Ogajiga Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I ladle pour my jig heads with a soft lead + 4% tin added alloy which is the most practical in my experience for ease of pouring with the added benefits of corrosion resistance and slight toughening. Sometimes there are bubble voids in the head where the sprue is removed - does anyone else encounter this problem and are these defects avoidable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Your mold or lead probably isn't hot enough. You may also be pouring a little too quickly or slowly. Try adjusting these, you should be fine. With the mold hotter, it takes longer for the lead to cool and all air would be expelled. If pouring too fast, you can create bubbles. If you were pouring too slowly, you should expect to see rings forming around the head. All 3 could cause bubbles, but I'm guessing a combination of a cool mold and pouring too quickly. Also, it might just be a matter of the angle you need to hold the mold at. What size jigheads are you pouring? what style? Could also be the tin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Lets see, the molds with the most noticeable bubble pours are the Do-it RHB 1/16 and 1/8 molds, the Do-it Walleye Jig 1/8 & 1/4 combo mold, and the Do-it VMC Banana Jig 1/8-5/8 combo mold. The bananas were particularly bad using red hooks which paint finish I think was burning and gassing during the pour. For the others I use tinned EC 635 hooks in sizes #6, #4, & #2. With the tinned hooks maybe 10% and the red hooks maybe as much as 25% defective pours. Ladle pouring kinda limits me to an elevated fast pour to avoid gate freeze. For the same reason the melt is pretty hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 When you're pouring do you still have a solid stream, or is it seperated like when your pee hits the toilet water? Is it possible for you to pour from closer to the mold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Ladle pouring small heads I need the elevation pressure otherwise there might be only partial fill outs. I would say the stream is fast and solid out of the ladle with minor occasional fragmentation at the the inlet. The banana jig mold has bigger gates so can be poured close with the ladle resting on the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I dunno....Of those, I only have used the RHB molds and have no problem, but I'm using a bottom pour pot. I think it might just be the lead cooling around the gate and not allowing the air to escape from the cavity before the sprue forms. Maybe you just need to keep your molds hotter and pour a little faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedHed Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 hawnjigs Get a bottom pour - safer and more control. You can put the sprue (on most molds) right up to the spout of the pot. Then it's a matter of finding the right angle to hold the mold while pouring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskillr Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I had the same trouble with smaller heads when I first started pouring, also using a ladle. I got better at it by holding the mold at a slight angle and my ladle at an angle touching the ladle pout to the sprue gate. Then flip the mold and ladle upright at the same time, allowing the lead to "swirl" into the mold. I still had some problems until I found a Lee production pot on ebay for $30. The slight pressure created by the lead above the spout forcing down solved every problem I had. I highly recomend getting a small production pot for 1/8 and smaller heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Thank you all. When I first considered pouring 10 years ago a pot & ladle old timer (gone now) told me he didn't like bottom pour melters. Guess its time to reconsider. Will start a new thread about melters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
