Fatman
Active member
When you start making new ones should start a new thread!!
mold questions for redman
- Thread starter redear
- Start date
redear
Active member
yeah Doug, probably should do that, when we do start a new one I'll have to find someone here who can post my pics again, in other words take pics from my phone and send them to someone who can post them for me like last time. I'm gonna be retiring in 2 1/2 months and will be messing with it some I'm sure. I need to also take my press frame and wire brush and paint it because the iron has rusted up, but thats not gonna hurt the function. I have a piece of 6063 aluminum from online metals that needs cutting up into 2x2 inch pieces too. Just trying to stock pile a little stash of materials for hobby stuff now because after the retirement date the spare cash won't be there like it is now. I saw an old friend yesterday who I made some 3/32 white bucktails for last year, with size 4 sickles and he was raving about the effectiveness of those jigs around bridge pilings on 50,000 acre kerr lake, nc, and he thought the matzuo sickle was the end all of crappie hooks, he had a bunch of guys at the sporting goods store listening to him rave about them, and they all ran over to the rack to see if there was any there, NOT, lol It's a joy to see a dyed in the wool plastic bait fisherman turn the corner and go to hand ties, especially when that guy has the lake record of 4lbs. in his old home lake, not Kerr but a much smaller lake.
redear
Active member
I just took kdog's advise and ordered some more 6063 aluminum from buymetal, and it was alot cheaper than online metals, it measures 3/4"x1 1/2" and my length is 24" at 8 bucks per piece, so 16 bucks for the alum. and 16 bucks for fedex shipping, and if I cut them 2" long this should give me 12 pairs of aluminum blocks. I don't think those prices can be beat this day and time of high metal prices, thanks kdog! I think 1 1/2" is as wide as they offer for that alloy so they will work up to about 1/8oz. jigs.
redear
Active member
I ordered 2 pieces of alum. at 24" long each, just to clarify.
redear said:
Personally, I think the 3/4" thickness can make much larger heads. Just gotta accept the fact that the hook will stick out of the mold. I have some older commercial molds from Ament that are only 1/2" thick. You can safely have a cavity up to 1/2" deep although I would try to stay under 3/8 deep for longevity.
And do not forget to allow for your saw blade thickness when cutting. I would plan on 1-15/16" for my length. My Blades are 0.025 thick and after cleaning/squareing the ends I'm usually about 1/16" short.
redear
Active member
yeah kdog, for a single cavity I'm sure 1 15/16 is plenty of length. and thanks again for that link to the supplier!
redear said:
One of my earlier trials used 1-1/2 square stock (steel), 3/8" thick. Not for a jig but made a sinker 1/2 diameter 1"long. Made a sprue cutter similar to lyman bullet molds and after I got everything functioning like I wanted, Welded it to 99 cent pair if HF pliers. It uses a cheap barrel swivel and makes a great sinker.
redear
Active member
the fedex man just delivered the 6063 t52 aluminum barstock, now that is great service at a great price! I was out in the shop the other day and it appears a mud dobber has deposited mud into the alignment pin holes of some of my favorite home made molds, also there were about ten spools of thread with mud in the center hole. I'm trying to figure out the best way to remove the mud as it is rock hard, possibly soaking in some water before trying to remove it. lol
Fatman
Active member
Start using an old fine tip philips head screwdriver to get it started coming out. Once you get the mud to crack it usually comes right out. If there's any left a small round wire brush should finish it up. Need to get yourself a rubbermaid container to store them in.
redear
Active member
fatman, thanks for the tips! I do need to get something to store the molds and thread in.
redman
New member
Redear when you get Done with the molds come on over. I opened up the hood on my 25 h.p. Merc outboard and the mud dobbers did a number on it. Air intake was a mess as was everything that had a small hole. A general cleaning is needed if I am going to run it this fall.
Some of my small molds I did in 3/8 inch thick aluminum. My old friend Paul Weiland always wanted his molds in 1/2 inch stock even his 1/4 oz. Jigs. Jim Stone put his molds on a pair of vice grips. Jim complained about having to mount them that way for Paul but they were easy to use and I feel better than the hinge system. It is easier to mount a hinge until the hinge pin gets sloppy. And the alignment pins get a little wore. Then the mold has to be repressed and new pins and hinge put on.
Keep remembering little bits and pieces. No fun to grow old. As Mark Twain once said of all the things I lost my mind I miss the most.
Redman
Some of my small molds I did in 3/8 inch thick aluminum. My old friend Paul Weiland always wanted his molds in 1/2 inch stock even his 1/4 oz. Jigs. Jim Stone put his molds on a pair of vice grips. Jim complained about having to mount them that way for Paul but they were easy to use and I feel better than the hinge system. It is easier to mount a hinge until the hinge pin gets sloppy. And the alignment pins get a little wore. Then the mold has to be repressed and new pins and hinge put on.
Keep remembering little bits and pieces. No fun to grow old. As Mark Twain once said of all the things I lost my mind I miss the most.
Redman
redear
Active member
that' some good info there redman as always, I never get tired of your old days stories! yeah I'm not sure why I go 3/4" thick on the aluminum, probably shoulda dropped back to 1/2" I'm sure it would be cheaper.
redear
Active member
I saw on ebay the other day a bag of assorted ball bearings from 1/8" to 1/2" in diam. and am thinking about getting a bag for some mold making of roundhead jigs of various sizes, and maybe some with a collar for tying hair. I have plenty of molds with no collar and they do very well for hair jigs, but there are good looking hair jigs with a more full look also, just thinkin at this point. I tie some kiptail jigs for an expert crappie fisherman who also gets a few from another friend he has, the other guys jigs are tied on a roundhead with collar and it's a totally different look. Another one I would like to tinker with just for my own use is something like the head that was on the original grey ghost jig, where the nose is shaped like an axe. that would require some kind of jig to help grind those angles perfectly on the jighead blank, otherwise it wouldn't track straight. ya know guys and gals is there anything quite like wintertime boredom to get ya thinkin bout this stuff?
redear
Active member
Another head I am wanting is a 1/16 roundhead, no collar with a size 8 sickle, the hook would have to be slightly moved upward on the ball head in order for the hooks eyelet to clear the cavity enough to make a recess for the eye, otherwise you spend all your time digging lead out of the eye of the hook. this same scenario presents itself with a 1/4 head and a size 4 sickle, roundheads are easy to press too, all you need is the correct size ball bearing, and then you can press the hook position wherever you want.
redear
Active member
the last few days I have poured a few 1/64 roundhead with a red size 10 sickle hook, this mold I pressed back around the beginning of this thread, it produces a perfect round ball with the smoothness beyond compare so it shines like a mirror or thereabouts, used a tiny ball bearing for this mold pressing, I like to leave the heads unpainted and the flash of that head I think helps catch fish.
redear
Active member
been tying kiptail on these jigs, tying the hair two tone in color, and very sparse with a nibble added and under a float, these tiny jigs have saved the day for us here lately, my buddy who never goes below 1/32 can't get over how good the tiny jig is working, oh... best colors have been dark purple and green chart. red thread, and also black and chart, yellow with red thread. tied very sparse the sparser the better at least here lately.
Fatman
Active member
The head you described sounds like the head on my original Doll Fly head. If I had more than just the one I would tear the thread and hair off and get a silicone mold made to use a sickle hook
and the collar is thin with a ball end for tying hair
and the collar is thin with a ball end for tying hair
redear
Active member
anyone here know offhand what size ball bearing would press a 1/4 oz. head, without a collar, just plain ball head size 4 hook would be used. I do want a few heavy head molds, and need to order the ball bearings. have finally got the ole boat almost ready to fish again after that tornado in feb. tried to destroy it, going tomorrow to get a new outboard for it. weather here is starting to turn nice.
redear
Active member
I have a friend that called me up raving about some jigs I gave him recently, they were the flattened redman head in 1/32 or so maybe a little heavier, tied with calftail hair in electric chicken color scheme, light pink and yellow chart. he used them under a bobber with a crappie nibble on the hook and took his grandson fishing and they boated many crappies with these jigs, these jigheads were poured with one of the molds made earlier in this thread, using a size 6 matzuo sickle hook in black chrome. these jigs were tied like the old pinkie jigs of yesteryear, just hair with a red thread neck, they are beyond durable too, he has one that he claims has caught about 300 white perch over several years, every time we go he pulls it out and shows it to me, lol.
redear
Active member
I see what you all are talking about now, with most of those photos being taken away, what a shame.