MuskyGary Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 The hardest lead do-it mold for me to pour so far is the ZV Vibrating Lure mold. I heat the mold, even heat the lure inserts ( you have to be careful not to get them to hot or they will expand and not fit in the mold cavity right) Next I started using "Drop Out" mold release. This helps a lot but still only about half of the lures will turn out right. Good thing I don't sell them, I would go broke with rejects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Musky Gary, C'mon you don't sell them? You don't want to go broke. Where is the fun in that????? Seriously, I have been pouring and selling jigs and lead baits going on 8 years. You are absolutely correct, definitely not a big money maker. I guess what keep a lot of guys like myself keep doing this is the pleasure of creating something from scratch, seeing if it catches fish, and the enjoyment I get from hearing about my customers catching fish on my jigs. As odd as this sounds this is what keeps me pursuing this hobby. It's definitely not the money. Good luck and enjoy the hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Musky Gary, C'mon you don't sell them? You don't want to go broke. Where is the fun in that????? Seriously, I have been pouring and selling jigs and lead baits going on 8 years. You are absolutely correct, definitely not a big money maker. I guess what keep a lot of guys like myself keep doing this is the pleasure of creating something from scratch, seeing if it catches fish, and the enjoyment I get from hearing about my customers catching fish on my jigs. As odd as this sounds this is what keeps me pursuing this hobby. It's definitely not the money. Good luck and enjoy the hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 The hardest lead do-it mold for me to pour so far is the ZV Vibrating Lure mold. I heat the mold, even heat the lure inserts ( you have to be careful not to get them to hot or they will expand and not fit in the mold cavity right) Next I started using "Drop Out" mold release. This helps a lot but still only about half of the lures will turn out right. Good thing I don't sell them, I would go broke with rejects! Your lead is too hard.(Stop using those freebie wheel weights ) I pour and sell 60-100 of them each year for the past 6 years. Take a file and carefully open up the entrance for the lead-just a bit. Make sure you're centered over the pour hole and use soft,clean lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Stop using those freebie wheel weights I'd suggest to find some soft pure lead and mix with wheel weights until the mix will go to to the mold with no problem. Works for me perfect. Average proportion : 60% soft - 40% hard lead. I usually do 4-5 trials (without hooks) and see how the lead goes inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuskyGary Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 HA, I bet that's my problem! I was using a mix of 60% wheel weights and 40% soft. Funny how you guys always know what a guy was doing! Thanks for the info, and Im back to the drawing board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 MuskyGary, Sorry for the double post didn't notice that last night. Yes a softer lead mix will solve your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBK Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 The hardest mold I have is the do-it slip jig. I have to soot the heck out of the mold and pull pin to get it to fill, even then i have quite a few failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 The hardest mold I have is the do-it slip jig. I have to soot the heck out of the mold and pull pin to get it to fill, even then i have quite a few failures. There is a solution to this. I will start another thread as to not hijack the original thread and take the original answers away rm this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
