Burbot jig

[Mooki]

Well, first post for me - or rather first thread start 
Spent most of the Holidays up North, and managed to cram in a bit of ice fishing when not going down hill.
We shared the cabin with my wife's sister and her (possibly future) hubby.
Apparently seeingone of my Hilts stand up jig had his mind going off in tangents, so he requested a heavy (2 oz) burbot jig.

Not quite pleased with the "stand up angle" of the hooks - but he claims it looks good enough to try, so I'll be sending them off this week so they'll be handy when he needs them.
Think he's gonna add some bait to the hooks when "burboting", basically thumping along the bottom.

Never tried a rubber mold before, or silicone for that matter, so I also have a questions some of you might be able to answer. How to get the cast smooth...

1) First off I made a Master with Fimo Soft.


2) Made a base layer using Stovex, and then added the Hi-temp mold rubber on top. Some grease before the next layer.


3) Assembled hardware, tried a few different hooks in 4/0 to 6/0 range.


4) Insert hardware.


5) Ready for some lead.


6) Finsihed jigs.


The question I have is if there is any way to reduce the pitting of the molded jig?
Forgot to snap a pic, but after casting the jigs were full of craters and extremely ugly. Had to use PP Elastic to get a decently smooth surface, and I'd rather not have that extra step.

Have a great weekend!  :beer:

 

[Jay Wirth]

I have worked 20+ years in toy soldier industry; your original if sculpted in green stuff or similar epoxy putty can be smoothed during the sculpting (much better than clay) In Europe Miliput white. The other thing you can do before powder coat is use the same epoxy type putty and smooth the areas of your lead head, then powder paint.

If the shad dart was your example of a stand up jig - these dont stand up. Their action as they are jigged is what the walleye or perch (here in NY) are hitting. For Burbot might have greater success with a 20z sinker on the end of your line and a hook like a teaser 4-8 inches higher on the line.

 

[Mooki]

The shad dart was just for a comparison - since I left him with one in the same size, the one he was inspried was the Hilts stand-up, HDS-M, a quite different fellow.

The roughness was more than the master - it was lite lots of little craters, the same structure as when dumping molten lead in a muffin pan with teflon - so I guess it might be due to the rubber gassing or so.
Just wondering if anyone has had the same experience with rubber/silicone, think I saw something mentioned but can't remember where or when.

 

[duffy]

I wonder if it's because it's not venting fast enough and trapping air in the mold? Are the rough spots in the same place each time? Beings the mold if flexible I'm sure things are moving around as it's heated with the pour.

 

[Jay Wirth]

The bubbles r from mixing. Pour in the rubber slow near the edge and then tap the box to get rid of air pockets. Resin molders make a table that vibrates when pouring molds. U can use epoxy putty to smooth the lead head before powder painting

 

[Mooki]

Thanx, just the kind of info I was looking for.
I'll give it a go and see if I can get a smoother result, just like your tip I had to use some putty in order not to scare the elderly and young children...