Looking for advice from the Pro's pouring Down rigger balls, cannon balls, sink

[Armblaster]

First time poster, looking for advice from the pro's or whoever wants to comment. I bought Do It molds for making down rigger balls and small cannon balls. my latest  pour I did, the balls came out terrible, never had the problem before. the  bottom of the ball came out not perfectly round ? The rest of the ball was perfect, I always put the mold on my cooker to heat the mold. I also ran into that situation with my sinkers that i did..

Can anyone give me step by step advise on how they get perfect pours with their weights..  Appreciate your help..  Kirk

[Do-It Corp.]

Kirk, what are you using to pour with?  Are you using a pot and ladle or a bottom pour melter?

[Armblaster]

Large Ladle for the balls, smaller ladle for the cannon balls . I did learn I have to make sure it is a Full ladel for the Down Rigger balls , so its not done  2 pours. I'm trying to post some pics to show what is going on..

[Justin9j]

Sounds like your lead is cooling before it gets complete pour.  But I have never poured a down rigger ball.

[Armblaster]

I'm sorry i did not answer the question, i have both. I have  a pot for the Balls doing bigger jobs and I bought the smaller little cooker for doing the smaller weights. I tried downloading some pics that went to the picture area..
 

[Mike J]

I've never poured anything over an ounce but It looks to me like it's just cooling down before the whole thing is poured. I'm not sure I understand how your pouring them but with big stuff I'm thinking there's no way a bottom pour furnace can put enough lead in the mold fast enough for it to not cool before the whole thing is poured .

[Armblaster]

I have a couple pics in the gallary, of my balls and some crescent sinkers i made, we use these a lot for salmon Fishing in the NW..

[ctom]

Be certain everything used in the pouring/making  of the cannonballs is HOT before you begin. I make the 12 pounders and if an component or the lead is not hotter than heck I have issues similar to what your pictures show. I use a propane stove and a 2 quart cast iron pot to heat/melt the lead. I pour directly from the pot to the mold. I have removed the wood handles from the mold so I can put the mold, fully clamped with an all-metal 6" C-clamp, directly in the oven set at 400 degrees. The mold stays in that oven until I am ready to pour the lead. I am able to get quality castings when I do it this way. I know its a lot of dinking around but its worth it to get smooth castings as some of these I sell.

I haven't found a ladle large enough for my 12 pounders so Ill assume that one is not likely around that will handle the 15's in the picture. But that cast iron pot sure is a life saver when it comes to pouring these biggies.

By the way, welcome to the Do-It boards of madness. lol

[Armblaster]

Thank you everyone for the advise, I did not think of  preheating in the oven as you described. As everybody has stated, I have a temp problem with the mold. specially the sinkers . What is your thought on running a little propane torch to heat it up the molds before pouring? I also had a problem with getting the balls out of the mold after we poured them. never had these problems before and it was a 80 degree day when I did this batch. Is there something to do to the molds before pouring the lead to get them to come out easier? Any advise for winter weather pouring.

[Apdriver]

I always heat my molds up before pouring. Sometimes with a torch, sometimes if I remember just lay it on my pot as its heating. I don't know if the drop out release will help with your big molds, but my small jig molds and such all get a coating of it. I imagine do it sells some and I know Midway USA sells Frankfort Arsenal. Might be worth a try.

[Do-It Corp.]

Armblaster, with large cavity molds, there is actually such a thing as pouring too hot and too fast.  Sometimes you can pour in a way that the lead splashes off the bottom of the cavity and cools and chokes off that portion.  The best thing you can do is call our office and ask for Lloyd at 319-984-6055.  He can assess all your variables and make sure you can successfully pour each mold.

[Kasilofchrisn]

I pour a lot of big stuff. Jigs to 48 oz,sinkers to 5# and downrigger balls to 12#.
My downrigger molds like to be preheated but when they get too hot they dent.
So I preheat them then let them cool a bit before the second casting.
I do them from one continuous pour not  two. I never have had success with a double dip pour on anything. Even with a buddy helping and the second ladle starting right after the first finishes.
I do the same as ctom and pour direct from a pot.
Rowell makes a big enough ladle and you can get it at rotometals. It's spendy and likely not worth it.
For your incomplete sinkers there is an easy fix.
First spray your molds with a light coat of drop out by Frankfort arsenal. It will even help the downrigger molds.
Then preheat your inserts. they don't need to be  scorching hot but the warmer the better. Another option is to preheat the molds good then add the eyelets. Wait 10 seconds or so for the inserts to heat up then pour the lead.
but preheating the inserts is always a good idea that seems to work well for me on molds that don't fill out around the eyelet, hook, etc

[ctom]

Its amazing how much control, a person has in pouring right from a pot AS LONG AS THE HANDS ARE INSIDE HEAT RESISTANT GLOVES. I carry my ball mold down to the garage from the kitchen oven, which allows for some of the heat to leave the mold proper. I skim the pot then add another pair of gloves and use the handle on the pot as much as possible to fill the mold in a steady, but not overwhelming stream. The mold is oven heated with the inserts in place in the mold. My theory is that if the mold is as hot as I have it the lead will stay fluid for maybe a few second longer than if the mold is only sort of warm, as in a warming pour. At 400 degrees I don't see any denting on the 12 pounders.

I have messes with different lead and allows and my best results have been with the pure lead. I did get one decent ball using a lead/wheel weight blend but have no idea what the metals were in the wheels weights. Aside from the quality of the lead used, the most important factor I have recognized is having that mold hot. I also have much better luck making the big weights when its done during warm weather. Below 40 degrees and that huge mold sheds too much heat for me to get really nice balls cast. I did a mess of them earlier this summer and put them in storage with the other salmon gear with the boat.

[Armblaster]

Thank you very much guys, I will let you know how it goes, i plan on pouring  some cannon ball dropper weights tomorrow. I live in Washington so we will be lucky to get a 60 degree day here out , but has been warm lately for October. 

[David_C]

How did you go?

I've bought some 8lb and 10lb moulds and like you - sometimes they work out perfectly but often, they don't have a shiny finish.

I was looking at making a metal funnel to help get them perfect everytime but if I can perfect it without that, it would be easier.

Also, do you guys try and pour directly into the hole at the top or try and run it so it goes around the lip? Again, I've tried both but never seems to be consistent results. I use a large ladel, which I feed a small ladel into (i.e. pour the small one into the bigger one, which then feeds the hole) to ensure it is one continuous pour.

David