Looking for a specific mold...
 

I am sure that everyone knows that these types of lures are pretty hot right now. The Savage eels and Hogy Barbarian Jig heads w/soft tails I would imagine are in most tackle boxes...

I would like to find a mold and pour jig heads like these but so far am unable to find any with that specific shape and detail. Does anyone know where I might possibly find these types of molds. I see generic "bullet" shape but .....

If push comes to shove is it possible to cast a mold for them.

Now that the tree business is shut down for 4 months I have a lot of time to play.....

Regarding the soft tails I haven't a clue as to what it takes to make/replicate so most likely would buy for now, but will leave that door open for the future.

The few I know of out there had to be custom made

I think Mike @ CCT pours his own savage style, I might be mistaken

I know you can get basically whatever mold you want made by DO IT molds but not $$$

So unless you lose a lot of them it might. It be cost productive

Plus the cost of the lead pot, pouring equipment, safety equipment, hooks, etc is also a factor
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Yes, it is possible and fairly strait forward to make a silicone rubber mold into which you can pour lead. Your production time will be slower than with a metal mold but you can make very exact reproductions. The set up material cost will not be dirt cheap as the mold making products and release agents cost a bit but I suspect you can get it done for something in the $50-75 range. A similar process is used for making rubber tails. I recall Mike at M&D's sold stuff to do the rubber tails at one point.

Search under mold making supplies

have the pouring equipment. Buddy of mine swapped me 400 lbs of nice lead ingots for some reloading supplies I no longer needed so have LOTS of good lead.

Speaking of reloading supplies, Tysdad.... do you reload as I have lots of pistola powder unopened, big containers....

Yes I do! And a lot. What other supplies?

I read the above and am a bit confused. You actually pout molten lead into a silicone mold?? How many times does this process work.... ie.. how many times can you use that mold as I would assume it would somehow deteriorate and become unusable.

I was thinking more in the lines of somehow making a cast aluminum mold like Do'it's. I'm looking for the "long haul".... if you know what I mean.

If you reading that I am a bit "green" on this whole process your eyesight is perfect.

I think the silicone mold will be good for many repeats but I have not done this myself....although I consider doing so every year. I have some vague recollection when reading about it years back that the molds would last for 50 or so pours........but I am not certain.

You can buy blank aluminum molds (red top used to sell them) and attempt to machine your own head shape but that seems well beyond my ability.

This was copied from another forum


"Dow Corning 3120 Red RTV works great. Go to their site to find a local retailer. 3120 is a high temp RTV silicone. I've poured hundreds of castings from one mold, Look to pay about $25 per lb."

Here is another tip that might cut cost.


"On reoccuring theme I see when RTV Silicone is mentioned is expense. The amount of expensive Silicone you use can be reduced by 2/3's by adding one simple step.
Set you mold up in the normal fashion BUT, only mix enough Silicone to barely cover the model. Once that sets, mix 100% Silicone sealant with water (Walmart's Mainstay, $3 for a 10+ oz tube, sold in the paint section is MOST EXCELLENT) and fill the remainder of the box with that. It'll set in under 20 Minutes.The resulting mold will do everything one made with 100% Expensive RTV will at a fraction of the cost.
BTW, you can do the same with all RTV Silicones, even the High Heat ones like Dow Corning 3120. Anything that is not in contact with the model is filler and as long as the Sealant isn't in direct contact with the casting, it'll stand up to as many pours as the 3120 will!
FYI, you can determine how much Silicone is needed by estimating your needs using 20 gms of silicone per cu in."

In the art world a mold maker would skip the cheap silicone and use plaster as a mother mold to cradle the thin RTV silicone
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I got some tree work for ya. Not too too far away. I'm just sayin'.

Jig Help
 

[QUOTE=fish raptor;1113600]I am sure that everyone knows that these types of lures are pretty hot right now. The Savage eels and Hogy Barbarian Jig heads w/soft tails I would imagine are in most tackle boxes...

I would like to find a mold and pour jig heads like these but so far am unable to find any with that specific shape and detail. Does anyone know where I might possibly find these types of molds. I see generic "bullet" shape but .....

If push comes to shove is it possible to cast a mold for them.

Now that the tree business is shut down for 4 months I have a lot of time to play.....

Regarding the soft tails I haven't a clue as to what it takes to make/replicate so most likely would buy for now, but will leave that door open for the future.[/QUOTE Basically what I would do is to find someone who makes jigs and just pay that person Lots of money to make you some Quality jigs instead of wasting your precious Off time from work trying to copy someone elses hard earned work.
It just so happens that I do make jigs , and for a Small Fortune I"d be happy to make you some Beautiful "Rock Snaggers":deadhorse:

Andy is saving up for Armagedon!
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You can't kill what you can't hit !!!
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I know , I'm slacking. Only shot about 8-9K rounds this year. I'm pretty comfortable with the results when the bang goes off..
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you can use Bondo in order to make a mold for pouring lead.

I make my own storm shad ripoffs, and my bondo 2 part mold has poured at least 100 bodies so far.

its not the ideal thing, doesn't capture really fine detail, but its cheap and easy to do.

Good one Alby :fishin:

mold-max is good stuff for making molds. can withstand temps up to 650 degrees (I think)

even the hi temp RTV silicones have a melting temp of 700 intermittent, they are not intending for prolong heat exposure (read their labels), and lead melts at 650, and that's cutting it a little to close for me. all that work just to have your mold possible melt and have one hot mess on your hands...

I either do it right with a dremel and a blank piece of aluminum or two, or do it ghetto with bondo.

I would avoid ANY RTV silicone products for pouring lead (which is what mold-max is too). RTV silicone and any related product are great for making molds for soft plastics, but not lead....

bondo molds up top with a hook showing placement, pouring hole, etc, and my RTV silicone molds are on the sides, and my finished product in the center (albeit a little beat up from fishing, i haven't poured new stuff yet this winter).

i hope that helps!

Rtv works just fine, make lots of molds and allow to cool before pouring again, can get 200 pours to a mold, you want a custom aluminum mold think big$$$$
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Well...... got a lot of nice responses back on this topic like the one above. IF.... and I mean IF i thought i could get 200 out of one mold I would give it a try buy I just can't help thinking that someone, somewhere already has this mold and all i need to do if find him (or her) out there... east coast or west coast and begin to barter. I didn't take "pottery" in shop class but I had envisioned that one would make a mold from an existing newly purchased jig head (which would make the cavity) then just reverse the process to make the mold. Are all molds (say DO IT) brand made by hand type carving or somehow made by pouring molten aluminum into a Cavity mold around an existing jig head..... There has got to be a way to get a "DO IT" type mold without silicones and such..... it must be one of those projects that just looks a LOT easier than it really is.....

Thanks to all....

Fish Raptor