How to make your own lead fishing weights

Tools and materials I propose:

Fire brick

Propane torch

Casting sand

Table saw

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Drill chuck

Chuck kit

Drill press

Lead shot balls

Jeweller's saw

In this video I show you how to make a wooden model of a fishing weight on the lathe. Then you can use it to make a sand mold. Finally you can cast lead into the mold to get a metal duplicate of your design. 

I begun by cutting a piece of beech into two equal parts. Then I used hot glue to temporarily connect the two parts together.  Then I found the centres on each end. I removed the corners on the table saw before mounting the piece on the lathe. 

Next I mounted the piece on the lathe. At one end I used a zip tie to avoid the piece from splitting apart. 

Using a roughing gouge and a spindle gouge I turned my model to my likeness. 

With the two ends still attached on my model, it was a good idea to drill now the necessary holes. 

Then I cut the excess parts on the bandsaw and used a file to clean the saw marks. 

I glued two bamboo stick pieces at one part of my model. These will act as locating pins. 

Then I turned a cone on the lathe. This will be the model of the funnel of my sand mold. For the air release pipe I used a drill bit as a model. 

At this point my model is ready and I am ready to start making the sand mold. 

I coated the first half of my model with baby powder. This will help me remove the model easier from the mold later on. 

Then I filled the first frame with sand. 

I added the rest of the model pieces and the second frame. I filled the second frame with sand as well. Then I carefully removed the model pieces. 

I melted some lead shots in my crucible. This is pretty easy with the torch. Lead has a really low melting point. 

Then I poured the liquid metal into the mold. Once the metal went through the air pipe I knew the mold was full. 

At this point I drilled the hole for the fishing string. Then I cut off the excess material with a Jeweller’s saw. Finally I used a file to clean up the model a bit. 

And basically that was it. With this technique you can make almost any shape of weight you want. You can make a few experiments to achieve the size of the weight you need. 

But that was it. See you soon with a new project video. 

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