DiggersJigTails Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) I have been having a heck of a time trying to understand the cause behind flashing for one of my panfish molds (Lurecraft, #5XLU-227). When I stack 5 of the molds together, the end molds are fine but the middle ones always have flashing. I have much greater success when I I only shoot two molds at a time. I'm using the blue hand clamps from Lowes/Menards, and have never experienced flashing before due to clamping issues. I have experimented with changing pressure, temperature, and preheating mold/injectors, but nothing seems to help. Can anyone explain what might be causing the flashing and/or new ideas to try? Edited October 14, 2021 by DiggersJigTails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 sounds like a clamp issue .. but I would make sure the molds are 100% true flat on the inside of the molds where they come together, They mite have a slight warp ? just a couple thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted October 14, 2021 Report Share Posted October 14, 2021 Try placing a cold mold that you're not shooting between the molds that you're shooting. I've had issues like you're talking about before & i did this to help draw heat from the ones i was shooting which sort of made a heay sync & it worked great. Worth a shot anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowFISH Posted October 15, 2021 Report Share Posted October 15, 2021 4 hours ago, Bass-Boys said: sounds like a clamp issue .. but I would make sure the molds are 100% true flat on the inside of the molds where they come together, They mite have a slight warp ? just a couple thoughts. I'd agree its a clamping issue. I use the Irwin hand clamps on most of my molds too... but for some molds or stacks of molds I have to use C-Clamps to get enough pressure... there is no way those hand clamps can put as much force as a C-clamp or Vise. J. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggersJigTails Posted October 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2021 Thanks for the tips everyone. I might try C-clamps as an option to the Irwin clamps for the mold mentioned. Also, I like the idea about putting a cold mold in between. So true that every mold has it's own personality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted October 16, 2021 Report Share Posted October 16, 2021 I use plastic squeeze clamps from walmart & if enough room i put them in upper 2 corners, lower 2 corners & a one in between those if the mold is tall enough. Something like say some of the essential series molds like the 5 cavity ripper swimbait mold that has 2 injection ports i clamp in each corner & then one to the inside of each injection port with just enough clearance for my injector & don't have any problems.Nowadays after figuring out how well the squeeze clamps worked I only use screws with 2 molds & that's because of the way their layed out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowFISH Posted October 17, 2021 Report Share Posted October 17, 2021 You might also wanna take a look at a workbench/table vise. I found an old one in my shed from prior owner of my house. Cleaned it up and had it sitting around. Tried it one day and found it works great for my needs on smaller molds. I don't even have it bolted to the table.... just load the molds and tighten down - then sit it between (2) 2x4's to sit it flat.. holds a bunch of molds and puts a good amount of pressure across the molds. If you really need it dead flat on table with out sitting it on wood you can probably trim the bottom a bit with a cut off wheel - or mount it. Here's the type I'm talking about..... you can find them cheap at Harbor freight or online. J. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
