Sinkers
Sinkers
Fishing sinkers don't come under the heading of "lures" but since they are widely used and many anglers mold their own, they should be included in this book. Also, making sinkers is similar in many ways to molding metal squids or jigs. By the nature of their use, sinkers are lost even more often than most fishing lures so it really pays to make your own.
There are many types, such as the ball or round, bell or dipsey, bank, diamond, oval, flat, rectangular, pencil, and pyramid. These are illustrated in Fig. 128 and will give you an idea of the kinds of sinkers used in fresh-and salt-water fishing.
You don't need much equipment. A gas or electric stove is required to melt the lead or other metal, and a ladle to hold and pour the molten lead. For making sinkers, especially the larger salt-water types, a big ladle is best. You also need lead which is usually used to make sinkers. Scrap lead can usually be obtained from a junk dealer. Alloys of lead and other metals, such as type metal, can also be used to make sinkers although you usually get best results with pure lead. Finally you need a mold of some sort.
One of the easiest sinkers to make is the flat, oval type used for freshwater fishing or light salt-water angling. For a mold, use either an old teaspoon or tablespoon, depending on how big and heavy you want the sinker. Then melt the lead and pour it into the spoon. See Fig. 129. You control the size (and weight) of the sinker by regulating the amount of lead you pour. If the sinker sticks to the spoon, just wipe the spoon with an oily rag. After the sinkers are poured and cool, you drill or punch a hole in one end for the fishing line and the sinkers are finished. These flat sinkers hold bottom very well and do not roll in the current or tide.
Another simple and quick way to make sinkers is with a potato mold. Just take a large potato, cut it in half, and then carve out a cavity for the type of sinker you want. Since this is a one-piece mold where you use only half the potato, you are naturally limited to certain types of sinkers. You can make rectangular, dipsey, pyramid, and cylindrical or pencil-type sinkers. Although you can pour these sinkers and then drill eyes in the lead for the fishing line, it is better to cut a small slot in the extreme bottom of the cavity and put a wire eye into it. Then pour the hot lead into the cavity and when it cools pull out the finished sinker. Such a potato mold, with the position of the wire eye, is shown in Fig. 130. When you pour the first sinkers you'll find that the moist potato will sputter and sizzle. But after you pour two or three sinkers it will dry out and then you'll have no more difficulty in this regard. Naturally, the potato mold doesn't last very long and after a while it dries up and shrivels too much to be of any use. However, a potato mold is inexpensive and so simple that you can make another in a matter of minutes.
Another inexpensive and simple mold to make is to use a chunk of hard wood and drill and carve out a sinker cavity. Here, too, the mold is one piece and you are limited to the types of sinkers made with the potato mold. You can make a good dipsey sinker mold from a wood block by drilling a cavity on one end with different-size drills. First start with a large-size drill and drill only a short distance below the surface. Then use a slightly smaller drill and go a bit deeper, then a still smaller one to reach the full depth you want. After which you use a knife and gouge the ridges from the cavity. Wood carving tools are also good for this work. Cut a small slot in the far end of the cavity to take a wire eye, and the mold is ready for use. Such a mold is shown in Fig. 131. It will last for quite a while before the hot metal burns it out too much.
Potato mold.Figure 130.
Wooden sinker mold.Figure 131.
If you have a drill press or an electric drill and other metal-working tools you can make such a one-piece mold from a piece of metal. Brass, copper, or bronze are easiest to drill and cut, but you can also use iron and drill out a sinker cavity similar to the wooden mold described above. Once made, such a mold will last forever and will make thousands of sinkers.
When making molds for other types of sinkers such as the ball or bank, you make a two-piece mold similar to the types made for jigs described in Chapter 7. These can be from plaster of Paris or water putty if you want temporary, inexpensive molds. In making such a two-piece mold, you can have two cavities and pour two sinkers at a time instead of just one. See Fig. 132. So when you get a cardboard box or make a wooden frame for such a mold make sure it is big enough.
As noted, the procedures in making a plaster of Paris or water putty mold are similar to those described in Chapter 7. However, instead of using the actual sinker for a pattern you should carve such a sinker pattern from soft wood, wax, or soap. The lead sinker itself cannot be used because it is too heavy and will sink into the wet plaster when it should float in the stuff. Remember that in making a two-piece sinker mold the pattern should be pushed only halfway into the wet plaster. When the first pouring hardens you grease the top and the part of the pattern still visible, and pour the other half.
Figure 132. Sinker mold with two cavities.
You can also make two-piece plaster of Paris molds to pour various types of trolling weights, as shown in Fig. 133. These trolling weights are usually cylindrical or keel shaped and have eyes on each end, to which the fishing line or leaders are attached. When making a two-piece mold to pour such trolling weights, you must cut out grooves at both ends of the cavity to take such wire eyes or barrel swivels on each end. Such a mold for making trolling sinkers is shown in Fig. 134.
Two types of trolling weights. Figure 133.
The potato, wood, and plaster molds described above will usually last long enough to make a couple of dozen or so sinkers. If you want to make a permanent mold which will last indefinitely, make a plaster mold of the type you want and take it to a foundry. If you have any special designs you want made this is certainly the best procedure. However, if you want a permanent mold for a standard-type sinker you can buy a cast iron or aluminum mold in almost any fishing tackle store. They can also be ordered by mail from some of the supply houses. Such permanent molds are inexpensive and will last for a long time.
Plaster mold for a trolling weight. Figure 134.
When using metal sinker molds, a few words of advice are in order. Make sure your mold is warm and dry, and heat the lead well above the melting point before pouring it into the mold. Otherwise, the molten metal will solidify and form imperfect sinkers before it has a chance to reach all parts of the mold. After a while you'll be able to tell what the best pouring temperature is by watching the color of the molten metal. When pouring sinkers and weights, remember that it's a good idea to scoop the scum and dirt off the top of the molten lead at regular intervals so that it pours with no trouble.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN
Reply With Quote