basscat28 Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 I’m having issues getting it to pour all the way. Has anyone had this issue? I’ve poured thousands of jigs,poured plenty of spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with other molds without an issue. I am spout pouring with a lee 4 pot which I’ve done on spinnerbaits before. It’s gett frustrating as I’ve wasted about 20 piano wire forms and owner hooks. Would it be better going the route of ladle pouring the lead? Keep in mine I pre heat the mold with a heat gun and my pot is around 7.5-8 on heat. Any ideas or helpful advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLS Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 Yes, you will want to ladle pour those heads. Your not the first to struggle with that mold, I'm pretty sure we all have. 1 You'll want to make sure you stir your lead to remove all of the impurities you can (flux it, if you're into that). 2 I usually pre heat my mold by laying it on the pot while my lead is melting, but that is not enough. I also make several pours without the hook/wire in the mold to make sure it is good and hot (I repeat this every time I get a bad pour). Seems like there is a pretty big learning curve to that mold and once you figure it out, it gets easier to use. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Lake Lures Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 You might try adding a spacer in the mold to open it up a little to provide more venting. I stick a piece of masking tape on one of the contact surfaces for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 You can also try increasing the flow on the pot. I heat mu hook and wire by laying them in the mold and waving a micro torch over them for a few seconds, close the mold and pour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 As mentioned, I ladle pour this mold making sure I keep the mold, ladle and soft lead hot for good flow. By the way, this mold makes a great chatter bait using the wire coming off the head to attach to the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscat28 Posted February 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 15 hours ago, JLS said: Yes, you will want to ladle pour those heads. Your not the first to struggle with that mold, I'm pretty sure we all have. 1 You'll want to make sure you stir your lead to remove all of the impurities you can (flux it, if you're into that). 2 I usually pre heat my mold by laying it on the pot while my lead is melting, but that is not enough. I also make several pours without the hook/wire in the mold to make sure it is good and hot (I repeat this every time I get a bad pour). Seems like there is a pretty big learning curve to that mold and once you figure it out, it gets easier to use. Good luck! Thanks JLS! I’ll give the ladle pour a go. I hear mine up with a heat gun which makes it hotter than blank pours usually. I also have a lid for my pot that covects heat to my molds nicely. I warm them that way often. I do usually heat my hooks,pins,and wire gently as not to overheat the hooks and ruin them. This mold does seem like it’s make a nice chatterbaits mold by beefing up the wire to a .51 gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscat28 Posted February 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 This is my lid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 15 hours ago, basscat28 said: Thanks JLS! I’ll give the ladle pour a go. I hear mine up with a heat gun which makes it hotter than blank pours usually. I also have a lid for my pot that covects heat to my molds nicely. I warm them that way often. I do usually heat my hooks,pins,and wire gently as not to overheat the hooks and ruin them. This mold does seem like it’s make a nice chatterbaits mold by beefing up the wire to a .51 gauge. Do you pre bend the .051 wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 Actually, I got better result when I went with a lighter wire so I could make good eye bends. Or...with heavier wire I would do a partial bend until the wire touches the main wire ( like many of us do to put the swivel on for the blade for a spinner bait . I took one I made out to the garage and put some flipping braid on the clip and I could not get the bend to fail (although I ruined some clips!) The blade attaches at the bottom of the bend (then finish the bend) and rides at the top of the bend so I don't think the end of the bend ever gets enough force to bend or let the blade slip out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishirman Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 i just got this mold and its my first time pouring spinnerbaits and had the same issue. 2 things helped me, A: cranking the heat on the pot. and i think more importantly is holding the very end of the wire down onto the mold. this pivots the wire where its attached to the hook and seems to center the hook in the mold allowing the lead to pour around the whole hook. There isnt much that holds the wire in place and once I started pinning the end of the wire down with my thumb, I seemed to start getting complete pours. I do not have a ladle so I pour at a slight angle. I also think it helps to try to pour straight down the sprue hole. Not so important on other molds, but I think it is on this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad68 Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 im late to the party i know but for what its worth heres my two cents. I let my hotpot sit about 25 minutes before the first pour. I use a small piece of painters tape at the top to hold my wire in place, and finally i pour slow to medium speed with this mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Ladle is the best way, at least for me it is. I use a little harder lead with my spinnerbaits in order to keep the wire from coming loose but I use rotometals 3% - 5% antimonial lead so I know what I have. If you never ladle poured you need to practice by pouring into the mold with no hook or wire form in it, this will help you to find how fast you can pour with a ladle. The other thing is heat, if you are using a bottom pour pot I'll bet the lead is hitting the gate surface before entering the cavity since you can't really center the mold because of the wire form. That is going to make your lead freeze faster and thus cause incomplete pours. So if you are uncomfortable with the ladle try taking a torch or heat gun and focus the heat on the top surface of the mold to get the gate area nice and hot and also crank up your pot a notch or 2 and see how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Moose Baits Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 Frankford Arsenal mold spray help at all? This mold makes me crazy too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 19, 2018 Report Share Posted April 19, 2018 4 hours ago, Mad Moose Baits said: Frankford Arsenal mold spray help at all? This mold makes me crazy too If you use Drop out on any mold it will help, on the ultra minnow spinnerbait it works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Moose Baits Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 OK guys, just tried ladle pouring. Even when I did a completely crappy job it did WAY better than bottom spout on my pot. Thanks for the tip! Can't wait for my Drop Out to come in, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogAddict Posted May 2, 2018 Report Share Posted May 2, 2018 I just got this mold as well and I tried using the bottom pour. I had a small spot that just didn't fill and as someone else stated, I'm sure its because the lead was hitting the side of the opening first. I just ordered up a ladle and will try again. I do use drop out on all my molds now btw. Great product! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maine Tackle Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 This mold drives me crazy. I have the H style and have poured with prob 95% success rates. This one prob 40% at most. I’ve tried everything from some thin heat tape create a small gap in the mold. Highest heat setting, shaving down the hook eyelet, to making a gate hole in the skirt keeper, to expanding the spring hole, pre heating the mold, fluxing the lead, ladel pouring, bottom pour into the mold, etc. I personally think this mold is junk, and poorly engineered. It’s the only do it mold I’ve ever had a problem with. I was hoping they were going to reengineer it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saugerman Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Something else that helps, is to rub a little baby powder in the cavity. Not enough to build up in the mold, just wipe the entire cavity with it,even the collar. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 20 hours ago, Maine Tackle said: This mold drives me crazy. I have the H style and have poured with prob 95% success rates. This one prob 40% at most. I’ve tried everything from some thin heat tape create a small gap in the mold. Highest heat setting, shaving down the hook eyelet, to making a gate hole in the skirt keeper, to expanding the spring hole, pre heating the mold, fluxing the lead, ladel pouring, bottom pour into the mold, etc. I personally think this mold is junk, and poorly engineered. It’s the only do it mold I’ve ever had a problem with. I was hoping they were going to reengineer it. Like FrogAdict suggested, try Drop Out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogAddict Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Just an update. After using a ladle and drop out, I'm getting good pours. I do have my pot at 9 and I'm using pretty clean soft lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
