sagacious

I'd love to see Jerry's plans work, exactly as he has outlined them. However, I'm not convinced that enough people will pay a pro-rate monthly fee, or a $60 yearly fee. It really doesn't matter that you, I, or some other folks are willing to pay $60/year. It really doesn't matter how passionate you, I, or some other folks are about the planned expansion of TU. What matters is that a sufficient and continuing number of home-made tackle enthusiasts are willing to support the site maintenance costs and upgrades, and Jerry, so that he can quit his other passion and focus solely on TU. I could stand up on a podium and say how terribly dissapointed I am in the insouciance displayed by a percentage of the membership, but that achieves nothing other than a certain short-lived and narcissistic self-satisfaction. That X number of members voted, or that X number of members volunteered to pay $X for site maintenance is a reflection of basic human nature. It's not a failing of society. It's not a failing of certain individuals. There are ways to appeal to basic human nature (humans are inherently helpful) that would offset or exceed site maintenance costs, but I don't believe that the strategy presented addresses those considerations. I have forwarded a few suggestions to admin that have proved successful on the two other fishing sites where I am a mod, so I've seen that there is a strategy that works-- and that doesn't involve membership dues. I would like to see TU progress as Jerry would like, and in a manner that reduces the stress and workload he must shoulder, in order that we all enjoy the benefits of his labor as we have. Whatever happens, I hope it works out for the best for Jerry, and for those others who put their heart, soul, and wallets into TU. Best regards, Eric

That's the great thing about this luremaking and working with metal: there's always something new to learn! By soaking up the info, you are contributing. Share that info with others whenever you have a student of the lead-pouring arts before you, and you'll be making a positive difference in someone else's hobby, fishing enjoyment, and self-confidence (and maybe even safety!).

My apologies if I didn't explain myself well enough. That happens sometimes! Any wax will smoke while fluxing. However, if you light that smoke with a match (just strike and then toss the match in), the smoke will flame up, just like a big beeswax candle. At that point you want to stir it in with a long-handled spoon. Most people pay a premium for beeswax candles because they burn with little soot/smoke. So............ light the smoke produced when fluxing, and you'll get those additional benefits from the flames that I posted in my reply above-- plus little smoke. Once the flux turns to smoke, the smoke cannot in any way benefit the flux process-- unless you light it. Smoke adds zero benefit to fluxing, whereas flame adds considerable benefit. The flames and reducing atmosphere will assist and accelerate the fluxing process. See my last post in the "Lead Quality" thread for more detailed info. Make sense now? Hope this helps, good luck!

Stainless hook hangers and stainless screw-eyes: yes. Stainless cups: I don't think so, more likely nickel-plated brass (someone correct me if I'm wrong). You're right, the nickel plate will go 'off' after a while in saltwater. Just use the stainless screw eyes, you shouldn't need the cups anyway. Yes. But be sure to allow the paint to dry long enough. Unless it's really hot and dry where you are , you're going to want to wait a good long time before you clearcoat the lures. If the coating peels because you didn't let the primer/paint/etc dry long enough, you'll be sore chagrined indeed! Good luck, and keep us posted!

Good, workable suggestion. I've waded out into the lake many times to retrieve a favorite lure. Just glad I didn't have to dive down for 'em! Some folks use lighter-strength split-rings when ocean fishing here. The main line is heavy enough to open the split-ring when the lure becomes snagged, thus providing a 'fuse' in the system.

Ha ha, very good! I supect that you're ignorant of very little when it comes to lead alloy or tin alloy pouring. I hear ya, my buddies say I must be able to 'smell' lead from 50 yards away. Like you, if it can be melted, I'm on it!

Always before. Be sure to add enough flux to thoroughly wet the clips. The recovery is better and simpler, since the flux changes the surface tension of the melt and causes the clips to all pop to the top of the melt for easier removal. The lead that had previously wetted some fraction of the clips all beads up and returns to the melt. If you light the smoke, you'll notice that the heat gain helps fluidize the melt, and the crud rapidly separates into a 'less-wetting' compound, and thus retains less lead droplets. I'll melt down a large pot of tire weights, and when the melt is almost, aaaaalllmost all melted, I'll drop in the flux and light the smoke. The flux, flames, and stirring all removes/separates the gunk, and the added heat instantly melts any unmelted tire clips. This results in a savings of time and expense, plus manages melt temp control-- vs waiting for every last ww to melt and then fluxing. Clips get skimmed, and the quality/'purity' of the melt is assessed, and if good, ingots are poured immediately. However, if the surface of the melt shows the telltale 'gooseflesh' of tiny particles wetted in the lead melt, I'll flux again to remove them. This process results in 'clean' lead ingots with no entrained foreign matter or particulates in the lead, and that generally doesn't require fluxing later. Sometimes though, a batch of lead ingots may require fluxing upon later remelting, so one should always re-assess the melt before starting a pouring session. When in doubt: flux the melt. Ingots that are poured at too high a temp are almost guaranteed to require additional fluxing upon melting later. This is another good reason to light the smoke when fluxing scrap lead and pouring ingots-- you want to pour the ingots at just the right temp, and not too hot. Too hot also allows the potential for other deleterious alloying or contaminating elements to dissolve into the lead-- such as zinc tire weights. Lighting the smoke provides a temporary temperature spike that doesn't leave the melt overheated when you're ready to pour ingots-- or ready to start pouring lures. Be safe, and good luck all!

Add my sentiments to that! Since Hawnjigs is in a location with some serious limitations on raw materials, I'll bet he doesn't miss a trick!

Reeves, You've probably learned a lot by having to blend your own alloys. Either when pouring spincast, or from the pot, adding fluxing to your routine will enhance your results. I would expect that to be especially true when spincasting, as the reduction in both surface oxides and surface tension significantly promotes complete mold fill-out in small cavities, narrow/thin spaces, or detailed molds. Fluxing (done right, but it's pretty simple) should be one of those things that, once you start doing it, you should see the benefits immediately. Instant gratification, who doesn't like that?

Pete, them's some fancy kickers right there! WO, I guess it depends what you're snagged on, and what lure you're using. Consider going to single hooks, one treble vs two, smaller thin-wire (bendable) hooks, or weed-guard hooks if practical. Also, if you're snagged on something that's not too solid, you might consider making a small grappling hook and tying it to 50' of parachute cord. If you're hooked-up on a stick, or some weeds, you can snag it with your grappling hook and haul it in. However, don't make your grappling hook out of anything too strong, because if you snag that on something really stout, and you can't unbend it and pull it free, you'll never break that parachute cord (been there, done that!). Hope this helps, good luck!

Hey Hawnjigs, could you give us a run-down on your own experience with those fluxing materials? I have used parrafin wax for a while now, as it's easy to work with and inexpensive. It will flame up, but to me that's better than lots of smoke (the flames incinerate and substantially reduce the smoke). I have also used sawdust, and it works OK. Some folks seem to prefer it to other fluxing materials. I don't have a ready supply of sawdust, and don't wish to store any, so it's not a convenient option for me. I once had some rosin on hand, and used it to flux a few batches of lead. Works extremely well! However, rosin smokes like a pile of wet leaves, so for me....... no more rosin! I have used old cooking oil on many occasions, and it works great. A little messy to use, since it's a liquid, but it fluxes very well and flames up which is good (smoke bad, flames good). Free and effective is good too! However, the french-fry smell may give you the munchies while melting down scrap lead, which is not good (munch first, melt lead second, and not the other way around). I think the first flux I ever used was Brownell's Marvelux flux. It is a white powder (looks like salt) that comes in a jar, and a little bit of it goes a long way. It will not flame-up at all, won't smoke, and is nice to work with. It is claimed that it will reduce or prevent rusting on the sides of the melting pot. However, it's less readily available and more expensive that parrafin, so I no longer use it. Parrafin works as well for me, and since I melt outside, a few flames are of no concern. However, for anyone who pours lead inside their shop and wants to avoid smoke & flames, Marvelux may be the way to go. Here's a link: MARVELUX® BULLET CASTING FLUX at Brownells

Yes, exactly. Just drop a chip of wax about the size of a marble onto the surface of the melt. Be ready to stir it in thoroughly with a long-handled spoon or ladle. Also be ready for the wax to catch fire and flame-up for a few seconds. Keep stirring until you see a bunch of powdery black crud floating on a surface of silvery, shiny metal. Skim off the black crud, and start pouring. When you add more lead or ingots, you should flux again. Only takes a minute or less, but avoids a lot of frustration later on. A basic rule-of-thumb that virtually all highly-skilled lead pourers adhere to is: Head-off any problems before you start pouring. Fluxing is an integral part of that strategy. After fluxing, you should see that the melt has a smooth mirror surface. It certainly should help your pouring go smoother, as long as you're doing everything else right. I used to pour a lot of salmon balls in 1.5, 2, and 2.5lb sizes. By removing the lead oxides on the surface, and making the melt less likely to form oxides, fluxing will help make sure the metal is as fluid as possible, so pours go easier. But please read up on fluxing before you do it. There is plenty of info here if you do a quick search for "flux". Now, as far as helping the lead molds release the lead castings, well, that's a different issue. First, inspect a cooled cannonball sinker from your 'sticky' mold, and you'll likely see some scuff or scratch marks along the mold part lines. There's a burr on the mold edge that's causing those marks, and that's your culprit. Locate that area on your mold, and file, scrape with a knife edge, or sand down the offending burrs. There may be several, and they may be small, so search carefully. This problem is very common on large cannonball molds, as they often see a lot of hard use and abuse-- but the good news is that it's fairly easy to fix. Also, be sure to smoke the mold cavities thoroughly with a sooty flame (again, part of the "avoiding problems before they start" rule). This will help with both fill-out and mold release. These several changes to your pouring practice should make a big difference for you. Let us know how it goes. Hope this helps, good luck!

Good stuff here, guys! I use two spoons. The first is a long-handled 'serving' spoon that works well for stirring the melt, as well as light skimming chores. The wide blade skims the crud off the surface quickly, and it takes up very little space on my pouring bench. The second is a large long-handled slotted spoon that is secured to an 18" piece of hickory with a stainless hose clamp. It works exceptionally well for removing clips and dross when melting down tire weights or scrap lead. The wooden handle offers good grip even with gloves on, and always stays plenty cool. The longer handle also comes in handy when fluxing a large pot of tire weight lead with a bit too much wax, and the melt flames up a little more than usual! I got both spoons at a local thrift store.

Sorry, meant to say: makes pouring easier.

No worries-- you don't learn unless you ask. Fluxing is fairly simple. It's done to remove oxides, some impurities, and to re-combine the oxidised tin back into the melt. This conserves lead, reduces dross and oxide formation, helps reduce the likelyhood of incomplete pours, and makes fluxing easier. Briefly: Before pouring (or pouring ingots), you add a small quantity of fluxing material (say, about a teaspoon or less) to your pot of lead. If you use wax, it will quickly melt. Stir it into the lead as much as possible, taking care to scrape the edges of the pot. Use caution, and use a long-handled spoon, since the wax will usually catch fire and flame-up for a short time. Keep stirring and you'll see a bunch of black dust and crud floating on the lead. Skim that off, and you're set to begin your pouring session. What you won't see is the tin and lead that have been returned to the melt-- and that's good. Pouring will go smoother and easier. If you don't flux, and you just skim off all that frothy lead scum floating on the molten lead, you're probably removing much of the tin component of the lead alloy-- and that's bad. Plus, you're just wasting good lead that could have been recombined with the melt, and also making your pouring more problematic. As others have noted, it's best to do a search, as some folks have spent considerable time typing out some very helpful info on fluxing, and you'll benefit if you take the time to read what's been written. Good luck, and be safe!

Not fluxing your lead is like cooking fried eggs on a cast-iron skillet, but with no butter or fat. Possible, but not the best practice! Yes, it sure will. As will any othe flammable fluxing material such as wax. Use caution. But the flame pesists only for a short time, and it helps with the fluxing process anyway.

I use paraffin wax. It's the most widely available, consistent, and cheapest melting fluxing material I've found-- and it fluxes all lead alloys very well. However, most any oil will work fine, and old cooking oil or animal grease will certainly flux lead (but it's messier to handle than a chunk of parrafin). Bulk parrafin is easy to find, and even old candle ends are usually very easy to come by. I use beeswax for making bullet lube, and it's much more expensive than parrafin, so I reserve it for that use. Fatman, Yes, fluxing will make a difference. I've met several people who had never fluxed their lead during a lifetime of pouring. Lo and behold, after trying it, they no longer had those problems they figured were just a part of lead pouring! Give it a try.

This is quite a formidable question you're asking! There's an awful lot that can be said about mold making. Perhaps if you narrow your question down a bit, someone can shed some light on your query.

That "copper and blue" stuff is composed of oxides of lead, and is not caused by any contaminant in the lead. As a matter of fact, that copper and blue stuff is a good indication that you have fairly pure lead with no contaminants or significant alloying elements. If the lead had any significant alloy components, it would not likely turn that characteristic color. What happened, simply, is that the lead was overheated. And that's why the copper and blue oxides just keep coming back. You can't scoop the contaminant off, because it's just lead that you're removing. Even if the lead is 100% pure, when overheated it will turn yellowish, and then coppery or blue. Solution: Just reduce the heat a bit! Again, what you're seeing is the lead becoming oxidised a bit. If you reduce heat slightly, and flux before pouring ingots-- which is the proper procedure-- the ingots will be shiny. The hotter ya get 'em, the less shiny they'll be. Yup, the lead is worth saving. I know it's common to blame anything unexpected on "contaminants" in lead, but I'm sure someone with a lot of lead pouring experience will confirm my advice here. Be safe and best of luck!

Well, congrats on the continuing succes of TU! Sites like this don't prosper unless they have competent, dedicated management. However, I must admit to some slight chagrin at the proposed membership fees. I find that I participate considerably more as a contributor than a miner of information. I don't weigh-in with opinions and questions as much as I try to shed some light on areas where my own experience or techniques might be of practical benefit to others. As such, paying a fee to access this great site would, unfortunately, likely be the end of my participation. I am a moderator on a couple other fishing websites, and I do understand that in this day and age, everything costs money. I was under the (perhaps mistaken) belief that the advertising here covered the site maintenance costs. If the primary reason for the modest membership fees is to force participation of membership, then I am of two minds (both against tho! ). First, I suspect that there are some who will pay, well, just to be here, and also have considerable knowledge to share. But my guess is that number is fairly low, and will almost surely suffer attrition over time. Without that pool of talent, the quality of the information presented here will suffer. Second, that group who will pay a fee for the ability to access the information and considerable talent here (now), will also surely suffer from attrition. Many tacklemakers/hobbyists want nothing more than to know how to pour a few spinnerbaits and tie a few jigs. Once they have that set of skills, there becomes little reason to remain as an active, membership-dues paying member. If this tendancy for attrition is correct, even in part, the future of TU may not be as rosy as I'd like to hope. I suspect that many of the 'lurkers' are of the type listed above-- those who only need to acquire a limited repertoir of skills. Also, I suspect that many come here to be inspired-- I certainly am inspired by the fantastic work I see here. That inspiration, I believe, is what makes a young person say, "hey, maybe I could make my own lure and catch a fish on it!" Those are 'newbies' looking for support, encouragement, and also a knowledge base. Those folks are the ones who patronize the advertisers here, who bring a fresh, current feel to the site, and those same starry-eyed lure-making fisherfolks are the future of TU. And those people are perhaps the least likely (as a group) to sign on as paying members. I have seen several fishing websites enact membership fee schedules in order to actively reduce the membership, while hoping to retain the 'hard-core' members. This invariably has the effect of turning the club into a clique of friends who all know each other, and want someplace to hang-out on the web. The quality and integrity of the site can then become exceedingly hard to mantain without the input of fresh blood, and I'd hate to see that happen here. I'm not sure exactly what the poll options mean. If expansion = dues, then mark down a no vote for me. Anyway, best of luck all, and I look forward to the future TU with bated breath.

I hear ya. I use the same size darter heads for bonefish and tropical species. With a plastic tail on the jig, it doesn't dart, it just hops. If you tie on a light hair tail, then it starts to dart a bit. Either way catches fish for me. With a small jig like say, 1/16oz, once you paint it, and especially if you paint and then epoxy, the small details are reduced. Those conical keepers will have the forward/inside radius rounded-out by the epoxy, and the sharp edges are dulled (at least that happened with mine, but I expect others will report the same). The exact shape of the head, the 'squareness' at the back of the jighead, etc, are very likely to prove negligible once you slide on a plastic body. Concentrating exclusively and idealistically on those smaller details may mean missing the forest for the trees. I've done a few projects with small darter/bullet-head jigs, such as adding a ball collar for tying on hair or nylon skirts, or modifying the mold to pour eye-recesses for 3-D eyes, or increasing the hook channel to accomodate a larger hook. Sometimes, if the project becomes too complicated, it may become impractical and frustrating. If you've been thinking about this project for a long time, as you mentioned, you might do well to take what molds are already available, modify them, and press them to your needs, as opposed to expending a whole lot of elbow grease and money to, essentially, make a difference with no practical distinction. I hope you see what I'm saying. Believe me, I've been there myself on more than one occasion. That's just a few words to the wise. Hope your project works out, and you and your mates catch a heap of fish. Best of luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

Thank you for the drawing, Shortlite. Well, after some consideration, I agree with Cadman's assessment: you'll likely need to have a custom mold made for your design, especially if you wish to have it exactly match your drawing. Now, that's not what I might do. I'd take the Do-it darter-head mold, which has the hook eye in the same location you want, and very carefully cut 'conical' keepers with the Dremel 116 bit. That would give me 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, and 3/8oz jigs with the balance you want; the hook eye where you want it; and the keepers you want. Done. The Mustad 32833bln should fit fine. Again, that's what I would do, but that wouldn't exactly match your drawing perfectly. However, it would indeed be very close to what you're looking for in terms of overall balance, shape, appearance, and function. Should be close enough for gov't work, and the fish might not even notice the difference! That would save considerable time and expense, and leave more time for fishing and testing your design. Hope this helps, good luck with your project!

That bit should be available at any hardware store that carries dremel accessories. You're familiar with the pointed engraving bit-- this one isn't pointed, it's just a cylinder. You can't miss it. If your store needs to order it, check the dremel website, and you should be able to find the bit you need. There's no mold available in the shape/size/weight you want? Your project will require an investment of time and resources, so before you start, be sure you're not trying to re-invent the wheel. I believe others have modified the cavity shape with a dremel tool, but I have not attempted this. That is a task that requires considerable planning, patience, and skill, and runs the risk of damaging/ruining your design-- or the mold itself. If the cavity requires quite a bit of modification, it's often less work to just make a separate mold. Opening the hook channel and cutting 'keepers' is simple, but it seems that you have a considerable amount of mold modification in mind. If you're not experienced with mold design or modification, you may want to do just that-- post some sketches and you'll get more accurate advice. At this point, all we can do is just guess at basic design considerations, such as if your design is feasible at all.

If you're not going to sell them, the modifications you're describing (increasing the hook channel for a heavier wire hook, and adding keeper rings to the jig collar), are all easily done by hand with simple tools. A variable-speed hand drill with the appropriate-size bit will cut the hook channel, and as noted by others, a dremel with a cylinder cutting tip will cut the keepers. Go slow and plan-out your work before cutting. Good luck!