un_led_ed

I've read the replies to this thread with great interest and today I had another go. I got hold of a graphite spray (sold as lock lubricant) and coated the mold with it. And I have to say it worked - I poured about 40 jigs with only a couple of incomplete pours, and they all came out of the mold fairly easily with a bit of jiggling. My lead is a bit of a mongrel mixture of old fishing weights, roofing lead, wheel weights and battery lead (never again!), probably wasn't the best idea to mix it all up but it pours ok if I have everything warmed up nicely and play around with the melting pot temps.

Thanks for the replies guys. "A thousand or so pours"! only about 900 to go then! I've been gripping the sprue from the side which is probably why it's been breaking off so easily. What can I use as a mold release agent? Some kind of lubricating oil like WD40 maybe? Another problem I had with this mold was that the tolerances were so tight the air couldn't escape quickly enough, leading to incomplete pours. I solved this by placing a thin piece of paper on the face of the mold (another tip I picked up on this forum).

Question from a new member:Does anyone have any experience of this mold? I love the jigs, but they are a pain in the **** to remove from the mold. Sometimes they come out by pulling gently on the sprue, but more often this breaks off and I have to grip the lead with pliers, which leaves marks. It doesn't matter if they are for my own use (the fish don't mind!), but when I sell them I want them to be perfect. I've tried smoking the mold, which helps with pouring but not with removing the jigs. So, any ideas? By the way, lots of great tips and ideas on this forum, guys, thanks!