the others might work better if you were going to make zillions of jig heads.
1 Pair of "gate shears." (These are necessary for trimming your sprues when you take the jigs out of the mold.)
1 Pair of needle nose pliers.
1 Old ceramic coffee cup and 1 old steak knife (for cleaning the slag out of the bottom of your hot pot when finished.
Assorted 90 degree jig hooks. I used 1/0 Owner #5313-111 super needle point (my favorite steelhead jig hook); Gamakatsu #60410 jig hooks in size 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0 (my second favorite); Eagle Claw O'Shaughnessy #640 jig hooks in size 1 and 1/0 (the least expensive, very suitable when sharpened before use.)
One DO-IT Roundhead Jig mold Model JNR-7-48 for 1/8 and 1/4 oz. jigs (Fits #1 - #2/0 hooks).
One DO-IT Roundhead Jig mold Model JNR-1062 for 1/16 and 1/8 oz. jigs (Fits #2 - #4 hooks).
Here's a picture of the assembled equipment...
I poured my jigs outdoors at first, then figured out a way to do it indoors, under the exhaust hood of the gas range (Mrs. Zonker was at work, of course. Don't anyone tell.) I put a carboard box upside down on top of the cool range, which raised the pot up to where the lead fumes would be sucked up and out of the kitchen.
Start by plugging in the pot and chucking in a piece of lead. I used lead ingots from Oregon Tackle (distributed through Fisherman's Marine of Oregon City). Be sure to use quality lead (AKA, soft). Stay away from tire weights and other things that have other metals in them. When I get ready to buy more lead I'll probably pick up a couple of those one pound lead cannon ball weights that they sell at Walmart or perhaps a roll or two of solid core coiled lead that is used for making pencil weights.
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble... Here's what it looks like when it's melted. No, it doesn't really bubble.
While you're waiting for the melt, use a propane torch (or a cig lighter if you have time) to pre-warm the mold. It doesn't need to be hot. Just warm. Once warm, you won't have to do this step again as pouring the jigs will keep it warm.
Load the hooks into the mold cavities. I was able to do this with my fingers as the mold never became too hot to touch. Fingers work much better than pliers.
The two DO-IT molds I bought recommend using Eagle Claw Style 570 or 575 hooks. Don't! These are way too wimpy for steelhead. I found that the Owners and the Gamys worked just fine. The Eagle Claw O'Shaughnessys also worked suitably as long as I was careful to be sure they were lined up. DO-IT does make a mold especially for the O'Shaughnessy hook, but I don't think that is necessary.
Carefully close the mold around the hooks. Hold it closed and gently pour lead into each cavity until it pools up on top of the mold. This must be done in one smooth move so that it doesn't start to harden before the cavity is full.
Open the jaws of the mold. Use your needle nose pliers to remove the freshly poured jigs.
Use the gate shears to trim off the sprue. The gate shears are critical to making this work. Don't try to get by using something else. These make a close, clean cut. They are made to use only with lead, so don't use them for cutting the wires on the lights of your Christmas tree.
Here is a close up of the shears.
When you are finished trimming your creations to suit you, sort them into separate containers according to size and weight.
Once you're underway it doesn't take long to pour a few hundred of these. Get enough hooks and lead to do a bunch at one time. Pour a few extras for your friends who will bug you to pour for them. Tie them up using deadly steelhead colors and styles. Go fish them.
zonker 8-)
