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When I was I kid I got tire weights and made jigs out of them but they are considered "hard lead" as there are several other metals in there as well as lead. You can have some pouring problems with hard lead in some molds...like creases or voids. However I found if the mold is hot you can get away with tire weights. But lead is pretty cheap so I don't mind buying flashing or ingots.
Tin has a nice shine to it (poor mans chrome) and I like to add some to lead when I pour jigs...Tin melts at around 232°C and lead at about 327°C in the combination 62Sn 38Pb the resulting alloy melts at 183°C. (magic eh?) But you can get a good pour with the lower melting temp and a harder metal with a shine if you add a little tin to it. (my dad showed me that) The specific gravity of lead is 11.35 and tin is 7.31 so adding tin makes it slighlty lighter though.
I paint my jigs anyway so it really doesn't matter but I may try to pour a couple of pure tin jigs. (a la C. Graves)
I have not poured any jigs in 30 years but the reason I ask is I got my kid several do-it molds and some pouring equipment (to be done outside with MY supervision only) for an Xmas gift. When I was a kid I spent many hours down my basement painting and tying jigs, he likes to tinker with tackle, I know he will enjoy this.
Thanks to everyone for their input. I am on my way to order some tin and pick up some lead.
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