Foo G

When you eliminate the deer hair, doesn't it cease to be a "bucktail"?

Looks delicious! Let me know if you need a field tester!

I'm still in the design phase on some jigs and molds, so I'm trying to make sure I've given a lot of these types of considerations some thought before I have a mold made. There is definitely a wealth of great information from some really talented and knowledgeable people here! Anyway, when it comes to weedguard hole pins, are the Do-It pins slightly over-sized, under-sized, or right at 5/32" and 1/8" in diameter? Is there too much play if you put a 1/8" weedguard in a hole from a 5/32" base hole pin, or will the epoxy or glue fill in the gaps well enough? A guy in my bass club pours his own jigs and he removes the pin and inserts a small section of wooden dowel rod before powder coating. The wood is not ionized like the metals in the jig so the powder paint does not adhere to it. It's a pretty simple and cheap alternative to drilling or clearing the weedguard holes after painting. Plus, it might save you a little in the long run on powder paint.

That would be a really easy mold to create, depending on the size of hook and weight of the lead head. My suggestion would be to start with a ball head jig mold that accommodates the same size and style of hooks you plan to use. Take a bull-nosed end mill (similar to a flat end mill, only with a slight radius on the cutting end) in the same diameter as the "barrel" and use a drill press to peck drill down through the ball, creating the cylindrical barrel shape. Any manual machine shop should be able to do this at a relatively inexpensive cost, assuming they have the cutting tools readily available. Is that a wire jutting out the front? If so, you could add a channel for that using a rotary tool or get even more precise with a ball-nosed end mill (again, an easy job for a machine shop).

You could always just turn the pumps off.

I'm basically looking for something like a Mustad 32796 only without the 60-degree bend (straight shank).

I'm wanting to draw up swimming and grass jig designs based on a straight-shanked, flat eye hook. But, I haven't seen any jig hooks on the market that fit this description. Does such a product exist? Would a spinnerbait hook work in this case? (I'd like to have a heavy wire hook option, which may not be available if I use a spinnerbait hook.)

Does anyone here bend hooks to obtain a certain shape? I've had worm hooks bend and when I try to bend them back I have to really be careful not to snap it. But, I've heard pros talk about bending and customizing hooks. How do you do that without compromising the strength of the hook, let alone snapping it in two? Even if you heat it before bending it, it won't be as strong as it was before, right? Would you then need to heat-treat the entire hook? If so won't that effect the finish?

The only thing that I can think of would probably be fairly expensive. If you took it to an upscale prototyping or machine shop with 3D scanning capabilities, they should be able to scan the model into a CAD software package as a dummy solid, and then mirror that dummy solid. If your goal was have an aluminum CNC mold made, it might be worth it. All that would be left is a little mold design work, some CAM programming, and then some machining. But, there's no guarantee that it will swim and behave the way you want once it hits the water. Some rapid prototyping services may have 3D scanning capabilities and could produce a complete RP version for you that you could use to pour your own molds with. But again, that will set you back a couple hundred bucks (at least). Sorry I don't have any cheaper or easier ideas for you!

I hope this isn't a stupid suggestion, but what about sidecutters? Can you use them to cut through the lead up to the hook and then just rotate it around and into the hook eye? Is it just a small amount of lead or is it completely clogged? It's hard to suggest a fix without seeing the baits in question.

sagacious, Thanks for the great information! Is it safe to assume that the better pour achieved with round gates largely outweighs the easier removal of rectangular gates? I wasn't sure whether there would be a lot more difficulty involved in cutting a round gate as opposed to rectangular. By mold "conditioning", do you mean that there is a "break-in" period associated with it? Or were you referring to smoking or treating the cavities? Would sandblasting the cavities have a negative effect on the casting process? I would guess that it might be beneficial when it comes time to powdercoat.

I've been working on some jig and spinnerbait designs for a while with the intention of having some aluminum molds cut. However, I don't have a lot of knowledge about pouring lead. My biggest mold design concerns are in the areas of venting, sprue size, and gate size. I understand that the cavity size and geometry, pour temp, mold temperature, pour rate, etc. will all play a big part in it, so I'm really looking for some generalities. What works for you or what are the characteristics of your more successful molds? I'm basically looking for input on the following: Vent depth -- What depth will allow for air to escape but still shut off without allowing molten lead seep in? Gate shape -- Is a rectangular gate better or worse when pouring? I assume it would be better when it comes time to trim the runner after the baits cool, but I don't know if it will equate to fill problems or not. Gate size (area) -- Ideally I'd like to minimize this without creating fill problems. What gate dimensions (width x depth for rectangular, diameter for round) do you need for 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 oz. baits? Do I need different gate sizes for different bait sizes or is it usually a 1-size-fit-all thing? Sprue size -- In plastic injection molding, the sprue size is usually around two times the size of the gate. Does the same ratio hold true for molding lead? Weedguard core pin diameter (for glued-in weedguards) -- How oversized should the core (base hole) pins be for the weedguard hole? In other words, how much will the hole shrink after the bait cools? Thanks for your help and input! (I also posted this thread in the Homebrew Tools section because I wasn't sure which category would yield the best or larger audience. I apologize to those who may be a little annoyed at seeing it twice.)

I've been working on some jig and spinnerbait designs for a while with the intention of having some aluminum molds cut. However, I don't have a lot of knowledge about pouring lead. My biggest mold design concerns are in the areas of venting, sprue size, and gate size. I understand that the cavity size and geometry, pour temp, mold temperature, pour rate, etc. will all play a big part in it, so I'm really looking for some generalities. What works for you or what are the characteristics of your more successful molds? I'm basically looking for input on the following: Vent depth -- What depth will allow for air to escape but still shut off without allowing molten lead seep in? Gate shape -- Is a rectangular gate better or worse when pouring? I assume it would be better when it comes time to trim the runner after the baits cool, but I don't know if it will equate to fill problems or not. Gate size (area) -- Ideally I'd like to minimize this without creating fill problems. What gate dimensions (width x depth for rectangular, diameter for round) do you need for 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 oz. baits? Do I need different gate sizes for different bait sizes or is it usually a 1-size-fit-all thing? Sprue size -- In plastic injection molding, the sprue size is usually around two times the size of the gate. Does the same ratio hold true for molding lead? Weedguard core pin diameter (for glued-in weedguards) -- How oversized should the core (base hole) pins be for the weedguard hole? In other words, how much will the hole shrink after the bait cools? Thanks for your help and input! (I also posted this thread in the Lure Making / Wire Baits section because I wasn't sure which category would yield the best or larger audience. I apologize to those who may be a little annoyed at seeing it twice.)