bryanmc Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Will the 5/32 teflon hole pins work in a mold that uses the FG-30 weed guards? I'm currently using the 1/8 teflon pins in my football jig mold, but it's so hard to get the weed guards in that I end out drilling the hole out a little. Any help or ideas appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Bryan a 5/32 dia. (.156") will not fit in a 1/8" diameter (.125) mold. The 5/32" pin is too big and the mold won't close. If you are having problems with the weedguard. This is what you can do. First of all take off about 6 strands off of your FG-30 weedguard. Then take the weedguard and dry fit it in the weedguard hole. Doing this will loosen up the weedguard and it should slide in easier. Also I found it is easier to stick in the cut end of the fibers in the hole first versus the the fused end. Reason being, the fused end is flared out a bit. If you find that the weedguard is too soft go up to the next stiffness, and do the same thing by dry fitting your weedguard. This should help. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defish Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Maybe try knocking the sharp, square edge off the weedguard by chamfering it slightly using a grinder or a file to see if they'll slip into the jig easier. If it works, it should only take a second or two per guard to do this with a grinder. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanmc Posted January 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Maybe try knocking the sharp, square edge off the weedguard by chamfering it slightly using a grinder or a file to see if they'll slip into the jig easier. If it works, it should only take a second or two per guard to do this with a grinder. Good luck. Only problem with that is the tend to fall apart if you even squeeze them a little too much. I may try runninfg a 9/64 drill bit into the hole first. I only do 10 - 20 at a time for personal use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defish Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Only problem with that is the tend to fall apart if you even squeeze them a little too much. I may try runninfg a 9/64 drill bit into the hole first. I only do 10 - 20 at a time for personal use. That sounds like a good approach. If the 9/64 hole is a little looser than you like, a #30 or a 3.4mm drill may work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 When I finish pouring and painting my jigs I dry fit the weedguard to make sure it goes in and that I have the right angle. If you are painting your jigs without the pin in the weedguard hole, well that is your biggest problem as you need to keep the teflon pins in to keep the hole clear, one of the benefits of the teflon is you can wipe the paint off. If everything is right you should be able to appy a little pressure and have them go in but if not, just as Cadman advise, take a few strands off the weedguard and do so by taking them off all around the weedguard not just from 1 spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanmc Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Smalljaw... I'm casting, powder coating and curing the jigs with the teflon pins in. I might also try taking a few strands off and going up in stiffness as suggested by cadman. It would be nice though if the 1/8 weedguard would fit in the 1/8 hole without modding something LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Try this, make a casting using the steel base hole pins then use the teflon for painting and see what happens. I know it sounds stupid but I have a feeling that your pins may be a little shy of 1/8" diameter, maybe closer to 3/32". The only reason I say that is I will cast and then paint with the pins but then I remove them right after I paint and cure without the pin in. The other thing that can possibly be happening is there could be paint on the sided of the pin that are curing onto the jig and with the oin in you kind of get a wedge effect in that the paint is cured that you can pull the pin out but you can push the weedguard back in. I know it sounds crazy but crap like this happens to us who pour lead, like try telling someone who doesn't that a certain mold you have only pours right when tilted to the left or the right, the point is try everything because my fits are snug but the weedguards go in with just a little pressure so something is off and it might be the pins, so try some cast with the steel and try curing without the pin and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EironBreaker Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Or you can modify your mold. Harbor Frieght has a drill bit set that are like little grinding stones and there are like 15 different tip types/shapes. There is a round ball-type bit. I've made weed guard slots in old molds to make them weedless. The round bit smoothes the slot out nicely. Have to use it in a drill press. It is way to hard to do free hand with a dremel. You can take out a little at a time to make the larger pit fit. Just have to go slow and take your time to make it even on both halves of the mold. It can be done though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanmc Posted January 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I had some jigs hanging that I had cast, powder coated and cured with the teflon pins in them. I pulled the teflon pins and checked the hole with the 1/8 metal pin that came with the mold. The metal pin was pretty loose in the hole, so I don't think the teflon pins are undersize. Maybe I just got a bad run of FG-30s (2 different colors in the last order though). I'll have to dig around the shop and see if I have any old ones to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 yeah I'm surprised I've done both the metal pins and the Teflon and both have worked well with the guards I have from fishingskirts.com I use the gel super glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
