Bullet Weight Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 I have poured soft plastics for a while (actually had a pretty long lay-off from pouring them stuck in there) and I have been researching and looking into pouring bass fishing jigs. I have looked at suppliers of equipment and came up with the following. If I have missed anything or if there is something better please let me know. I am not new to lure making, but I am a beginner at this. I am looking at getting my molds, hooks, powder paint, inserts, eyes, some gate shears, and a hot pot from Stamina. I am looking at getting skirt materials from Living Rubber as well as the rattle bands, skirting tools, and such. Opinions? Suggestions? I am not getting into "bulk" in the early stage, but who knows for later down the road. Hopefully I am not overlooking anything. I have all of the safety type equipment (gloves, goggles and such) and I have a good supply of plumbers lead that is untouched. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I am headed in the wrong direction with my suppliers then tear it apart and point me the right way. Thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Ratz Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Bullet Weight, you are heading in the right direction. You may want to also check out Barlow's Tackle Shop http://www.barlowstackle.com and Jann's Netcraft http://www.jannsnetcraft.com also. If you do want to go into making these to sell, you can save a considerable amount of money by buying wholesale from the manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markell Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Bullet Weight, I would recommend going to the Do-it web site and look at all the jig molds they offer. I am not sure if Stamina carries the entire line. I also use the hot pot and have been very happy with it. Just be careful because these pots will turn over very easily. I cut a large piece of plywood that I lay on my work bench and do all my lead pouring on this. You will mess up a bunch of jigs in the beginning (I still do). When this happens, you can melt the lead head off the hook using the hot pot and reuse that hook again. You will get better pours with a HOT mold. Because of this I pour many heads at one time. It is hard to stop once the mold gets hot and pours nice. I have better luck twisting off the sprue instead of cutting them off. I use insert pins and glue the FG30 weed gaurds in later. One step that I have added is to drill out the weed guard hole with a 9/64 bit. This ensures that I have a nice deep hole and increases the diameter off the hole just enough to allow powder paint to melt in and still allow the weed guard to have a nice tight fit. I also use small end nipper cutters to trim the weed guards evenly. One mistake I made in the beginning was buying 300 of the cheapest hooks I could find. Now that I am confident with my jigs and have started to use Gamakatsu hooks, I have about 100 jigs with cheap hooks that I don't want to use. I am not as experienced as some on this board but these are some of the things I have learned. There is a ton of information in this forum to answer most of your questions. Good luck and keep us up to date with your experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullet Weight Posted January 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Thanks Fat Ratz and Markell.... I appreciate the info greatly. I have been eyeing a couple of the Do-It Molds on their site that Stamina does not sell. I may go that route. Question #1 - about the hooks. I know that they have recommended brands and sizes (i.e. a Mustad 32786 60 degree for Snootie jigs) listed for each mold, but do I have to use that brand or can I substitute an Owner Deep Throat 60 degree jig hook. Question #2 - Do they supply base hole pins with the molds or do you have to get those separately? I haven't seen them listed anywhere, so I figured they came with the molds. Some of the molds say that they have pins and some don't say. Hope it's not too many questions as I am sure that I will have more before it's over with. Thanks a million!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markell Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Bullet Weight, If you do not get an answer about the Owner hooks here, I would send and email to Do-It and ask them. Another thing to do would be to buy a 10 pack from Stamina and try them. I think the Owner hooks for a 10 pack ar around $4. Just buy one size at a time before making a 100 pack order. Some molds are not designed to be used with base hole pins. Do-it is good about telling you this information. If they do use base hole pins then they will come with I think 3. Do yourself a favor and buy a bunch. It really speeds things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Ratz Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Bullet Weight, most 60 deg. hooks will work with the molds and the Owner hooks will work with the snootie jig mold. I have made some using the deep throat/wide gap hook. Also, a few base pins do come with the mold but I would but some extras to have on hand. It makes pouring multiple molds a lot quicker. They come in a pack of 10 I believe. I also use some 1/8" metal rod and cut them into sections to use as base pins. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markell Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Fat Ratz, Could you use the metal rods in a mold that was not designed for base hole pins? Tanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Ratz Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 I have only used them in molds designed for base hole pins. If it does not have a hole for a base hole pin,you would need a hole drilled into the cavity to make the hole for a weedguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowMaker Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 I dont know how Stamina is on their prices now but several years ago i aquired one of their catalogs and compard their prices to Barlows and Janns/Netcraft. The Stamina catalog went into the trash. Barlows carries almost everyone of the DO-IT Molds and can special order those not in stock. Before you start ordering the DO-IT Molds you need to aquire a DO-IT Products catalog for cross referencing as it will have molds not listed on the websites or in the catalogs. Janns/Netcraft is comperable in service to barlows as they carry a almost complete line of the DO-IT Molds. Hatfields is the cheapest place to get collars, skirt materials and finished skirts. Almost all hooks with a 60 degree bend between the shank and the eye are interchangeable without mold modification because if they were not the companies wouldnt be able to sell them. The Mustad #32786, the Eagle Claw #730 and the Daiichi #4630 will all fit the DO-IT Snootie Jig Mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullet Weight Posted January 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Thanks for all of the replies and help. I just checked out Barlows prices, and I may just drive over there to save on shipping (3 hour drive). Can't thank you guys enough. This is an awesome forum and it has been a great help to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
