Alu v Brass stickyness

[Fernet]

I'm modifiying a mold. I will put in a rods for eyeholes. Do you think brass or steel will work any different then aluminium when it comes to "stickyness on the pour"? I pour Bismuth-Tin and find that the larger sizes tend to stick quite hard to the mold without plenty of sooting.

Thanks

[Vodkaman]

I think aluminium would be better, as it forms a protective oxide coating, which will act much like the soot from smoking. Steel should work though.

Brass is easy so solder and is much more likely to give you problems.

Choose your drill angle carefully, to avoid die locking the cast in the mold. Maybe chamfer the ally rods to facilitate de-molding.

I am not an expert in this field, so I hope someone will correct me if my thinking is incorrect.

Dave

[Fernet]

Good thinking Vodkaman. That makes sense. For the eyes and drill angle I'm going straight through even tho the sides of the jigs are at an angle. However I will use slight larger(1mm) rods than the eys and round the edges off nicely.

[Basseducer]

Fernet,

I recently added eye sockets to my Shad Head Jig Mold. I opened the mold and drilled a hole from the inside out where the indentation was for the old protruding eye was. I closed the mold and drilled the other side through the first hole to make sure they were alighned. I then tapped the holes and used screws instead of rods. This way I can adjust the screw to get the desired effect. You can then bevel and polish the end of the screw as you like.

I don't think that the type of metal makes any difference. When the pot drips on the aluminum base, it comes right off. When we make lead bisquits in steel muffin tins, the fall right out. The Do-It mold for splitshot comes with brass inserts to form the splits. Good luck