making leads

lead making tutorial

Hope no one minds but will this do.


The first thing you need to make weights isnt lead & a mould its the right gear for handling molten metal which can & will do real damage if spilt.

So, first off you need goggles for the eyes, gloves for the hands, get welders gloves if you can as they offer more protection & dont heat up as quick when handling a hot mould & a good ladle for pouring safely.


Next is a safe way of melting the lead, not in an aluminium pan on the stove while you are cooking a meal.
Out doors if possible or in a shed with the door open if not. A good burner & pot make life a lot easier.
When you melt the lead try to get a bronze sheen on the surface this will give the extra heat to allow pouring without setting but not be glowing hot enough to melt the mould .


Next step is warming the mould, the easiest way I find is to put the wires through if making gripper weights & pour in the hot lead, leave for about 30 seconds to heat up & remove the casting, the mould tends to stick so I use the end of the mould clamp to prise to 2 halves apart after removing the wire blanks.


The reason I bend the wires is to make them easier to hold & insert with gloves on & to turn if they get tight to remove.

Now working quickly but NOT rushing (don.t worry, as you make a few you get a nice rhythm going) to keep the mould hot add the tail loop ,


Put the two halves together & clamp then add the blanking wires.


Now carefully but not too slowly add the lead to the top of the filler hole.


Wait a few seconds ( thats all it takes with beach weights) for the lead to set & take the mould apart.


Tap the weight out & repeat until you have made all you need.

Next job is to trim off the lug with a pair of pliers or good wire cutters.
You now have plain beach weights.


Simply add the grip wires & beads or rollers depending on what mould you have.


The Gemini weights are made exactly the same you just set the screw to the size of weight you want insert the wire/screw insert & away you go.

One word of warning, always make sure the lead is dry especially old pipe ,inside & out or it WILL EXPLODE as it creates a little pressure cooker that sprays molten lead.

I hope this is useful & above all be safe be careful.



As a footnote here is a weight some of you have seen in the flesh, I use it for distance casting.

cheers cliff, just what i wanted to know without all the technical babble, a good and for me, a simple how to.

fantastic work cliff very helpful thank you for taking the time and sharing
i have made it a sticky for you

Fame at last.

nice one cliff just what we needed jonty

Very informative Cliff well done its something every one seems to wants to do but have never been told how too. Mind you when you see the prices the shops are charging its no wonder the sales of mouds is on the up. Keep up the good work ( id love one of those plane weights ) ....Frank

A BIG THANK YOU Cliff for the Plane weight Just the job...Frank

Works best with a bomber rig.