Jig Man

Can you use an electric griddle to keep re-heats down by placing your Pyrex cup on top after you already finished using the microwave? [i do sometimes but I'd rather mix smaller batches and have few reheats.] I use m-f plastic and was wondering how long do you guys usually leave it in the microwave? After a couple of re-heats my colors get darker so I want to stop that. I usually heat it then stop and then stir in 30sec intervals. I normally do 15-30 second bursts but I return it to the micro as soon as my molds are full. I don't let it set around on the workbench and start cooling. I always add heat stabilizer when I reheat. I have found that white and chartreuse are the ones that change colors fast.

Yep I wondered that after I posted but I buy mine by the 1000 ct.

Try Captain Hooks or if you have a fed tax id then Shorty's hook sales.

Cadman says you can soak the painted jig heads in paint remover before you remelt them. Do a search and see just how he recommends it. When I remelt jigheads, I hold the hook with needle nosed pliers and dip the head into melted lead.

I have one but it is nothing special. The best I have used is stainless steel with a thick bottom. It holds the heat better.

Since I don't know just what you want my advice is to start with 1/2 tsp in your mix and see how you like it. If you want repitition you will have to be exact in your measurements. Good luck.

When I want softer I add softner to my plastisol.

I know this is not about your question but if you are just getting in, have you looked at the startup costs for lead pot, mold, hooks, paint, toaster oven, weedguard, skirt material ? You might want to buy some prepainted heads, skirt materials, and weedguards to give this a try before sinking maybe hundreds of dollars into a new hobby?

I haven't seen any flat rubber in years. But when we bought it the stuff would stick together and become unuseable after a period of time. We had several big rolls that had to go to the land fill. Round rubber has never done that to me.

Are you holding the mold against or away from the pot spout? How hot is your lead?

I do it all of the above. With silicone I prefer the bands from www.skirtsunlimited.com. I've never had one of them to rot and some have been on for years. With living rubber I use copper wire.

I too would like to see how you hang them. What I have done is drill holes in dowell rods and drive nails through a board. I put the tube on a dowell and wrap the "feelers" to the dowell with bread ties. I dip them then hang them on the nails to dry. Maybe you have a better mouse trap. I'd like to see it please.

Thanks for the replies. I should have made myself more clear. Just because I was thinking bass doesn't mean that was conveyed to you guys. I was clearly thinking 3/8 and 1/2 but now I may go with the 1/4 also. I've already made him crappie heads in 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4 along with some do nothins and stingers. I just have to get the jigs tied and worms and tubes poured.

Which 2 sizes are your best sellers? A friend of mine wants to take some of my baits on the road to various trade show where he is a vendor. I plan to fix him up with 6-10 colors but only want to start out with 2 sizes. So if you could give me a little help here I'd appreciate it.

Using heat stabilizer and being careful will help but after a few reheats light colors seem to change especially white and chartreuse.

I don't know how large you want it to be but I had a similar need and what I did was tape a wire to one of my slots in a mold. Then I put the mold in a vice and closed it tightly. It made an indention where the wire had been. Now when I want a weed guard in that jig I just mold a 1/4" wire while I am pouring. After I paint the jig head I remove the wire and glue in the weedguard. I did it in my tube jighead mold using successively bigger wires unitl I have groves large enough to mold 90# coated steel leader that I mold in for a weedguard.

Yep that is where I am. I do jigs from 1/32 - 1 oz this way. It took a while but it works, but I'm not in the selling business I only make for myself and am never in a hurry. I did the torch for many years and the heat gun never gave me what I wanted.

No it doesn't have to be really hot. I do mine in a toaster oven. I heat the heads till the paint will stick to them and be dull (NOT SHINY). That gives me the thinnest coat possible still covering the head. Then I bake them for 15 min at 350°. I always hold my jig heads by the hook eye so I never have to worry about the paint in the eye. Since my pliers are not in contact with the heat source they don't get hot and have the paint stick to them.

I keep a container of vegetable oil on the bench for lubing the mandrel tips on my tubes so they come off easier. When an injector is not smooth I did the plunger to just cover the O ring knock off the excess and fire away.

Nothing better than catching on what you have made. Congrats.

Really. I didn't know that. I've never lived where one didn't vent to the outside. I used to melt my plastics on the kitchen stove when I first started out and lived in a duplex.

Do it on the top of your kitchen stove. Just turn on the vent fan and go for it.

Make sure that you mix your plastisol really really good before you pour as the hardner settles to the bottom of the jug.

I mostly use green pumpkin, pumpkin seed, red, white, black, blue, chartreuse, and orange.

I'd get some paint stripper, clean then powder coat if I wanted to remove the paint. On mine, I just heat with a heat gun then recoat with powder paint over the old paint. I don't bake them but the paint lasts a long time.