Fishing Sea

I bought some sheet lead that come off of the walls of a old xray room. is it safe to melt down this lead to make fishing sinkers and bullets for my muzzle loader.

The above author is absolutely correct that you shouldn't be using the lead for anything else than protection from ionising radiation.

With respect to the lead that lines rooms where x-rays are used, as soon as the x-rays are done, all the radiation has gone away; in other words, it's not like it sits around in the lead. The lead is there because it's extremely radiodense and protects anyone whilst radiation is being used. Afterwards, there's absolutely no radiation there at all.

The lead that lines x-ray rooms is not a radio-emitting isotope like, say, a radio-isotope of gallium citrate.

2009-03-28 16:02:27 by Robert N

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Lead sinkers cause harm to wildlife who consume mass quantiles of fish that have swallowed lead. There are plenty of alternatives, costing mere cents more the lead, but what are your views on it, do you feel its a worthwhile topic the general public should be aware of?

Lead sinkers are said to kill loons so my state has banned the sale of lead sinkers lighter than 1/2 ounce. Now the sinkers are made from some other soft metal that is not as heavy as lead. So we have to use bigger sinkers to get our bait down deep. I don't want to kill loons but I like the old sinkers better than the new ones. If I could find lead sinkers I would buy a few hundred but I won't go to much trouble to get them. Loons might be on the endangered species list but I don't know why. They are common around here.

2009-04-02 14:15:21 by fadedoak

I have lead that I want to boil down and make 2 or 3 ounce pyramid sinker for fishing. I was wondering how big to make them and how and what i should use to make my mold.

The safest method is to use a commercially available metal mold.

You can make your own molds by using green sand casting techniques or making plaster paris molds. Be aware that any moisture present in the molds will cause a blow back spraying hot metal and can cause serious injury.... The plaster and sand molds are baked prior to using to dry them out. If you make your own make sure to have adequate sprues and vents to ensure free flow of molten metal throughout the form.


Be aware of the health hazards from the fumes of molten lead. Use adequate ventilation and wear protective gear.

2008-11-29 23:28:25 by pakid

As you can see, I wasn't a physics major.

You're just talented. What a bragger....

2009-03-21 13:24:17 by I Might Be Showing Her My O Face

It poisons the environment. Birds and fish will eat it and get lead poisoning.
It poisons the environment. Birds and fish will eat it and get lead poisoning.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/projects/leadout.html

The lead used for sinkers/splitshots as well as the lead found in ammo and shotgun shells is the most inert lead you can get. It doesnt break down so it wont leach into the water supply/environment. Some states and even the national parks have banned the use of sinkers/splitshot under 1/2oz. They were unable to ban lead completely so they figured they`d go with the next best thing. The reasoning is that the smaller lead splitshots and ammo "could be eaten by water fowl, fish, and amphibians"

2009-04-30 18:38:34 by Benny K

I have painted several of my bullet wieghts several different colors, and then mixed different glitters with a high gloss to give them a shiny scale look. Do you think I will have better chances with them, or am I wasting my time? I prefer to fish worms' weightless, rigged texas style, and rarely use weights for better casting distance.

I always use a black bullet weight. I don't know if it works any better than the other ones because I've never tried any other ones except regular lead color and it does work better than that.

All those flashy colors are a good idea, and after reading your question, I had an idea. Paint the weight colors that match the bottom of the area you're fishing. That way the weight blends in and all the fish sees is the soft plastic. I'm gonna go buy a couple things of bullet weights and start painting.

2006-05-16 20:41:07 by BASS Fisherman