Fatman
Active member
Well he sent me another batch
Some new mold pics from Red
- Thread starter Fatman
- Start date
redear
Active member
finally found time to finish the second brass alignment pin and got both pins to fit the female halve of the mold. pictures 1 thru 6 show these mold halves from different angles, and a couple of those pics show the little ball beareing I'll be using as a blank for pressing the tiny roundhead cavity. did actually drill these pin holes in the corners of the mold halves this time so I can install handles without interference from the pins. the seventh pic is another photo of my press frame, took it outside and laid it on the concrete by the pool, maybe ya'll can see it better this time.
redear
Active member
my bottle jack has leaked some oil, it still seems to operate, but I let it sit with the little pressure release valve loose, I hope thats all it is. if not I may be swiping the jack out of my boys truck if it'll fit in the frame, it's a 6 ton jack, the one thats leaked is a four ton. pressing this little ball bearing should be a breeze tho.
JSC
New member
Rock & Roll !!!
redear
Active member
thanks guys, I pressed the ball bearing blank this evening and it was a peice of cake, this one is gonna be easy I think. tomorrow I'll sand the bulges out around the cavity in the mold by dragging it across a peice of 220 grit sandpaper, both sides of the mold that is, and then repress the ball bearing again and also press a small diameter drill bit where I want the sprue hole to be.
redear
Active member
this evening I pressed the blank again as well as pressing a small drill bit to mark the sprue hole. After sanding down all the bulges on the face of the mold halves, I drilled the sprue hole slightly larger and then countersunk the opening of the sprue hole to accept the melting pot spout. then I pressed a hook after taping it in place on the mold, everything looks great so far. every time you press anything be it a jighead blank, hook etc, you have to knock the alignment pins out of the mold halves and drag the mold faces across a peice of sandpaper to remove the bulges in the mold faces caused by pressing the blank or hook. All I have left to do now is sand the bulge created by the hook and shave the area around the hook bend with my mill/drill, then install handles and a hinge, which is something I haven't done yet. I won't be pouring with it yet because money is tight right now and I still havent replaced my broken pot.
Fatman
Active member
Sounds good buddy!!!!! If it's a Lee check the warranty!!
redear
Active member
just about finished, all that it needs now is a shorter set of pins. I use longer brass pins for alignment when pressing a blank but they are too long to use easily when pouring jigheads. I think while I'm at it, might as well make another mold with the same ball bearing blank, except this time use a size 10 dry fly hook in order to make the little jigs similar to what grizzly jig makes. they are deadly on ultra light equipment for crappie and gills, I caught a bunch of gills recently on one that had a pink head and mallard flank body kept short. I was making my own by soldering a ball on the front of the fly hook, but if you didn't use them right away the acid in the flux would rust the hook pretty bad.
Fatman
Active member
Red
Instead of a dry fly hook would it be better to use a heavier wet fly hook in the same size??? Like a 3906b or 3399??
Instead of a dry fly hook would it be better to use a heavier wet fly hook in the same size??? Like a 3906b or 3399??
redear
Active member
yeah fatman, I have used both dry and wet as well as a nymph hook, just depends on what I was able to get a good price on, as fly hooks can be pricey. Alot depends on how long I intend to tie the feathers on there. that 3399 is that a mustad? seems I remember a 3366 as an economy fly hook or something.
Fatman
Active member
check Capt Hooks = sign up for their monthly web special page and you'll find some good deals