odinohi Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 I would like to have as much hands on information about these machines. I make a lot of sinkers, quit a few Roundhead jigs also. I am spending way too much time in front of my melting pot. Sitting here waiting for my egg sinker mold to cool a bit as I write this. Are the molds expensive? Is it difficult to make your own molds? Top load versus front load? How long do these molds last? I have watched some videos on them, but need much more info. I'm sure I'll be asking many more questions. Thanks, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Mold cost varies depending on size. 9" media for a mold is about $25. MAKE YOUR OWN MOLDS if at all possible. You'll need a vulcanizer to do so. But when you consider that many people charge $200-$300 to make a mold it pays off pretty quickly. There's about 1 hours worth of work to make a mold. What size sinkers are you casting? Molds last a long time. I've only worked on a front load machine. But we also used a lot of 15" and 20" molds. I can't imagine using a top load with molds that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 This is exactly the kind of info I need. I make all kinds of sinkers in all different sizes. I pour around 12,000 round head from 1/32-3/8 and all sizes in between. I think I should get a front load machine and a vulcanizer. I would have to gradually ween myself from pouring. I would let my sinkers pay for all the molds and materials. I think I would like to be spin casting everything withing 5 years. After that my grandsons will be old enough to take over while grandpa sits back and relaxes. Just BSibg ya. I never really relax. Ok, thank you limp noodle. Anyone else please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 I should add, most of the sinkers I pour are 1/2-2 oz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 On a 9" mold you're limited to about 12-14 ounces of total product. Use Teflon wire/rod to form the holes in your egg sinkers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 When creating a mold for a bucktail type jig head. Will the mold fill properly if the spru is located at the rear of the jig tail? I am thinking where the hook exits. The advantage for having the spru located here eliminates the need to remove any remnant of lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Nope. Smallest part of the product needs to be furthest from the sprue. If you are careful building your molds there's very little cleanup to be done. Also be aware that when spincasting you want harder lead than one would use pouring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Limpnoodle is hard lead less prone to flashing? When spin casting is cleanup easier because spru can be made smaller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 How much product will a 12" do? A 15",20"? I have a boatload of hard lead to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 With proper mold pressure you won't have any flash. That's assuming you have a good flat mold that's indexed correctly. You can make the gates smaller when spin casting. Once you get the hang of things you'll find there's very little clean up to do on most items. If you're dipping you'll cover most of it up. If you're using a electrostatic gun then your paint is much thinner and you'll need to do a bit more prep. Mold size depends on what you're casting. Small jigs and stuff under 1 ounce a 9" will work just fine. The exception would be if you're casting something like egg sinkers that have a insert. You need room for that. Only real reason to use a 20" would be if you were making something like lead head A rigs with long wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshng2 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Limpnoodle thanks for all the info, sounds like you have been doing this for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted July 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Limpnoodle, when you are running this machine full bore how many molds are you using and how much production are you getting? Do you do this yourself or do you need someone loading the hooks or other components? Most of the sinkers I pour have an eyelet (wire eye) or swivel in them. These are the sinkers that tend to slow me down a bit. Thanks for all your info. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Two people and multiple molds really speeds up the process. One person to load stuff into the molds and the other person runs the machine and empties the molds. I've seen close to 1000 slab spoons come out of the machine in a afternoon. 500 jigs in about an hour is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Limpnoodle, I sent you a pm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildwolfproducts Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Man if you pour anything bigger then 12" you better be the hulk. A mold full of sinkers in a 20" would cause me to use a fork lift. LOL Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Limpnoodle, what size melting furnace are you running and how big across is the opening? I am going to make some ingot molds for lead storage and need to know what size of channel iron I need. I will be feeding these ingots into my furnace when I get set up. Thank you, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) It's a Tekcast 160 gas. Holds right around 100 lbs of lead at least. Opening has to be 12" across. We use muffin tins for our lead. Cheap and easy. Edited August 7, 2015 by LimpNoodle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odinohi Posted August 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 (edited) I have some 6 cavity channel iron molds that I use for my melting pots. 6 ingots fills a small flatrate box. That's how they were designed, but I don't use them for that. I have four of these molds and can pour 100 lb of ingots pretty quickly. By the way, how deep is your melting pot? Edited August 8, 2015 by odinohi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
