Want to make my own spider weights. I think the price are outrageous down in Galveston. any ideas?

I just made some a couple weeks ago. I spent a Sunday morning scrounging lead wheel weights from the local tire shops parking lots. The mold was a piece of 2x4 that I drilled a tapered hole in with a spade bit. I found a weird one that wasn't straight sided, but get creative in making the hole how you want. The wood will hold up fine as a mold for as many as you would want to make. I used #12 stripped romex for the wire. With about 18" of wire you can twist the eye with a screwdriver and a pair of linemans pliers then wrap the leftover under and around so that it wraps up and over then back under so the whole thing can be poured while only holding one wire in place. Needle nose vise grips work well for holding the wire centered in the mold. A small steel can, pot, etc. can be used to melt lead. I used a 6" cast iron frying pan and propane torch to melt. Pour, wait for it to solidify and pop out with the vise grips. There is a youtube video outlining the basic premise, I just modified it to suit me.

I did it mostly to see if I could, but I agree that they are pretty expensive. As always be extra careful with molten lead and make sure you have adequate ventilation/breathing protection.

Thank you. But i tried that 2x4 trick already and wood would start to burn after a couple casting .have you tried bondo body filler. you would mix it up, pour the bondo after mix it with hardener into a paper towel tube, use your spade bit drill your hole just as the 2x4.But i wanted to learn other ways or see if any one have a mold for one and where i can get one.

do you buy your lead or the give it to you at the tire shop

My 2x4 got charred, but didn't catch on fire or anything, if anything I think the charring helped in insulating. I've read about some sort of latex rubber mix that you can make a mold out of, that might work also. I think people use it to make lead figurine molds, you could google that for more info.

I didn't buy, nor did they give me lead. I simply picked it up off the ground from outside the shops in the parking lots. It takes some scrounging but I got 5-6 lbs in a morning of leisurely searching. I don't think they will sell or give you lead, something to do with having to recycle a certain percentage, but they definitely don't use it again. I think if it falls on the floor or gets swept out the door, they just don't care to pick it back up.

If you want to be adventurous, lots of wheel weights fall off of cars around large intersections with a lot of traffic and right yield islands. I'm not suggesting that playing in traffic is a good idea, I've just seen a lot of it there.

There may be other sources for lead that I've not thought about, but I'm leery of cracking open lead acid batteries for the stuff, and wheel weights seem relatively clean, only having paint and dirt on them. Be wary of the Zinc and Iron weights.

I haven't tried the bondo trick, but that is a nice looking weight. What are you using for wire?

my buddy use to work at one so i got about six five gallon bucket un pour wheel weights.i use 16 g steel galvanized wire need something a lil stiffer.

Wow, that's great to get that much for free. I have a buddy that collects them all the time when he finds them so that one day he can cast bullets. I guess if you ever have too many, you might could find one of those reloader guys to buy some off of you.

Being my first time ever going surf fishing come October, I'll see if the copper wires hold out enough or if I feel like I want something stiffer. I only made 3 oz weights for the equipment I have, but eventually I have the feeling that I will want to start getting into the bigger ones once I get my feet wet in the surf (so to speak).

thanks for those good ideas. I've always thought about makeing my own but some people just laugh at me when i bring it up. Where could i get some steel galvanized wire?

Use this stuff to make a mold for pouring metal. Called �Mold Putty�

http://www.makelure.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Silicone%20Rubber&Name=Mold%20Putty

Larry Dahlberg uses it to make his metal/lead lures.

What about hangers? Seem pretty stiff wire

hangers will rust in saltwater.i get my romex from jobsites just stop and ask for scraps.i get my lead from tire shops.i give them some weights iv made along with a milk jug with the top cut off and ask them to put some aside for me.i will then go back a couple of weeks later with a few more weights for them and pick up my jug full of wheel weights.its win win for both.

You can buy pure lead from any scrapyard for about $0.70 per pound.

i don't make em anymore, but when i did i made a dirt mold in a old fruit cake can. if you took metal shop in jr high you probably made these molds. cut the bottom out of a fruit cake can and set it on a pc of plywood that's a little bigger than the can, set the pcs you're molding in the can about 2" apart( anything that's close to the shape you want) and sift dirt over it till full and compacted. put lid on, turn over with plywood. then remove wood and remove mold shapes. melt lead and pour in. use a pair of pliers to set wire into hot lead so you won't burn your fingers.