Swimbait mold jig heads sticking in the mold.

[Kasilofchrisn]

So I just got in a brand new swimbait head jig mold. It's the do it mold with the four larger sizes 3/4, 1, 1-1/4, 1-1/2.

The problem I'm having is that the jig head stick in the mold to the point they just won't come out.

I have a hardwood dowel that I normally use to tap out jigs that are slightly stuck in a mold. But this does not help at all.

I'm actually having to melt them out of the mold using my plumbers torch.

It is always the same side of the mold that is sticking.

I went back and checked on Barlow's website and there are several reviews with others having the same issue.

I used dropout in the mold but that didn't do anything to help.

I ran a q-tip through the mold but cannot detect any serious burrs.

So I scrubbed all the mold cavities on the side that was sticking with an old toothbrush and some toothpaste.

But that didn't seem to help.

So then I made a paste with some 400 grit powder for my rock tumbler and again scrubbed the cavities with the toothbrush for several minutes.

And I still have not fixed the issue.

Is there a way I can fix this mold or do I need to contact do it and get a new mold?

[smalljaw]

I know you said you used drop out, but did you spray it on and use the mold cold? If not try it, the only time drop out hasn't worked for me was when I put it on the mold hot. If I use drop out I don't heat the mold, I spray it on and pour with the mold cold and it works really well like that. Another thing is your lead, is it straight up lead or an alloy with possibly tin in the mix?  If you have covered both of those issues I'd contact Do-it, they should be able to help.

[Darkman]

Contact Do it. They have excellent customer service and will definitely get back to you. 

[basskat]

Pretty sure I have the same mold. Even with drop out or smoking it's a little tricky de-molding. I normally grab the sprue with pliers and give it a couple twists and it pops out.

[Kasilofchrisn]

8 hours ago, basskat said:

Pretty sure I have the same mold. Even with drop out or smoking it's a little tricky de-molding. I normally grab the sprue with pliers and give it a couple twists and it pops out.

Yeah I tried grabbing the sprue and the sprues rip off before the jigs even move half a millimeter.

I have a large hardwood dowel or closet rod that I use to tap on molds that have jigs or sinkers that don't want to release nicely.

But in this case I'm just destroying the dowel.

[Kasilofchrisn]

12 hours ago, smalljaw said:

I know you said you used drop out, but did you spray it on and use the mold cold? If not try it, the only time drop out hasn't worked for me was when I put it on the mold hot. If I use drop out I don't heat the mold, I spray it on and pour with the mold cold and it works really well like that. Another thing is your lead, is it straight up lead or an alloy with possibly tin in the mix?  If you have covered both of those issues I'd contact Do-it, they should be able to help.

I usually spray my dropout when the mold is warm to hot.

That's where I seem to get a much more even and light coat of it and it's always worked well for me that way in the past.

When I spray dropout on cold it seems to be much thicker and sometimes ends up with a drop pooling up in part of the cavity.

I'm using an alloy of mixed scrap I'm sure there's some tin in it and some antimony.

Though I couldn't tell you how much and I haven't tested the hardness of this batch.

I don't have a ton of pure lead but I will give that a try. I usually like to save my pure lead for making muzzleloader balls and shotgun slugs.

Someone on another forum suggested filing on the mold a little bit and I just did that I will see if it helps.

They said the back part of the mold was made too flat and doesn't want to release well and I can see that being an issue.

[Apdriver]

54 minutes ago, Kasilofchrisn said:

They said the back part of the mold was made too flat and doesn't want to release well and I can see that being an issue

I would bet that’s your issue Chris. Heck you’ve prolly poured more lead than a plumber in the old days. Gotta be an constriction catching your lead to hold that tight. Nothing a critical eye won’t work out.

[Kasilofchrisn]

So I tried some pure lead and that didn't solve the problem.

But I did a little filing on the edge of the mold and then used the pure lead.

After that I had to tap the mold with my hardwood dowel and then with a little jiggling of the spue with a stout pair of pliers I was able to remove the jigs.

They wouldn't come out from tapping on the mold nor would they come out from just pulling on the sprue itself.

I had to do both.

My understanding is there is a design flaw with this mold that makes it difficult to release jigs from it.

I only poured one cavity at a time because the mold is very hard to open when I poured all four cavities at once.

But I was able to get some usable jigs.

I think a little more file work and I will have it working better.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Kasilofchrisn

[mark poulson]

On 2/16/2022 at 3:45 PM, Apdriver said:

I would bet that’s your issue Chris. Heck you’ve prolly poured more lead than a plumber in the old days. Gotta be an constriction catching your lead to hold that tight. Nothing a critical eye won’t work out.

I don't pour lead, but I do make molds, and any undercuts will result in stuck masters.  I'd suggest you do like Apdriver said, and go over your molds with a "fine toothed comb", to see if there's a restriction.  I would use a Q tip and a magnifying glass.

I would err on filing a little too much off.  Even if you have to clean up a little flash afterwards, it beats not being able to get you jigs out in one piece.