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804ScottC

Lead Wire

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Been tying now for a while and never gave it much thought but tonight I was wondering just how much does say .035 wire weigh? Say you put 2 inches around a hook how much does it weigh? I the number size for diameter? Per inch?

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Welcome to the site, Scott. We've got some scientifically minded members, so I am sure some of the will ... weigh in ... with answers.

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Why not just weigh it on a postal scale and find out? If two inches is too little to measure, try 2 feet or 2 yards, and divide appropriately?

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Really? All you guys can do is recommend buying a scale? For what might be a one time use? None of you have a scale that you can just weigh out some and give an answer?

 

If he/she had a scale, they wouldn't be asking the question.

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Did a search for calculating weight of metal. Go to www.industrialsupply.com, they have a hand dandy metal weight calculator.

 

The weight of your example: lead wire .035 dia by 2 inches long weighs .0007 lbs.

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I've got a postal scale I use a lot for all kinds of things but think a gram scale would be handy as well.

Constantly reading about fly lines being 250, 275, 300 etc. and working better with brand X _ wt. rod. Almost all my lines except a Teeny don't list actual gram weight.

Plus then I can actually weigh all my ( wifes ) gold and know how much/little there really is.

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Thanks rstaight, great calculator.

 

Web site correction: https://www.industrialmetalsupply.com/Weight-Calculator

 

For this example Lead is .0007 # and Tungsten is .0013 # which makes Tungsten 1.857 X heavier than lead.

 

 

The main problem is assuming that "tungsten" fly tying wire is pure tungsten. It is not. The same thing is true of tungsten weight putty. Tungsten is a hard brittle metal so tungsten wire is powdered tungsten with a binder. I would not be surprised if "tungsten" fly tying wire was not much different than lead or even less than pure lead. I've noticed that manufacturer's like Loon do NOT advertise that their putty is heavier than lead which make me think it is actually less than lead.

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Thank you for the replies. I have a cheap kitchen scale that has a gram side but when I tried weighing out about 2 inches before the post it read zero. So much for using that scale for exact measurements. LOL. It's the little things in life like just how much does this chunk of lead wire weigh that makes me go nuts.

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I have a scale, but I only use the ounces, never grams. Works well for sausage mixes. I have two sizes of lead wire I could measure out today and get back to you if you'd like. But again, it would be in ounces not grams.

 

Jeff

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measure out 12 inches of the size wire that you have and see how it relates to the chart i posted above and below

 

o6tVx4b.jpg

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Having used up 50-100' of lead core trolling line building flies in the past and never even knowing the diameter of the lead, I cant guess what knowing the weight of it would gain me. I know that 6 turns is a good amount and that the difference in hook diameter makes me use less on small flies and more on big stuff so that any adjustment for size of fly is covered.

Maybe some one can tell me the why, or not.

 

As to fly line weights and grams, AFTMA fly line weights are (or used to be) given Grains not Grams, with the average weight of the first 30' falling within a tolerance bracket. 30' L2 = 74-86gr, 30' L13=418-442gr others in between. (according to 3M/SA)

(1 oz. = 437.5 grains) (7000gr= 1 lb.) (grain = 0.06479891 gram)

I don't think it possible to weigh grains on a gram scale.

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I thought just about everyone has a grain scale. As a reloader, I have three, two electronic and one balance beam. I use it to weigh fly lines as well, the ones I forget to mark and therefore don't know whether it's a 4 or a 5. You can get them really cheap nowadays. Very handy for the fly fisherman, but I have never weighed lead wire. I just wind what feels right and don't really care what it weighs.

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