charkins

docirv, You should put the hole in the side of the frydaddy as close to the bottom as you can without hitting the bottom. Hole is 7/16 inch and you have to have pot tapped for 1/4 inch brass. At least that's what I did and it is working somewhat.

Del, The valve is brass and the package it came in said ball valve. So I presume. The valve does open all the way up. You can stick a 1/4 inch bolt all the way through. In fact, you have to push the bolt in to get the plastic to run at all. My garage is being heated day and night. The thermometer on the wall said 63 degrees. I had about 2 1/2 cups of plastic in the pot when I started pouring. Should I let the pot set some more before I pour? Should I leave the drill press off until I get ready to pour? Thanks

Del, here are the answers to your questions. I appreciate your help very much. The nipple is 1 inch long. The nipple and valve are brass. The valve is hot. I touched it. Mistake! I heat the plastic in the microwave until it is at a state that I normally pour (kinda like syrup, not molassis). While the plasic is heating, I plug in the converted frydaddy. Temperature was about 340 degrees when I placed heated plastic into frydaddy. I have a shortened paint stirrer hooked to a tabletop drillpress that is doing stirring at slowest speed. When thermometer gets to 350, I start to pour. I have to clear nipple with 1/4 inch bolt to start flow. Flow is slow with valve wide open. Thanks for any help you might have.

The saga continues with some success. I got the new pot, drilled the hole and had it tapped. I installed short (1 inch) nipple and ball valve. Cooking thermometer says plastic is 450 degrees while stirring with drill press. Now the problem. The plastic is coming out slow even with the valve wide open. Every time you close the valve, you have to stick a 1/4 inch bolt in it to open the nipple up when you open the valve. The plastic doesn't seem real hot when it comes out. Any ideas??? It will pour senkos very well, but very slowly. I have not had any success pouring tubes with it. Again, any ideas as to what I am doing wrong? Thanks in advance to all you plastic gurus.

I haven't seen Woodsac on here in a while. Does anyone know why? Just hope he is ok. He has been a great contributor to TU. I hope we don't lose him.

I use LC's tube cutter. I have been trying to figure out a way to mount the cutter on a arbor press.

Hey, the Brits were on our side during the Civil War. I am not offended.

For you guys that don't know, Nova is making reference to the fact that I a licensed Baptist Minister. No, Nil, I am not allowed to drink it . I can however use it for chemical and medicinal purposes. I use a lot of it making medicines as a compounding pharmacist. It is a good solvent and will calm a cough. I use a lot to make transdermal testosterone gel and transdermal promethazine gel.

Any of you guys with greater expertise on toxicity of plastic want to jump in and give these guys some info??? What I know is that the fumes will make you nauseas and give you a heck of a headache. (I didn't know about it when I started pouring.) I have heard from others on this forum that it is very toxic. I do know about lead. I owned a jig business and my father had a radiator shop. Lead poisoning can cause you to lose your teeth, go mad, and kill you among other things. Lead (All heavy metals) are stored in fat in your body and it is nearly impossible to get it out once it gets in there. You should never eat, drink, or smoke (shouldn't smoke, it by itself will kill you) when working with lead. You need good ventilation or wear a respirator while pouring lead.

Guys, I think the grain alcohol is much better. The fumes from the acetone will kill you. Get some denatured alcohol, or better yet some grain alcohol (Everclear is a brand here).

After giving this some thought, I think you may have some problems. If you are already pouring, you know the fumes are terrible. If you have central heat and air, the ducts will pick up these fumes and distribute them throughout the house. NOT a good thing! I wouldn't recommend doing it. I am sure some of the guys that have been pouring for a while will support me in this. If you don't have central heat and air, you need a way of venting the fumes out of the house. A vent-a-hood that is vented through the wall or out the roof would probably work. You need to seal the door that goes into the rest of the house real well to help keep the fumes out of there. If you have children in the house, I wouldn't recommend it at all. I don't want to rain on your parade, but safety of yourself and your family should come first. Myself, I have an unattached garage that I pour in and I use a respirator while pouring. When I finish, I raise the big door to try to get rid of the fumes. Do you have garage or a storage building that you could use?

A bench is a must. You need shelves above the bench to put your plastic colors and molds on. A good high back stool or chair appropriate for the height of the bench. You need drawers to put tools and cabinets if you can afford them. Hope this helps.

My son gave me a 3/8 oz hilts arkie jig mold with hooks and plastic y weedguards. My question is this. Can you heat the jigs with the y weedguard in place to powder paint? I don't have any pins like do-it has to mold without the guard in place. Any help on time, temperature, and procedure would be greatly appreciated.

I have used the Oomoo 25. It is great!! You will like it I am sure.

I can't speak for the Brit, but us southern boys are not physically or mentally challenged.

I really like my fluid bed that I got from Dayooper. I have used it on everything from 1/64 oz jigs to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits. I would buy it again.

I don't know how things are where you boys are from, but for us Southern boys, a tally whacker is NOT a fishing lure. Any questions??

Gosh!! Just when I come up with "Money Minner". The winners are in for a treat. Nova makes some very fine baits.

The continuing saga of Cal and the Frydaddy: I drilled hole in frydaddy. I couldn't find tap so I took it to a machine shop and they tapped it for me. Everything was looking good. I took the bottom of the frydaddy off and it was an old model that I couldn't make heads or tails out of. Threw it in the trash and bought a new frydaddy. This one I remove the bottom and find the screw for the thermostat. I heated frydaddy and it was too hot. I turned the screw to the left and things got hotter on the next attempt. I turned the screw to the right(way too far) and got it to heating up to 250 degrees. I am now in the process of getting the right temp, but it is do-able. When I get that accomplished I will drill another hole and take the frydaddy back to the machine shop to be tapped again (another $10). Oh well, I hope it will be worth the wait and the money.

Where can you get one of the pads that you use for a base to cut the tubes on? Thanks

Well, here is an update on my project. I cut a hole in a frydaddy. I bought the nipple and ball valve. I could not find a tap anywhere, but I have a machine shop that is going to tap that for me tomorrow. I only have one question left. The frydaddy has a little age on it. I can't figure out where the thermostat is. The frydaddy has 3 metal screws on the bottom. Any idea where the thermostat is??? Thanks

I have been using LC worm oil and I have never had any go brown. I have some worms that I don't use often that have been in the oil for over 4 years and I have had no color change.

We really need a sticky for Don'ts for newbies. Like don't put water based colors or scents in hot plastic, Don't put hot pyrex cup on cold metal plate. I think it would be helpful and maybe save an eye, or a finger, or even a life.

Little Scamp