[The Dutchman]

I have never poured lead before. Had a ton of lead wheel weights given to me. Can I just melt and pour or should I use some other lead mixed with the ww lead?

[reeves]

Dutch,
There a lot impurities in wheel weights. Most guys use a propane fish fryer with a cast iron dutch oven type pan. I just did a couple hundred pounds yesterday. You have to melt them down and then skim all the junk off the top and discard. Once you have a pot of melted lead, ladle it into ingot molds, old muffin pans, things like that to create ingots to add to your lead pouring pot in smaller amounts. Don't try doing this in your pouring pot as you will eventually clog it up, not worth the hassle.

As for pouring baits directly with wheel weight lead, it works best on larger baits, not on small 1/16 or 1/8oz stuff. This lead is hard and brittle, so to make pouring easier add soft lead with it.

If you need more help, give a yell, many will answer. Good luck!

[FishinME]

Like what Reeves said, it depends on what mold you are using.

[LedHed]

Dutchman
Hope you got the clip on WWs - the two sided tape is a real pain.
Do your bulk melting outside and pour up a bunch of ingots to use later.
Depends on what you are pouring for your lead mixing (hard/soft).

[oscarsteel]

Dutchman, I use them for all my spinnerbaits and football jigs without adding any soft lead. They seem to take abuse from rocky bottoms better than the softer lead. Just make sure you have the mold hot when you pour. I heat the mold, hooks, and wire.....Oscar

[ipock2]

I've used wheel weights for years. No problems. Just be sure to remove impurities and be CAREFUL!!!

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[SeaEagle]

hey guys i am new to the game. my partner said i should join here for the tips and help and it looks like good advice. but i have been making my own lead heads for a while now. and i thought i would add my 2 cents!

i stay away from wheel weights for all the extra crap you have to go through. yes you do need to flux your soft lead too. BUT if its an issue of the harder lead taking abuse better over rocks and such i have a simple and VERY easy solution for you... if you use a powder coat just bake it at 380 degrees for 5-8 hours. it will make the powder coat very hard and will take a beating you won't believe! i have thrown my lead heads into docks. boats. pilings. rocks. you name it. lead heads hold up very well. bought 110lbs of lead for about $65.

[sagacious]

Originally Posted by LedHed

...
Do your bulk melting outside and pour up a bunch of ingots to use later.
...

Like Ledhead noted, be sure to melt 'em down outside. Also, if you flux the melt with wax just before you pour ingots, you'll pour 'cleaner' ingots and save yourself some frustration later on. There's more info available on fluxing if you do a search.

Be safe, and good luck!

[sagacious]

Originally Posted by SeaEagle

...
i stay away from wheel weights for all the extra crap you have to go through.
...

Welcome SeaEagle. This may not be an option for The Dutchman, as he was given a bunch of ww's for free, and it would be a shame not to use all that good lead.

I pour a lot of large saltwater jigs, and they take considerable abuse from the rocks-- for me, powdercoated ww lead holds up much better than powdercoated soft lead.

Dutchman, unless you're pouring very small jigs, straight ww lead works fine. Take note of the suggestions posted above by Oscarsteel, and you should do fine. Good luck!