Making Dwp Molds For Jigheads

[HJS]

Anyone here think that adding a small splash of vinegar to Durham’s Water Putty to retard hardening will result in a weaker end product??? I’m adding about half a cap of vinegar to 2/3 cup of DWP powder. I also mix the DWP to be fairly runny, like warm Eggo Syrup, so bubbles readily come to the surface to be burned off with a torch.

The past year or two I have been making 2-piece molds for pouring leadhead jigs. I’ve had a fair bit of success too. (see pic) But the molds seem to be more fragile then molds made for pouring plastics where I generally DO NOT add vinegar. Yeah, I know, molten lead is probably 2X+ hotter than molten plastics and no doubt shortens the life of the mold. So far I’m getting anywhere from 10 to 40 jigs from a mold before the cavity edges become so chipped that the mold becomes useless. 40 jigs per mold is acceptable but only 10 jigs is not. Afterall, it takes 3+ weeks to make a mold for lead pouring.

BTW, making 2-piece jig molds is about 4X more difficult than making a 2-piece mold for pouring soft plastics. I have to pay excruciating attention when setting the master in place NOT to pour past the centerline of the jig… otherwise all is lost and the mold is ruined. I have a lot of ruined molds. And yeah, to avoid the whole water and exploding lead issue, I let the finished molds air-dry under the woodstove for a full two weeks before pouring lead.

Anyway, just wondering if a little vinegar results in a weaker mold. I thought to add a fair bit of Elmers Glue to the mix but wasn’t sure how well the Elmers would hold up to molten lead.

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Hmmmmm... pic didn't download. I'll try again.

Edited January 15, 2011 by HJS

[HJS]

Ahhh, it worked this time.

Edited January 15, 2011 by HJS

[Vodkaman]

I can't help you with your questions as I have never used DWP.

You have a lot of patience waiting 2 weeks, but that is the correct timing to air dry.

I made a box, heated with three 100W bulbs and a couple of computer axial fans to circulate the air. This reduced time to 12 - 18 hours depending on thickness. I did write a few threads on the idea, but TU managed to lose the pics to this and a thousand or so of my other posts. I can take more pics if you are interested.

Dave

[HJS]

Dave – Thanks for getting back. I wondered what happened to all my old pics I posted on TU. I couldn't find them anywhere.

I don’t remember if it was you or someone else on TU that, many months ago, offered a very good suggestion when making 2-piece molds from DWP or PoP. To make a long story short, the suggestion involved carefully removing the master from the hardened 1st layer then lightly sanding the mold surface flat. This procedure removes all the tiny raised edges that you can sometimes get along the lure cavity. The master is then reinstalled and the second layer is poured. Works like a charm. Those tiny raised edges that are prone to chipping are gone and there is hardly any mold seams on the finished lure. BTW, a layer of Vaseline brushed into the cavity before firmly reinstalling the master keeps the 2nd layer of fluid DWP from seeping under the master. That would wreck the mold if that were to happen. Works great and now I use this technique with all my 2-piece molds… many thanks and a tip of the hats to TU.

Edited January 17, 2011 by HJS