[wildevobaits]

I am looking around for another lead free alternative for casting; I have been using a food grade pewter for quite some time now, but pewter has about half the specific gravity as lead. Because of pewter being less dense than lead, quite a bit of my bait designs tend to run sideways, because they do not have enough counter rotaing mass. I need a a castable allow that is about as dense as lead or at least denser than pewter. I have read about people using bismuth alloys and copper alloys, but I never got enough info on those alloys to switch from pewter. If you have any ideas on other alloys and maybee a supplies that would be great.

[Fatman]

Check here on lead free as I brought this up a while ago. I was checking as Vermont has a ban on lead sinkers and there is a chance they'll expand it to jigs.

I've looked at bismuth/tin mix of 70 bis/ 30 tin but haven't bought it yet. Others I've talked to use straight tin which heats less than lead but also weighs less. Some go with a larger head size to make up for the weight.

I would search on lead free here on the site and work up some more questions and we'll help from there. There are lots of folks here who make jigs and all are willing to help

Fatman

[hawnjigs]

Yes there was a lot of lead free casting info posted this year if you care to search. Here's a link to a supplier of "low 281" bismuth/tin alloy which is what I use for lead free casting. Weighs 3/4 as much as lead.
Low Melting Alloys

You can also purchase heavier pure bismuth 4/5 lead weight.
BISMUTH 1 Pound

[wildevobaits]

Thanks on the info. How well does the pure bismuth pour.

[hawnjigs]

Bismuth is an ez pour at a lower temp than lead. Its a bit brittle & a casting could break if bounced off above surface rocks. Alloying in some tin or pewter will toughen up the bismuth and lower the melting point.

[Jig Man]

If you can get some tin based babbitt it works as well as lead. I use it for pouring jigging spoons.

[21xdc]

How about "Environ metal"