cadman

I would put it in the middle of the lower barb on one half of the mold.

Did a quick search and looks like Luremaking. com may have some. Give them a call. You might be in luck.

I checked my stock on both brands and I have none. I also have a note on my spreadsheet that says not available since 2016. May have to look on line or e-bay.

Yes you can pour with the weedguards in place. I bought some different diameter heat shrink tubing. So for 1/8 " pins in a mold, get 1/8 or slightly smaller heat shrink tubing. Stick your loose strands in the heat shrink tubing. Make sure that the bottom of your strands that go into the mold cavity up against the hook shank is not covered by the heat shrink tubing. Close your mold half and pour your lead. Quickly open you mold take out your jig and take off your heat shrink tubing and re-use. Also make sure that you leave about a 1/4" of heat shrink tubing sticking out past the top of your strands so you can pull the heat shrink off of your weedguard once you pour the head. Just so you know this is a very slow process. If you are doing 20 jigs Ok, but I wouldn't want to do 500 jigs like this.

How big of a piece do you need? I have plenty and it's stainless steel.

You have a PM

There are several ways to do your weedguards for all the jigs that take an 1/8" pin, I would suggest using teflon pins like mentioned. For the jigs that have a smaller weedguard hole, you can use smaller diameter teflon pins if you can find them. Now if you want to use a jig that has a 1/8 " pin and you want to put in less weedguard strands, then you can use a reducer. Please contact me via PM and I can explain this easier. I do not like heavy weedguard strands(personal preference) so all of my jigs have 15 (.018) strands.

I like the .018. Reason being (just my opinion)the bass doesn't have to chomp down as hard on the jig, and the softer weedguard will depress easier to reveal the hook point quicker.

On the bismuth or tin, all you have to do is empty your current pot of lead and put in the tin or bismuth. If you are going to do a couple of jigs for samples, take an old tablespoon or a small ladle, put a small chunk of tin, and heat the spoon/ladle with a torch and pour it into a hot mold. You can heat the cavity of the mold with a torch to to warm it up as well. Tin has a low melting point about 425 degrees lower than lead. I don't know how strong it is though. Bismuth is very hard, as I have poured bismuth jigs for the guys in Massachusetts. On the jigs, the walleye jig has a 90 degree hook, so I don't know if that is an issue for you. The other two are 60 degree hooks. You can incorporate a weedguard slot like Jig Man mentioned it is not complicated.

I miss Ben as well. Super nice guy. We had many talks on the phone about jigs.

How about Do-It's BAT-7-A, Bat Jig Mold #3504. Maybe you can modify the hook eye to fit your hook.

Pour the 1/8 oz Snootie jig in tin. More than a third less weight than lead. Lead 11.342 grams per cubic centimeter Bismuth 9.87 grams per cubic centimeter Pewter 8.5-9.5 grams per cubic centimeter Tin 7.265 grams per cubic centimeter

Sorry David, I don't have any. BTW did they stop carrying them or are they out of stock?

I always have thought the same thing. They are usually gapped where the lead keeper is on the mold. Reason being, that is the hardest and the lowest part of the mold where lead needs to fill. Many guys have problems filling the lower part of the mold. If all molds would have these slits for the air to escape, I think many newbies would have less problems.

Yes

If you're going to add a wire keeper, put a relief gap somewhere in the head for air to escape when the lead pours in. You only have to do it to one half of the mold. Maybe you don't even need that. put the keeper in and just try it.

No I have not. Been putting in a lot of hours at work, so right now I don't have much time.

It looks like Tackle Underground still has their yearly competition for all categories. I think they post it in one of their forums on when it is.

I do not pour straight soft lead. My lead is 70% soft 30% hard. I like this mix. You can pour any lead you want. If you get flawless pours with hard lead and it works for you then use it. Many times straight hard leads is hard to pour because it doesn't want to fill all of the features in the cavity. However there is a solution to that, just turn up the heat and many times this will solve your problem. No point in throwing the lead away if you get the desired results you want.

Just so you know, bismuth has a very low melting point and it is difficult to powder paint and then cure the powder paint. If I remember correctly, bismuth melts around 520 degree, which is a far cry from lead. It also depends what type of bismuth alloy you have. Finally, bismuth is very hard and if hit with a hammer it will crack apart. I can see now why you are having problems with paint chipping. I think 350 degrees will be too hot, depending on how long you have it in the oven. From my past experience with bismuth, you have to use a lower heat temp and keep it longer in the oven.

Depends on what you are throwing it at. If the jig was properly cured, then paint chip will be to a minimal. However if you throw it against rocks or drag it for 20 to 30 casts then yes the paint will abrade and chip. You can take your jigs and clear coat it with Devcon 2 Ton epoxy. That does help a lot to keep it looking good, however after awhile the epoxy will start to wear down and then you will have bare paint again. I think you will be happy with the epoxy clearcoat. If you need more help you can PM me here.

I use them and have no problem with them.

Thanks guys for all the input.

Jig Man, Looks like that mold has been discontinued. I like it because it has the heavier 60 degree straight eye hook. Believe it or not I sell a lot of these because guys don't like the 90 degree aberdeen style hook. Here is a pic of the mold.

I am pouring the jigs. They are 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 oz. The mold is Do-It #3019 Tube-TX. The jigs will be powder painted for ease of sliding them on. The tubes I will be using are Poor Boys 4" tubes