Modifying A Jig Mold For Do It Coil Inserts

[turkeylegs1246]

I modified a Do-it jig mold to use the Do-it screw locks to allow me to use soft plastic baits that were not being held in place w/o damage.

This tutorial is limited in its scope and is only intended to provide my thoughts on how to simply modify other jig molds.

1. Take your mold and mold 2 dummy lead head jigs without the hooks for each cavity that you want to modify. I recommend that you modify only one cavity on your first attempt. That way you still have a functioning mold if things go south.

2. Cut the molded head from the dummy jigs. I recommend that you leave a small fraction of the collar on the head. Use a file to remove the remainder of the collar. Place this Jig head back into the cooled mold.

3. Measure the insert from its front to where the curve of the coil starts. Also measure the length of the half moon bend at the front of the insert. This distance should equal the length of the mold that will be filled with a heat resistant epoxy.

4. Take the tail portion of the dummy collar and trim it so that when it is placed in the mold that the void between the dummy head and dummy collar portion of the collar is equal to the distance calculated in step 3. My collar cavity was long enough that the coil fit without modification.

5. Coat the ends of the dummy head and collar so that the epoxy used to fill the void will stick to the mold and not the dummy pieces.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the other side of the mold.

7. Fill the cavity with a heat resistant epoxy until it is flush or slightly above the surface of the mold. I used JB weld. There may be something better.

8. Allow the epoxy to cure. Don’t rush it. I removed the dummy heads and collars after the epoxy set. If you coated the dummy pieces as in step 5 you can probably wait until the epoxy has set and is cured thoroughly.

9. Once the epoxy has cured and is workable you should be able to remove the dummy parts. Sand or mill the epoxy so that it is flush to the inside surfaces of the mold. Do this to both sides of the mold.

10. Use a jig hook designed for the mold to mark where the hook will pass through the epoxy dam. Use a file, dremmel tool, or whatever to remove only enough epoxy to allow the hook to be inserted into the mold. Do both sides of the mold.

11. Insert a hook with the Do-it coil spring insert and mark another groove where the insert passes though the epoxy dam. This groove should be parallel to the hook channel formed on step 10. Make a small channel for the insert. Yes, a picture would have been nice.

12. That should work for any Mold to allow the use of the Do-it inserts. If you make your own inserts it might be necessary to modify these ideals slightly.

I rushed things. I did multiple cavities. I did not let my epoxy fully cure. The epoxy did not hold up too well. My mold works but I have to use gate shears to trim flashings. If I decide to rework my mold or modify another I’ll try to take some pictures. Good luck.