mold questions for redman

[redear]

the last pic I took to show ya'll what I mean by pinkie style jigs. these jigs were very popular years and years ago, and they are near impossible to get anymore, they are made with kiptail and are usually tipped with a minnow thru the lips or a worm hooked thru the end with the whole worm just trailing behing the jig, so I usually use 1/2 a redworm, or a whole one if they are small. fished under a small 1 1/2" foam float with a peg they will catch anything in the lake. I have several ol timer freinds that have fished these since the early sixties, and still won't use anything else. those jigs in the pic are from my custom mold, I want to make a new mold only without a collar behind the head, just want to try that, and compare the two. without a collar it won,t be as fat, and will mbe abvle to use a little less hair, and it'll be much easier to tie one. thanks again crappyhappy for the help!

 

[CrappieHappy]

Np Kip, anytime..

 

[redear]

took and dressed up the edges of the aluminum blocks again yesterday and then drilled one pair for the brass alignment pins, everything looked good for that pair. probably drill another pair in the morning, started night shift tonight for seven days. wish I could find the mill/drill chuck key, it's metric I think and all my other ones don't fit it so well, every time I go to drill some aluminum the drill bit slips on me. gonna have to call grizzly and see if they have any extras. this aluminum will press much easier I'm sure, it's definitely softer, I still like the 6061 for small stuff, but next time I get some of that it will be in a lower temper. I saw some on grainger's site and for the temper it was listed as extruded, I'm thinking it's a t0 temper which is the lowest I think. I'll tell ya, aluminum prices are all over when it comes to different alloys, the 6061 is real reasonable, as is the 6303 I bought, but some of the others are really high. so don't jump on the first thing ya see on these sites, it also pays to deal with a company that specializes in small orders, like online metals and grainger etc. theres a couple more, but you can tell which ones are geared for supplying industrial companies, as soon as ya go to their site.

 

[redear]

was too tired yesterday morning after work to mess with the molds. that first night shift is tough.

 

[redear]

still haven't ventured out to the shop, been tired lately. another tip on working with these little molds, when I determine how I want the alum. blocks to stack, which one is on top, and which way they match up the best, I'll mark the alum. blocks, usually put a T on top of the top one, and then mark the front of the stack with a mark across the crack separating the top and bottom peice. I do all this with a sharpie to start with, then farther along I replace these marks with a permanent mark, I have a letter set, that you use a hammer to tap on the letter, to leave an indenture. when you separate the blocks and remove the pins to reface the blocks, this all helps to determine which way the blocks went together. and can also help you separate them from other molds you are working on.

 

[Fatman]

Redear - very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the heads came out great!!!! I take it the little bit softer makes for alot easier press???

Great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

fatman, yeah I'm sure this aluminum will be alot easier to press, which is what ya need for the deeper jigheads. Are you refering to the jighead blanks I just made? still trying to decide if I like them enough to press them. the one was supposed to be a redman head with a little bit more rounded front than I been doing, it turned out great as far as a jighead I thought, but can't really call it a redman type head. man those alloy 1/4" pins I had laying around are really hard steel, thats what I made them from. they really gave the dremel tool a run for it's money. one thing is for sure, when you are shaping a jighead blank from a drill bit or something like that, you really need to have it the way you want it before you cut it completly away from the rest of the material, because it's hard to work with once you cut it loose, just isn't much for the lathe chuck to hold onto to continue shaping.

 

[redear]

fatman, those tied up kiptail jigs are from a 5 year old custom shawn collins mold he made me, they are what we call pinkie style jigs, this mold has a collar on the head, and the mold is real temperamental as far as pouring incomplete heads. I want to press a mold or two for myself using this head style, already have three jighead blanks made up, two that look like 1/16 oz. and that last one looks like a heavy 1/16 oz. want to make a mold for this without the collar, it'll give the jig a little thinner profile from the thread on back. some of the best crappie fishermen I know use these pinkie style jigs, they have some in their bow that are 35 years old and when they show them to you they covet them like they are a diamond ring. thats what got me so interested in them. they always tip them with a minnow for crappie, and a worm for perch and gills and crackers.

 

[redear]

OMG someones gotta edit my last post!!!!!!! lol it's the first word. sorry doug!!!!! lol

 

[redear]

ok, I drilled four more alignment pin holes this morning, so all three blank molds are drilled and ready to be fitted with pins. maybe tomorrow I'll get the pins out I used on the last mold and see if they will work, if not it wont take long to make some.

 

[Fatman]

No worries!!!!!LOL That's been my nick name since high school. Just can't wait to see what you come out with next!!!!

 

[redear]

I still need to make a good 1/16 redman head blank that I'm satisfied with, it won't be long and I'll be pressing again, thats the funest part/ may have to get a new jack, don,t know if this one will make it thru these molds. lol I did drill all these pin holes two at a time, thats taking a chance with something moving between holes, but I had the vise all tightened down good on the molds and watched them closely. gotta get ready for work.

 

[redear]

made a 1/16 or so redman head blank this morning, it looks real good, I like the proportions. I like the one I made the other day, but the proportions were wrong for a redman head. think I'll use the newest one for two of these molds, the third mold may be a collarless pinky style head. made this new blank from a drill bit, should be tough enough for this softer aluminum I'm using this time.

 

[Fatman]

Working all those hours - then play with the molds when are you getting any sleep for the job LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

I just work 8 hrs. a day on the job. seven days at a stretch, it's just my weekends don't come as fast as most peoples. been going out to the shop for 1 1/2 hrs. when I get home, off this nite shift. we don't work very hard at the plant unless something goes wrong, it's a good thing, because I couldn't physically work hard anymore in my present condition. I'm not in any or much pain from the c.i.d.p. but just have alot of limitations as far as fatigue, and weakness and balance on my feet. gonna work as long as I can. got a great wife, that counts for alot.

 

[redear]

ok getting ready for bed, working night shifts, but I fitted one of those blank molds with my old pins I used on the last mold, didn,t take alot of fitting, and made some marks on the mold with a sharpie and taped down a tiny peice of drill bit a little shorter than the redman head, and pressed that little peice. removed that tiny peice of drill bit and then laid the redman head down in the indenture that it had made, I taped the head down with cellophane tape, put the mold together and pressed the redman head blank. tomorrow I'll remove the pins and reface the mold halves, then press again and maybe the hook too. this aluminum presses like a dream, and my jighead blank is holding up this time, so I got further along than I had planned this morning, sometimes it just goes together. can't waite for the weekend, only two more nights at work. should be able to get something done this weekend.

 

[redear]

I had polished up the redman head blank yesterday a little bit before I pressed it, thats a good looking blank too. I really wouldn,t want to do without the dremel tool for shaping the jighead blank, to me it's just the way to go, otherwise you'd be there for days. lol as long as you have that steel rod or drill bit mounted in something that'll spin it while you hold the dremel tool against it, you can shape it pretty easy, and when you start getting it the shape you want, just tear off a peice of 220 grit paper and pinch the blank between thumb and finger with that sandpaper, and there it is! works like a charm. I mostly use the 1 1/2" cutting wheel mounted on their quik detach mandrel for most of the major shaping and cutting, then switch to a little sanding drum with course grit, and then switch to fine grit and handheld sandpaper. can,t waite to get home this morning and work on that mold a little more.

 

[redear]

resurfaced the mold and pressed the head blank again, then resurfaced the mold again, and then taped the hook down and pressed that too. resurfaced the mold again, and everything seems to be right, I'm sure there will be some pics soon, what I'm doing now, ya'll have seen several times. very happy with the way this aluminum is pressing.

 

[Fatman]

Can't wait to see the pics!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

won,t take alot to finish this mold, cut the sprue hole etc. and shave the hook bend area and the hook eyelet area too, then make some short pins. then pretty it up a little on the outside, then heat some lead up in a ladle and pour one or two heads to tease fatman with. lol lol actually making two of these redman head molds 1/16 or so and sending one to crappyhappy and one to fatman. ya know I keep thinking this redman head would work good with the boolie prop jig design and the steve farrar flash blend material that some of the guys are using. going to bass pro after work this morning, got orders from the wife to get her some of their flip flops, she's worn the old ones out.