Ogajiga

Yes, he's in Virginia. I too always defended him and advised patience when customers complained on forums about long wait times.

I dunno, thought the lighter pewter weight might have a functional advantage for target shooting - longer range, flatter trajectory... Didn't know that they had value as replicas. I guess tourists will buy anything - here in HI you can buy plastic "shell" necklaces made in China.

This might be a bit off topic, but of what value are pewter musket balls?

I don't have those molds, but according to specs the Egg Head takes light wire hooks so you'd probably have to enlarge the hook eye slot & possibly the shank channel to accomodate salt water hooks. However, looking at the catalog pic, the close to body hook eye placement may not be adaptable to a shorter leg heavier wire hook. If the Do-it catalog pic is accurate the Chub appears to have an odd collar shape tho the salt water 90* O'Sh hooks version shouldn't require mold modification. As for hooks, 60* salt water EC 413 & Mustad 34184 have shorter shanks than 90* EC 635 / Mustad 91751-91715 but are not likely to interchange for mold fit. However, shorter leg 60*s can usually be shank bent to 90* or so which allows 90* interchangeability and also effectively shortens the shanks even more. I can post a pic if requested. You probably know that Mustad makes an even shorter shank 60* 34185 which may incur additional hook fit challenges.

What style jig head, weight, and hook size?

I've only got the 1/8 & 1/4 molds - here's the 1/8 with 3/0 Gami 604, 2/0 & 1/0 Owner 5313.

The Eagle Claw 630-635 1/0 O'Shaughnessy will fit.

Like "cadman" suggests, a bend alteration to your 2/0 Sickles can fit the hooks better in your mold. Altho attempting to rebend the hard 90* angle snapped my Sickles, the pic shows a shank bend that will work. The upper hook shows a 32746 stock fit. As you can see tho an undersize 2/0 light wire hook is still a sloppy fit in the hook shank and eye portions of the mold cavity which may result in shifting of the hook position during a pour.

I've got that mold, and neither the Sickle 2/0 or 32746 2/0 fits properly. The legs, which is the portion of the jig hook between the eye and the shank, are too long which causes the shank to sit too close to the collar cavity wall. Ideally, the shank should position straight thru the middle of the collar cavity for proper fill out, which the Gamakatsu 604 accomplishes with a shorter leg than standard 90* Aberdeen round bends. Do-it recommends the Mustad 32798 BLN (stamped on mold face) as an alternative to the Gami 604. http://www.barlowstackle.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=6&Product_ID=2110&CATID=57

Haven't seen any EC or Mustad ultra lights listed for many years. I assume you want snag bend out hooks - Matzuo round bend Aberdeen jig hooks are too soft for my liking and have chemically sharpened points.

Mustad discontinued theirs around 5 years ago. I prefer to break off a few jigs on snags than risk losing trophy bycatch. My crappie jigs get bit regularly by, among others, chunky cats and gawdawful huge carp. I don't mind bending out a carp, but kitties are keepers.

Common pewter alloys might be too hard for split shot sinkers - only pure tin or soft lead works for me.

I was wondering, is this a one time spray on or does it require re-application?

I've bought a bunch of Do-its from Zeiner's and also applaud their family run business customer service. When Do-it switched from color coded handles to all black, their quality slipped and many newer black handle molds had ruff textured cavity faces which resulted in sticking castings. Zeiner's was able to provide me some older better quality IMO orange and blue color handle molds.

To address the topic "But Melt At Low Temps" , a bismuth-tin alloy Bi58-Sn42 has a melting point of 281*F and weighs about 3/4 as much as lead. Very EZ to pour.

Holy crappie, how big are your slabs? My jigs are 1/16 balls with #4 or #6 hooks. Cheapest lighter than lead metal would be garage sale solder, the mostly tin (usually 97%) variety. That supply being hit or miss, metals suppliers like Rotometals or Hallmark Metals usually stock pure tin: Tin (Sn) - melting point 450*F - 64% lead weight Tin is usually EZ to pour, but some molds are more difficult than others. Like "Peterjay" said, tin has a shiny corrosion resistant finish.

Hopefully the fees stay in the USA and supports American business.

Standard 92-8 (tin-antimony or tin-antimony+copper) pewter weighs about 62% as much as lead.

You might be right, I remember having one that got hot enuf to scorch the finish if cranked up to max, but that was a long time ago, & I haven't used one since.

Wanted to add that an exposed coil hot plate may be a dangerous choice if the weight of a pot full of lead exceeds the load bearing capacity of the coil. I personally melt lead on a cast iron propane burner in an open on 3 sides carport with a large box fan to suck and blow melt fumes away from the work area. Also, "DDSBYDAY" may be correct in assuming that a propane Coleman may not be efficiently hot enuf for your job.

Hey Orion, my grandson in Greeley has your name too. Here's a pic of my scrap lead processing equipment: 1. Heavy gauge stainless steel pot scrounged from a dump holds about 50# of melt. 2. Cast iron ingot mold usually available on eBay makes 1# blocks 3. Cast iron ladle rated at 1-1/2# brimming full. If you're on a budget check garage sales and thrift shops like the Salvation Armys. I would also check the row of second hand and antique warehouses on the south side of FoCo. A Coleman camp stove gets hot enuf to melt lead, liquid fuel version burns hotter but propane is OK. Obviously, a flat bottom cast iron or stainless steel pot works better than rounded on this type of burner. I've also in a pinch melted lead on a coil type electric range, so a hot plate might work as well. edit: you can use a heavy aluminum pot, but left unattended to overheat they can melt - I speak from experience! .

My 32786s aren't for sale, but if you PM me your address I'll send you a couple of 3/0s and one 4/0. My 4/0s are all shank bent to fit a certain mold and only have one stock hook left.

Don't have that exact mold to look at, but Mustad 32786 often interchanges in 635-413 molds. If the shorter shank hook point intrudes into the high platform area of the mold faces, just cut a small slot for the point to sit in. Altering to fit the mold hook shank slot if necessary isn't that difficult. I've got 32786 1/0 thru 4/0 if you'd like to check for fit.

I won't publicly identify a problem party, but many of you might have figured. Thanks for the replies, I will try calling, but have heard that will only result in an unanswered message. Will also investigate suing for recovery of the $500 or so. Yes, pursuing legal action would be mostly on principal, tho $500 is a bite of profits for a home bizness. Not sure how a party 6,000 miles distant that avoids communication can be served, since registered mail is probably a red flag. The mold maker emailed mid-summer he was working on my molds, & since he had delivered previous 3 mold custom lots eventually, I patiently waited. At the 1 yr. "anniversary" in Nov. I started sending friendly email inquiries every month and now have 4 unanswered. Hey Sonny, nice to see you back onboard.

This custom mold maker collects $ up front, so I ordered and paid for 3 molds in Nov. 2008. Nope, thats not a typo! He has not replied to my last 4 emails. Thought maybe his business tanked, but his website was updated this month. Any one else had a similar problem, & suggestions?