WiTackleGuy

Yep. I noticed. The colored handles are from when they used the colors for pricing amd style versus now. Wherupon every handle is black regardless of price. I don't know when they changed over but I definitely notice a difference in quality from that era to recent molds.

That'll just make TTI/Blakemore's day. I can already imagine their PR department crafting up a hot-air press release about using only 'genuine Roadrunner heads', and their legal department getting bulk rate postage on all of the 'cease & desist' letters...

The nipple or spout cannot be removed by itself. It is one solid piece with the pot liner. Do be careful when cleaning the spout. The first time I cleaned my pot I accidentally widened the spout. The plunger still sealed it. But lead poured out at a strange angle and, did so really fast that it made pouring difficult.

Straighter is not a problem. I have the sag in the line because I just hung it for the picture. No. I'm not moving the range hood closer to the "WINDOW" not "hole in the wall" as I want some sort of separation and a little angle to act as a moisture trap to keep from having any outside moisture find its way down the exhaust. Your calculations for required cfm puzzle me. I searched online and 500cfm is enough to vent vapors from a mid-size kitchen provided the source of the fumes is on the other side of the room from the vent. It's not a requirement to change the air in the entire room every few minutes. The source of the fumes is directly under the fan. The vapors will not have a chance to infiltrate the rest of the room as there is constant upward airflow. Furthermore while it is true that lead particles are heavier than plastic particles, you might want to be aware of a couple things. Melting lead does vaporize to a gaseous state, but nowhere near the temperatures that we normally cast at. So there is no particle vaporization taking place. Second any particles that do occur generally are a result of the lead being handled in its solid state not the liquid or gas state. These particles are heavy enough that even a much more powerful fan will not vent them away. That is why it is advised to physically sweep the area and clean with a detergent. Pouring outside doesn't eliminate these particles either. It doesn't matter how much ventilation is used. Where some of the danger does lie is in some of the trace elements that occur in most alloys of lead. Some of these can gas off completely when heated. Most of these are quite toxic. However since they are soluble in air, a good airflow over the immediate area (or strong enough to vent smoke sideways from an extinguished candle, if you've done your reading) is enough to carry them away. Plus proper fluxing mitigates the effect of these elements as well.

Just finished my setup for pouring lead indoors. The fan pulls 160 cfm on high. Should be enough to get the vapors out of the house. Now I can pour year-round. A big plus here in the frozen tundra. My only gripe was that the range hood didn't put out enough light. I could have gone to a fancier model with 2 bulbs instead of one, but a couple clip lights do the job nicely.

Ventilation, Ventilation, Ventilation. I'm getting set up to pour in the basement. Rigged up a range hood that pulls between120-160 cfm. Have it mounted less than a couple feet from the top of the pot. Running the exhaust out a dryer vent to the outside. No way in heck I'd smelt in the house. But pour...sure why not? With proper ventilation and permission from the boss...

Tungsten gives a very hard return with electronics. This is helpful in ice-fishing for those who target fish at specific depths by watching their flasher or graph.

Here is a link to an old Component Systems Paint catalog. It details how to go about doing a large scale vinyl operation in there: http://web.archive.org/web/20060311174718/http://www.csipaint.com/csipaint_catalog.pdf I built something similar back when I was doing lots of vinyl. I built my dip trays out of roof flashing and JB-Weld. I also tweaked other bits of the design but the overall operation was pretty much the same.

I've used files over the years and found it to be tedious and time consuming. I think what I used most was something like a fine/med cut flat needle file and a file card to clean it when needed. Also used to use the back of a pocketknife as well. Last season I came up with something pretty slick. I used my dremel with their finishing/abrasive buffs. What I did was fasten the dremel down to a board with some velcro and went at it like it was a mini bench grinder. Depending on how you have the dremel situated the dust either flies up in the air (not cool) or is flung down towards the table. I put some damp paper towel under the thing to catch some of the dust, plus I'm wearing a respirator just to be sure. Both hands are free to safely hold the jig and the buffing wheel does a great job smoothing out the sprue.

I too built a rack. I was originally going to use angle brackets and mending plates to hold the threaded rods but thought better of it because I recall reading somewhere that heating galvanized products is not a good idea. So after thinking about it for a bit I came up with a cheaper and easier solution: I took some threaded rod and shoved it through a disposable aluminum baking pan. They are cheap and flimsy until you get a couple rods in it. Then it's nice and sturdy and it costs almost nothing. I put a nut and washer on either side of the pan to "lock" the rod in place. Haven't tried it yet but I see no reason why it shouldn't work just fine.

I received my return sticker in the latter half of July and had a replacement unit within 4 days of shipping the recalled heatgun out. Unfortunately the one they sent out was damaged. It took several attempts over the last couple weeks to get through again on a customer service line. When I finally did and explained the situation they took my info and said they would ship a new unit out immediately and to not worry about sending the damaged one back. That one arrived safely earlier this week. So yeah they are hard to get a hold of . But once you do get in touch things usually move fairly smoothly. I had thoughts of taking mine back to Menards as well. I wondered if they would take it back since I purchased back in December, and if the exchange would have been from the same faulty run. Only thing with the replacements are that you get 2 nozzles with the thing and it's Stanley yellow instead of black. No big deal and the 2 tips may come in handy.

Got the recall pickup in Mondays mail. So if anyone hasn't received the notice by now it should be arriving shortly.

Anyone had any trouble getting through on the toll free line? I've tried a few times and had to give up after spending about 25 minutes on hold each time.

Kool-Aid....No Kidding.... Dying Buck Tail Dyeing Protein Fibers with Kool-Aid: Basic Howto

Ditto that. If Hagens is too steep then you will most likely not like the prices from most anywhere.

A-men. Wisconsin DNR (don't get me started on them) has started beating the drum to voluntarily switch from lead to more ecco-friendly materials. Probably only a matter of time before they want to make it mandatory. In their propaganda they use the example of a Loon dying from lead poisoning from ingesting a tiny split shot. They may have a point there. It's possible to perhaps swap to a less hazardous material where it is not such an integral part of the presentation (IE split shot and down-rigger weights for example). But to hold the same standard for a jig is a bunch of B.S. For one thing it is an integral part of the presentation. Fish see size shape and drop speed. Not so much a big deal when the weight is up the line from the hook. But when it is used in conjunction with the hook as "the presentation" it matters greatly. Second the jig is normally painted. How long, how many Eons, do you think it would take for ordinary lake water to break down the paint and make lead contamination an issue? It takes some mean solvents to even touch the paint normally used on lead tackle. Water doesn't stand a chance. Then there is the matter of the hook. Seems to me, that would be a more pressing issue in terms of health and safety to whatever animal ingested it, versus the lead that just happened to be on the hook. Anyone that can show me a Loon that has died from lead poisoning (and not from injuries caused by the hook) after ingesting a jig and can prove it has got a steak dinner coming from me. And I wonder how this would ever be enforced? Are wardens going to weigh my tackle at the dock and confiscate it if its to heavy? Sure they will ban the sale of lead tackle. But what is to stop folks like us from pouring it ourselves and using it? Who is going to know and how can they ever know? But I fear the slippery slope of all of this. So while I may feel it is possible to manufacture some terminal tackle with alternative materials: It would only be a matter of time until their sights would be set on the remainder of lead in use. While not an Illinois resident myself: (you dang flat-landers ) You had better put up one heck of a fight 'cause we in Wisconsin will need the momentum to keep it from happening here.

I'm not so sure about this... You paid the FET on components because you bought "retail" without an exemption. If you sell your finished product (components, FET and value added services) as a "wholesale" product to be retailed by someone else then they, the retailer are obligated to collect the FET on the purchase. However if you sell as the retailer to the end user/consumer... That is where I get confused? Since the components were already sold as retail once and the FET was collected and paid by whom you purchased from: are you then obligated to collect FET on the retail of your finished product as well? Or can you claim that the FET was paid on the retail sale of the products components? And I'd imagine if you file for an exemption you had better keep very good records on your inventory. Any discrepancies will be seen as sales without collection of the FET by an audit. I'm just getting started on all of this myself. And until I understand all of the ins and outs of this, I'm just going to pay the FET on my components and pass that on as an expense on my wholesale cost. I'd retail it myself too but until I have a firm grip on the above scenario I'm going to have to wait.

Does it really matter if the lead is oxidized or not? For liquid paints I know it matters for a fact. But with powder...? I'd tend to think that any oxidation (unless it is very heavily oxidized) would be a non issue once the jig is heated for dipping in the powder. But that is just an educated guess.

Last I talked with Reinke Brothers Tackle in Milwaukee, I was told that pure lead was going for about 80 cents per pound and had been as high as a buck per pound due to the raw materials shortages from the war and other economic factors. And due to this, they had none for sale. For what it's worth I'll probably get my lead off of eBay. There is a guy selling on there that has pretty good prices. The best deal is the 60 pound box. It figures out to be about $1.20 per pound shipped. Which to my way of thinking is a heck of a deal.... It's delivered right to my door, ready to pour. I don't have to hit every scrapyard and salvage lot in town and then wonder about the quality/purity of it.

...So I'm looking at using powder paints... Due to circumstances surrounding the location of my new tackle-tinkering area, vinyl paints for scale production have become a safety issue, I think. Due to the proximity of a couple of pilot lights and an electronic ignition, and the lack of a fan with a sealed motor.... So I'm leaning towards using powder for everything. But I like the shade/pigmentation of the vinyls on a couple of the fluorescent colors better than the powder. So my plan is to use the white powder paint as a primer and then oven cure, and then dip the color and gloss top-coat using the single dip/bottle method rather than hauling out my big dipping rig.... Anyone ever had experience with vinyl over powder? Are the results acceptable? And the big question. What is the pigmentation of the white powder paint like compared to that of the white vinyl? -Thanks

Do-It has updated their website as of today, listing the new molds as well as a slew of new 2009 product offerings. No new 2009 catalog yet. Hopefully soon.