Kasilofchrisn

Thank you! Glad to see you back on the forums man! If you get a chance could you please pm me your address. I've got some fur for you that we discussed awhile back.

Just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone wanting to try this. Apparently this website lists all the pressed penny machines people have found in the United states listed by state. So it should help you find pressed penny machines in your area. http://209.221.138.252/AreaList.aspx

Pressed pennies are made in a hand crank pressed penny machine. The pennies are a novelty/souvenir and the machines are often found at zoos, museums, tourist attractions, etc. The one I used is in my local dairy queen. So the four options at this machine were an ice cream cone with Soldotna, dairy queen written on it, a moose and bear that say Kenai peninsula Alaska, and fish that says Kenai river. You crank it until it lines up with the arrow for the design you want. Then you put in a penny and 2 quarters. Crank it around and it spits out your penny that has been pressed. There is a place ~ 1-1/2 hours from me called the sea life center. I've heard they have a pressed penny machine that has sea otters, walrus, etc. Pressed pennies are just cheap souvenirs.

The other day I finished a few Kenai Peninsula Alaska themed fishing lures made from pressed pennies. My dapping skills still need work. And I'm not sure the blades will spin. But the spoons should work. I have 3 different ones. A Kenai river jumping fish and a Kenai Peninsula moose and bear. Though the words are hard to read. I used the older 1982 and before all copper pennies. These were polished with #6 Rouge using a dremel. They ended up about the same size as a #3 French blade. Going to find some other pressed penny machines to try this out with later this summer

There are places that currently sell those wire forms. So I don't see it being a patent issue.

Nice! The Hagens is a good unit. I'm guessing you'll be very happy with it and produce professional looking spinners in no time! On top of that you're not limited in length like you would be on the Boggs.

Do not squirt your mold with water. Place a wet sponge next to your casting pot. Set your hot closed mold on the sponge for a few seconds to cool it off. Wet the sponge as needed. Here's a video showing this technique for bullet casting. But, the same technique can be applied to jig and sinker molds.

A quality wire former will make it so much more enjoyable and your spinners will be of a much better quality. I'm sure glad I bought mine! I have a Hagens, a twistech, and a twistech magnum. The Boggs didn't make my list of wire formers to consider as it was too limiting on size and required buying too many adapters to accomplish what I wanted. I think with all the adapters the Boggs cost more than my twistech. But making your own spinners is a lot of fun.

OK so that is what I initially thought. Your mold definetly filled out all the way. If your not already doing so Flux your lead well before casting and/or try some different fluxes. In all honesty I would file that area smooth and use those sinkers. You were going to cut the sprue off anyway so no harm was really done.

Thinking about this overnight and it occurred to me that you may be talking about denting? Were you pull Your sinker out and it has a dent in it. If that is the case it is because your mold has gotten too hot. Cool down your mold using a damp sponge or a heat sink of some kind or give it some time to cool off. I used to get denting when I was making a really big casting I such as downrigger weights. If I cool the mold down in between each casting the denting goes away.

Got any pictures of this problem? What size cannon balls are you making? I make them in every size from 1/2 ounce all the way up to 3+ pounds. From what I read It sounds like your mold filled out all the way but as its cooling the sprue brakes off from the main sinker? If this is the case just file the area clean and use it. Are You using pure lead or an alloy of some sort? I take it you're preheating your mold and you're fluxing really well before casting? Tipping Only helps if you're mold isn't filling out completely. But once the cavity is filled, tipping will not do anything.

You can buy the swivel sleeves from Barlows in a 25 pack. Much easier than ordering the minimum from Roscoe which is at least 1,000.

I bought a bunch of the metal sleeve spacers from Barlows and I'm quite happy with them. I buy most of my components from them. Good prices, reasonable shipping(even to AK), and I've had great customer service!

If somebody were to start a gofundme or something I'd surely donate.

Being a fan of the Smalljaw channel on YouTube and enjoying his helpful advice here I was wondering where he had gone. Just saw this video he posted a few minutes ago updating us on what's going on. So here's the link for those who are also missing his great content!