How to Make Lead Fishing Sinkers

Lead sinkers that are used for fishing come in many different shapes and sizes. In this article I will teach you how to make your own lead sinkers at home to use next time you are trying to catch your favorite fish.

Things You'll Need

  • Scrap Tablespoon Lead
  • Lead Melting Pot
  • Lead Sinker Mold
  • End Cutters or Sire Snips
  • Metal File
  • Respirator (designed for lead)
  • Candle
  • Safety Goggles
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put on the safety goggles and respirator before starting any work with melting lead for fishing sinkers. Lead produces toxic fumes and often pops when heated!

    • 2

      Fill the lead pot with scrap lead and allow the pot to warm up and heat all of the lead up. Lead melts at 621 degrees F so if your pot has adjustable temperature settings make sure it is hot enough.

    • 3

      Using the tablespoon, scoop the scrap metals and dirt off of the top of the melted lead in the lead pot. Whatever is scraped from the top should be discarded.

    • 4

      Light the candle and use the smoke coming off of it to coat the inside surface of the lead mold. The candle smoke will help the lead sinkers come out better.

    • 5

      Pour the lead into the sinker mold. The warmer the molds are the better the sinkers will come out. I usually remelt the first two or three pours before keeping any sinkers. This will make sure the mold is very hot and produces the best product.

    • 6

      Open the mold and remove the lead sinkers. Usually they will just fall out of the mold but you can use pliers to remove them if necessary.

    • 7

      Repeat from step 4 above to make more lead sinkers.

    • 8

      Trim the scrap ends off of the lead sinkers you have poured after they have cooled off. You can use a metal file at this time to smooth out any rough edges that may be present.