Finally tried pouring some jigs.

[Fiddlefarter]

... and I suck at it

Need little more practice. Had a couple that turned out decent and I got better as I went so I guess it was somewhat of a success. I had several that I had to melt the lead back off of b/c they didn't pour very well. But I saved the hooks and I can practice some more with them. Biggest problem I found was some crap that was in my old Lee Production pot jacking up the spout. Guess 10 years of sitting around since it was given to me it had some dust and junk in it that I didn't know about till the little bit of lead in the bottom was melted.

Got to tinker with my mold a little too. I have a Do-It Brush Jig Mold and it calls for smaller hook than what I'd prefer. At least the 1/4oz does. Gonna at least file it to fit EWG's into it. IDK I may just get a different mold. Not sure I really like the brush jig yet.

Ya'll are a good help. Pretty much anything I can think of I have found by searching

[paulpus]

If you have any questions shot me a Im amd i will do my best to answer them.
On your mispours, have you smoked the mold yet?
Paul

[Fiddlefarter]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by paulpus &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
On your mispours, have you smoked the mold yet?
Paul</td></tr></table>

Yes I smoked it with a candle before I used it.
The mis-pours I had were fairly minor I think. I saw where I went wrong on them and figured out the problems so when I got to the end I was making some pretty good ones. I have some more hooks and I'm gonna play around again in the next day or so.

It's still pretty fun.

[paulpus]

Its adicting!!!!!
I have been making baits for 8+ years now.
Paul

[Richard F.]

It is addicting and fun After awhile all your buds will be keeping you even more busy.

[fr8dog]

If you're getting "incomplete pours", gaps, etc., try heating up the mold prior to the pour. I put my mold on top of the pot while the lead is melting. A little higher heat setting might also help. Be sure the spout is clean. A small piece of wire pushed up through the pour spout while it's hot might knock some crap out of it.

Before I use lead to pour jigs, I melt it down, flux it, skim, then make ingots. Clean lead makes for more even and consistent pours.

[Fiddlefarter]

Today I did all the exact same things mentioned and poured 50 excellent jigs. Guess I did good research before I started because I didn't even check this thread before I poured. Fluxing and skimming off the junk makes all the difference! I didn't have any wax the other day but I swung by the grocery store today and grabbed some.

Now the only issue I am having is I can't get my dang pot to stop dripping. Kind of aggravating. But I'll piddle with it, It's old.


I have a decent supply of lead too. My dad used to set type on a Linotype machine and he's got a good stockpile of good lead he took home for odd and end stuff. If I could use the high tin stuff he has I could pour about a million jigs but he's got a lot of good soft lead too. I just need to get some different molds so I can do some different things. Addicting is an understatement