Saturday, July 10, 2010

Making your own Sinkers



I've had it with the high cost of sinkers these days so I am now making my own. One kind I am making is a no roll sinker. This has a flat pear shape and has a hole through the center just like an egg sinker. The mold is produced by the Do-It corporation (http://www.do-itmolds.com/prodmolds.aspx?c=72) and has 4 cavities for sinkers of 1, 1 1/2, 2, and 3 oz.


It is easy for me to do since I have all the supplies such as melters, ladles, molds and cutters needed to make sinkers and jigs. The mold is fairly easy to pour except for the 1 oz. cavity which must really be heated in order to work. A pin is inserted into each cavity before pouring and after pouring, the pin is pulled out with pliers. Later, I paint the sinkers using brown or green powder paint. The finish is beautiful. It is tricky doing this since the sinker must be mounted on a piece of wire first, heated for 4-5 seconds with a small torch and then sort of rolled on each side in a shallow dish of powder paint. I later cure them in the oven at 350 degrees. If you are into making sinkers and jigs this is all standard procedure.


I know this is not for everyone since lead is a toxic material and getting all these supplies is quite costly. But, if you do make your own sinkers and jigs, consider making your own carp sinkers. You will save a bundle.

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