Custom Baits - Forum
Jigs, Spinnerbaits and Sinkers => Bass Jigs => Topic started by: Ttop on 02/24/18 11:47 UTC
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Hey everyone, I have the Football Jig w/Screw-Loc mold. For some reason I get incomplete pours on the 1/4 oz size. Every other size pours great but the 1/4 oz size is incomplete half the time. This even happens with no hook or spring loc in it so I don't think the hook is the issue. Has anyone heard of this or does anyone have any suggestions?
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What kind of lead are you using ? The smaller the pour the softer the lead needs to be. You should be able to scratch the lead with your thumb nail.
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If its just that one cavity with nothing in it maybe you need to make a vent to help air get out or look at the gate where you pour the lead. If its mis-formed or too small you may not have enough room there to pour consistently. The soft lead thought is one of the biggest issues when pouring smaller cavities. Do cavities smaller than the 1/4 fill ok?
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I don't think its a lead issue because the 1/16 and 1/8 pour fine. The mold has 1/16 - 5/8. Everything looks like it is lined up. It's the craziest thing. Where could I put extra ventilation at?
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Try finding a small nail slightly larger than the hook's wire. Cut the head off the nail and lay the nail in the hook shank slot where the bend of the hook comes away from the head [bottom of that cavity], then close the mold holding the handles tight and lay the mold on a flat, hard surface and give the mold a tap with a hammer right over that cavity. You will feel the mold give a little. This should create enough extra vent to allow all the air our when pouring. You may get a tiny bit of flash along the hook shank but that will clean right off with a knife.
Lay your nail in the shank groove before doing this to see how close the nail is to the mold's cut for the hook. You want a nail that is very close to seated in that cut and when you tap the mold with the hammer you don't want to rap it, just give it a half-firm tap. while holding the handles together tightly so you can feel the mold shift or settle on the nail.
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I will try that with a nail. Thanks for your help. I will let you know how it goes.
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Are you ladle filling or using a bottom pour furnace? On smaller heads often times the bottom pour can iron things out but it sounds like a cavity specific issue. See if the nail trick helps at all.
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Hit it with a little spray of drop out.
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Not to steal a thread, but how's Justin been?
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I put a small nail that was just a pinch bigger than the hook slot. It did widen it by a hair but still having problems. I can get a few complete pours but it is 50 50 at best. It may be in my head but it seems if I tilt the mold away from me at a slight angle it does better.
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When I have flow issues I turn my temperature up a little bit.
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I put a small nail that was just a pinch bigger than the hook slot. It did widen it by a hair but still having problems. I can get a few complete pours but it is 50 50 at best. It may be in my head but it seems if I tilt the mold away from me at a slight angle it does better.
That's what I have done when I get stubborn cavities that don't respond to extra venting. I don't have any of the football molds so I can't see exactly what the gates look like but it is odd that only one is tossing you a fit.
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Tom busy but good. We moved so I been packing and unpacking last three months.
It’s a venting problem. Take a file and cut a little vent to the head.
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I put a small nail that was just a pinch bigger than the hook slot. It did widen it by a hair but still having problems. I can get a few complete pours but it is 50 50 at best. It may be in my head but it seems if I tilt the mold away from me at a slight angle it does better.
I have molds that I have to tilt a little to the right or left, it is usually due to the air not escaping. There are a few things you can do, the first is using a product called drop out, it is a mold release and your lead will flow better and all you need to do is spray your mold with it. The next thing you can do is increase the lead temperature, I don't know what kind of melting pot you have but if it is a LEE pot try turning it up a number or 2. Another thing you can do is if you are using a bottom pour pot you can hold the mold up so the pouring spout is right against the gate as if you were injecting the lead. By doing that you have less temperature loss so if the air is escaping too slowly the lead will stay molten a little longer allowing the cavity to fill completely. The last thing you can do is to take some masking tape and cut 4 small squares, stick one square on top of the other and then stick it to mold near the handle, and then do the same thing with the other two squares and stick them to the mold near the handle directly opposite the first two. By doing that it will leave a small gap in your mold when it is closed, it won't be enough to cause flashing but it will allow trapped air to escape a little faster, we call this cracking a mold. Good luck and let us know if you got your issue solved.
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I haven't tried drop out or the tape yet but here is a picture. As I said, it's the craziest thing. I'm using a lee pot and ladle. As the picture shows, the 1/8 pours just fine as does the 1/16 even though it isn't in the picture.
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I haven't tried drop out or the tape yet but here is a picture. As I said, it's the craziest thing. I'm using a lee pot and ladle. As the picture shows, the 1/8 pours just fine as does the 1/16 even though it isn't in the picture.
So you are using a ladle, the funny thing about that is I use a ladle on problem molds that have issues with a bottom pour furnace. And you are pouring the larger sizes too with no issue? If the other large sizes aren't pouring then it is how you are pouring, you may be filling the cavity too slow, the 1/4oz head is twice the size of the 1/8oz, try dumping the lead in faster.
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Have you tried filling that cavity first, or are you starting with others first? Could it be that it is always the 3rd cavity in your pouring sequence?
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Using a straightedge, scratch a vent line from where the gate [the narrowing just ahead of the actual head cavity] and head cavity meet towards the midway point between the 1/4 ounce sprue [hole that you pour into] and the next larger size's sprue. Doesn't have to be pretty nor super deep, Use a common utility knife to do this making sure you have a good blade in it for this. Bear down on the knife a little bit but not so hard you can't control it and make sure the cut goes into the cavity and completely to the mold's edge. You can do a couple cuts if you want. The worse than can happen if you get the cut too deep is a tiny line of lead on the head that can be scratched off using a fingernail. You could even add another cut from the pocket where the spring sits straight up to the top edge of the mold.
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Using a straightedge, scratch a vent line from where the gate [the narrowing just ahead of the actual head cavity] and head cavity meet towards the midway point between the 1/4 ounce sprue [hole that you pour into] and the next larger size's sprue. Doesn't have to be pretty nor super deep, Use a common utility knife to do this making sure you have a good blade in it for this. Bear down on the knife a little bit but not so hard you can't control it and make sure the cut goes into the cavity and completely to the mold's edge. You can do a couple cuts if you want. The worse than can happen if you get the cut too deep is a tiny line of lead on the head that can be scratched off using a fingernail. You could even add another cut from the pocket where the spring sits straight up to the top edge of the mold.
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This fixed it. I used a piece of wire. Placed it where you said to cut a line with the straight edge and hit the mold with a hammer a few times. Pours great now. Thanks to everyone and sorry for the late reply.
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Good deal! If you're happy, we're happy. Sounds like mission accomplished.