For you guys who have a tail weight mold. How are you getting the pin for the tail weight out of the lead.

I am having a tough time with the SS pins I made and my wife said i looked like a mad man pulling them out in the garage. She believes I should be committed.

I hate everything about pencil poppers.

spray those pins with a light dusting of graphite spray before you cast

Use a nail, I pull them within a couple of minutes. Many size choices too.

I use PAM spray. It isn't stinky, toxic , when hot and works real good. I spray them every 4 or 5 casts. I used hardened pins for my molds as the won't distort over time and an added bonus I can go as small as possible with the diameter, thus getting a little heavier weight per length.

I use PAM spray. It isn't stinky, toxic , when hot and works real good. I spray them every 4 or 5 casts. I used hardened pins for my molds as the won't distort over time and an added bonus I can go as small as possible with the diameter, thus getting a little heavier weight per length.

This is going to sound stupid but what is hardened mean?

Hardened stainless steel?

You can buy hardened wire (piano wire) a most hardware stores.
0.93" is what you want....although if a tail grommet needs to go into it you'll need to enlarge the hole so for production work a larger wire might be better.
This is also good for a pull wire if you want to pour lead directly into your plug (I don't)
The stuff is very hard and you will need something with a lot of leverage and hardened jaws to cut it
PAM works for lubricant

why would you use metal............

use your head instead.......

why would you use metal............

use your head instead.......

Shiny works?

hardened tool steel. I got push pins used for die making. They are hardened. I like them better than nails because they don't bend like nails do, but nails work fine too. I have made several molds for guys over the years and they all use nails and I have not heard any complaints. I have used the pin method for many years and have had no problems at all. A little PAM on the pins every once in a while and they come right out easy as pie. Pretty simple stuff.

+1 for the Pam.
I use pieces of coat hangar, bent to make a little handle on top....measures around .090, good clearance for the thru wire, and not too difficult to remove.

why would you use metal............

use your head instead.......

because I don't know any better when it comes to melting lead and pulling steel through the metal. :rotf2: isn't hardened tool steel still metal???

I do not know what you mean by use your head???

I'll say it agian...

Graphite spray ;)
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Thanks everyone much appreciated. Have a happy new year.

Think about what your doing. Use your head. Why coat something with pam or anything else when you don't have to....

THINK OUT OF THE BOX.

I can pull 24 pins in a mold in less than 30-40 seconds.

NOT METAL and I don't like giving people things on silver platters....Sometime people make things very difficult for themselves.

WHAT MAKES A PAN NON STICK????????????????????




because I don't know any better when it comes to melting lead and pulling steel through the metal. :rotf2: isn't hardened tool steel still metal???

I do not know what you mean by use your head???

Think about what your doing. Use your head. Why coat something with pam or anything else when you don't have to....

THINK OUT OF THE BOX.

I can pull 24 pins in a mold in less than 30-40 seconds.

NOT METAL and I don't like giving people things on silver platters....Sometime people make things very difficult for themselves.

WHAT MAKES A PAN NON STICK????????????????????

If it came off like I was asking for anything on a silver platter, I apologize as that was not my intention. I very seldom ask many questions on this site as I rather figure things out from trial and error, but this one I was stumped with.

I was experiencing difficulty pulling pins from my tail weight mold so I asked a question of this forum as I know more than a few people here who have similiar tail weight molds. This afternoon I tried the nails as was suggested and it worked very well with Pam Spray.

I learned how to use tail weight molds from other plug builders over the years and everyone that I know uses some sort of pin, never knew about the nail method. I also learned there is a difference between SS and Hardened Tool Steel today so it was a good day as I learned 2 new things.

If I was doing this for a living I would look into your hint further but as my wife pointed out if I made plugs for a living we would be on welfare.

I am not so much worried about efficiency since I make only 100 of these tail weights a year as I only make about 100 pencil bodies.

Thanks for your help and I wish you and your family health and hapiness in 2011.

You didn't Billy at all. If there is one thing I've learned one thing over the years...too many on these forums want to be spoon fed...not saying you are here at all, I'm just not interested in making it TOO easy for anyone to click and go. I'm prodding you to think out of the box. There is one product that is well suited to extreme temperatures, ease of use, and works MUCH better than metal. Although I'm not giving it to you...I'm trying to make you find it on your own. It's VERY easy to find...it's not expensive...it fits the bill to do EXACTLY what you want to do....I gave you an idea of HOW well it works...you do a bit of thinking with what I gave you and you will come up with it.

Again...WHAT makes a pan NON STICK?

I guarantee once you try this you will throw your nails/metal pins in the trash.

Teflon rods from grainger.
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THERE'S something SILVER :wave:

I don't believe in spoon feeding NEBE.









Grainger SUCKS. I wouldn't give them squat for business. Their prices suck and they are PREDATORY.

Mcmaster is probably MUCH cheaper.

And they sell extra spoons too :rotf2:


Billy go get a foot and try it.

Thank you everyone. Much appreciated.

Teflon rods from grainger.
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Thanks again Nebe!

Teflon rods from grainger.
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I would have thought these would not work, specifically, I would think they would melt or distrort as the melting point of lead is 600 plus degrees and the teflon rods have a working temperature of 300 to 500 degrees. I will give them a shot and see, although the nail and pam is working well for me.

I work hot glass with Teflon rods @ 1800• F
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And I pour lead at ~800

Thanks guys.