Rebar for fishing sinkers

[yellow door 1]

I was just doing some quick maffs - and rebar is about 42c a kilo brand new and 1cm of the stuff weighs 66 grams which costs 2.8c

So you can probably guess where I'm heading

Can someone tell me all the reasons using rebar for disposable sinkers is a dumb idea

[yellow door 1]

.....

[yellow door 1]

I've since been informed that bunnings may have overstated the weight of their rebar.

The 12mm probably weighs closer to 8.8g a cm as opposed to 66g a cm.

So I can chuck that idea out with my magnetic reel maintenance mat

Still an option if the rebar is free and if you use the 16mm it will be about as long as a normal snapper lead of the same weight.

[Green Hornet]

Back in the day I remember guys using old spark plugs as sinkers.
Mightn't be the most environmentally friendly was to go now.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by Green Hornet

Back in the day I remember guys using old spark plugs as sinkers.
Mightn't be the most environmentally friendly was to go now.

Yeah I dont know all the ins and outs and I'm not sure if this relates to fishing but in some circumstances, steel is considered more environmentally friendly than lead.

Some guys even take it a step further

[Green Hornet]

Yep, steel makes more sense than lead environmentally for sure. There's those tungsten weights too that are designed to corrode away.
I'm not too sure what's in a spark plug. The ones for my ute are platinum tipped . When the mechanic replaced them, I thought he'd accidentally charged me for 8 sets, not 8 plugs.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by Green Hornet

Yep, steel makes more sense than lead environmentally for sure. There's those tungsten weights too that are designed to corrode away.
I'm not too sure what's in a spark plug. The ones for my ute are platinum tipped . When the mechanic replaced them, I thought he'd accidentally charged me for 8 sets, not 8 plugs.

Ouch - thats got to hurt


"What is the material of spark plug?"
"The electrodes in a spark plug typically consist of high-nickel alloys, while the insulator is generally made of aluminum oxide ceramic and the shell is made of steel wire."

"What metal is used in spark plugs?"
"Copper Spark Plug Basics. Copper spark plugs have bodies made of copper with center electrodes comprised of nickel alloy. These plugs require more voltage to function than precious metal plugs. Because nickel alloy is softer than iridium and platinum, copper plugs wear out sooner than precious metal plugs."

[Yahoo]

When we deep drop we we use electrical orange conduit heat seal the bottom then fill it with a few or more kegs of reo bar then heat seal the top

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

When we deep drop we we use electrical orange conduit heat seal the bottom then fill it with a few or more kegs of reo bar then heat seal the top

Sounds very interesting - what are the advantages of covering the rebar in pvc pipe.

I'm guessing the slick outer casing gives it a predictable fast descent and makes it less like to scratch the boat or leave rust stains - would probably alleviate twist aswell - is the colour significant or is it just coz it stronger than the white/grey stuff. Do the ends of the pvc have conical points?

I'd love to see a photo of one if you have one

[yellow door 1]

Jusr been doing a bit of googling

"I tried pvc tubes with concrete of different lengths and size but found that they are to light and if there is any current you won't get to the bottom.

The other option is to make a mould and then use lead, I've seen some good moulds on some of the deep drop sites "


"Mate we just put 2 cable ties around the bar and create a loop."



"I use 36mm reo bar chopped down length about 400mm

It's 8kg per metre weight in that gauge

Can drill hold thru surprisingly easily and loop some heavy gauge wire or get an exhaust shop to tack weld the same wire in loop across end

So then alignment with weight falls vertical for less drag and helps reduce snagging up too

Works out about 7 bucks a sinker I think"



"I have made sinkers for deep drop same way as you would make a snapper lead but I use empty coke cans or the skinny V cans are good. Pour lead into can with the top cut off, Have a ring of fencing wire ready to set into the top of it before lead sets."



"Rio is the go with half a small chain link welded to the top ,make a few different lenghts depending on what the current is doing"

[Yahoo]

Weight we found we could stuff more bar in. Plus you don’t want to be scratching your mates 250k kevlacat. Your correct we used concrete but the deeper you went it kind of floated.
Other mates have plumbing business another has an electrical so always heaps of stuff to improvise things

[Yahoo]

About as good as I can do off my phone

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Weight we found we could stuff more bar in. Plus you don’t want to be scratching your mates 250k kevlacat. Your correct we used concrete but the deeper you went it kind of floated.
Other mates have plumbing business another has an electrical so always heaps of stuff to improvise things

Very tidy work - How often do you lose one of those sinkers

[Yahoo]

Actually not that often because the deep water is more fern, weed and lumps bumps and ledges. When we fish this side of 100m it’s normaly big lead sinkers.

We have sinker making arvos where a heap of us get together melt up hundreds of kg worth of lead and make all sorts of sinkers and jig heads.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Weight we found we could stuff more bar in. Plus you don’t want to be scratching your mates 250k kevlacat. Your correct we used concrete but the deeper you went it kind of floated.
Other mates have plumbing business another has an electrical so always heaps of stuff to improvise things

Originally Posted by Yahoo

Actually not that often because the deep water is more fern, weed and lumps bumps and ledges. When we fish this side of 100m it’s normaly big lead sinkers.

We have sinker making arvos where a heap of us get together melt up hundreds of kg worth of lead and make all sorts of sinkers and jig heads.

Yeah a big lead melting get together sounds like the way to go. What do you pay for recycled lead.?

The scrap yard closest to me was asking $8 a kilo for some of the most disgusting painted roof lead I've come across. I've been told $2.50 is reasonable