Keeper Not Forming In Jig Mold 3487

[Felix77]

Winter is here and that means beginning to pour some jigs.  I was focusing on pouring 1/2oz jig heads using my Do-IT mold 3487.  It's a football jig mold which uses Trokar hooks.  It also uses Mustad and Eagle Claw hooks.  I am using the Mustad hooks.

 

Here is my process

 

1 - warm up the lead.  Flux as necessary

2 - Warm up the mold ... heat gun

3 - Do several "empty" pours ... 5 - 10 to make sure it's hot

4 - Put my hook and pour.  Using a ladle.

 

A lot of background for a simple question.   I am pouring the 1/2oz and for every 5 I pour I get 1, maybe 2 which pours perfect.  The issue is with the keeper area and not getting enough lead around it.  Not sure what I am doing wrong ...  

[dlaery]

I will take a guess, lead is not hot enough. Maybe the way you pour it in, I believe the angle it goes in can make a difference, the speed it goes in could make a difference. The size of cavity in relation to the size or diameter of the hook, I bet it pours fine without a hook?

[dlaery]

if it is handy, a pic of the hook in the mold, not poured and a pic of the problem would be helpful.

[Basseducer]

David made some good observations. When I have a mold that does not pour around  the collar, I put the hook in the mold and use a mini torch to heat the hook around the collar area, close and pour. A cold mold tens to spit a little as some condensation might form in the heated area.

[smalljaw]

Felix, the fact that you get a good one every few pours tells me that there may be a slight problem. The first question I have is the hook size, are you using the right hook or are you going up one size? What I mean is if the mold calls for a 4/0 are you using a 5/0? I'm assuming you are using the right hook so try what the others said, turn up your pot another click, When I use the ladle I use my 4lb precision pot and I turn it up to 5 but my brush head jig requires me to turn it up between 6 and 7 and while my pot is heating up to melt the lead I sit my mold on top of it and by the time the lead melts it is pretty hot so 4 blank pours is all I need. If that doesn't work try cracking the mold but using high temp tape, it will let some air escape and you can also try to tilt the mold forward, backward, or side to side and see if that changes anything. It may sound stupid but my one ball head mold has the barb on the back and if I don't slightly tilt the mold back the barb won't form. Give those things a shot and see if any one of those suggestions work.

[Saugerman]

Something else you can try is to take a clean rag, and shake some baby powder on your rag and lightly rub it on the area that's not filling in. Do it on both sides of the mold. Do not use soo much it fills in the cavity, just a lite dusting. you may have to do this every 4 or so pours, but it works most every time. I have a couple molds this is the only way I can get a complete pour on. It is a little aggrevating but it works.

[Kasilofchrisn]

One thing that works wonders for me is a light spray of Drop Out mold release.

It really helps in getting the lead to fill out the mold.

Another thing that help my molds fill out in the barb area is warming the hooks. When the hot lead hits the shank of a cold hook it sometimes starts to solidify and will not fill out the barb/keeper area.

I also like to warm up my molds on top of my pot.

I often warm my hooks in a small cast irom pot by waving my plumbers torch over them a few times. Or leaving the hooks in the mold a few extra seconds to let the hot mold warm them before casting.

I may eventually try buying one of those candle warmers to keep my small hooks warm while casting.I have heard that it works good.

[WidowMaker]

One thing you might want to consider is the amount of lead material in your pot. I always keep my pot at least 3/4 the way full and no less than that. The more lead you have means a higher amount of potential (stored) energy that will in turn carry the lead down through the discharge barrel and into the mold.

Sometimes it takes a higher rate of lead flow to completely fill out all the sections of the mold cavity and the less lead you have and the slower the flow rate will be.

 

You can also make longer handles for your mold so that you can place the mold closer to the bottom of your lead pot where the discharge barrel will actually be located much lower down into the mold gate.

In doing this you are actually injecting the lead into the mold rather than pour it into the mold.

This will also reduce the cooling of the lead prior to it entering the mold cavity which means the lead will flow more easily.

[bass100]

Good advice WidowMaker but he said he is ladle pouring these baits.

[token12]

I was having the same problem not to long ago when I first started pouring. I have the same process but I pour directly from my melting pot. When your pot is getting hot, take your heat gun to mold and heat is up and try placing your mold, while closed, and lay it across the top of the melting pot, this will help keep it hot during pours, you don't have to do it every single pour.  Make sure you flux every now and then in between x amount of pours, it'll definitely help and has helped me.  Hope this helps. 

[WidowMaker]

Good advice WidowMaker but he said he is ladle pouring these baits.

Sorry about that.

[Felix77]

Thanks to all for your feedback ... the solution to my problem ultimately was the quality of the lead I was using.  I used a new pot, ladle and a new batch of lead and almost 95%+ came out perfect.  Something about the old lead just was not working.

[smalljaw]

Thanks to all for your feedback ... the solution to my problem ultimately was the quality of the lead I was using.  I used a new pot, ladle and a new batch of lead and almost 95%+ came out perfect.  Something about the old lead just was not working.

 

More than likely the lead had a high percentage of antimony.

[BLT]

Thanks to all for your feedback ... the solution to my problem ultimately was the quality of the lead I was using.  I used a new pot, ladle and a new batch of lead and almost 95%+ came out perfect.  Something about the old lead just was not working.

 

 

Glad you got it worked out, just saw this thread and that is my first thought. I have a ringed/barbed shad head mold that needs really good lead, and my small minnow head mold also need reall good lead.

 

I know you don't use a bottom feed pot, but there was a really great tip on keeping pots full while pouring. I have a 20# RCBS and notice when getting below 1/2, the flow changes a lot.

 

Glad your pouring well now.

[BuckMaxx]

whenever I have problems in the baitholder area the first thing I look at it venting often I use an upsozed hook. I have found if I take a jewelers file and open the hook channel just a bit cures all my problems. For saving hooks from mispours I use a propane torch to melt off the head.

[BLT]

whenever I have problems in the baitholder area the first thing I look at it venting often I use an upsozed hook. I have found if I take a jewelers file and open the hook channel just a bit cures all my problems. For saving hooks from mispours I use a propane torch to melt off the head.

 

I just dip the jig into the melted lead and the lead falls right off the hook.