mold questions for redman

[redear]

so you have the head pressed and also the hook slot, now you need to make the sprue area where the lead flows into the cavity, I use a piece of a tiny drill bit taped down with the cellophane tape to press the verticle sprue inlet, I sand those bulges out, reinstall my pins and then I take a countersink cutter shaped like a cone mount it in my drill press and cut a countersunk hole where my lead pot nipple will fit down into when pouring. after doing this I take what is called an end mill bit of half inch diam. and mount it to my milling machine, and shave the area down where the jighooks bend will rest, I do this on both halves of the mold and then I put a 1/8 inch end mill bit in the milling machine and shave the area down where the jighooks eyelet will rest. these are just nice touches that makes the mold easier to use because we all know every hook in the box is not the same as far as eyelet height and bend etc. so I hog those areas out, do it mold shaves these areas down too, I guess you could call them recesses. now you are ready to pour your first head, yes you can use the long pins but they will be hard to separate the mold halves, but for the first pour I use the long pins. after checking the first poured head and I'm satisfied, I make a set of short pins for the mold, these pins are only long enough to go into the other mold half maybe 3/16 inch and I round the ends to make the mold halves go together and come apart easily, but also when the halves are together they should not move, this is accomplished my adjusting how much of the pin is sticking out from the mold half, I tap those pins in or out of their mold half that they will be permanently inserted into.

 

[redear]

don't be discouraged if you don't have a lathe or a milling machine, you may not be able to make a mold as pretty as mine without those tools but it will be just as functional in the end. you do need a vice to hold the two halves of the mold together while drilling through both halves at once, this makes the pin holes perfectly across from each other, and you do kinda need a drill press so you don't wallow out your holes with a handheld drill. and you could use a dremel tool to hog out the area where the jighooks eyelet and the hooks bend need a recess for. yeah it may not be pretty without the right tools, but if you look at some of the photos of those old molds from yesteryear, they aren't pretty either, but hey no one is coming over to your house to see it either.lol. one thing I do find usefull is a dial caliper, I check the thickness of drill bits a lot because a lot of times the writing on the shank is so tiny or corroded I can't see the size, and another thing is I use 1/4 inch brass rod for my pins but I can't use a 1/4 inch drill bit to drill the holes in the mold halves, the holes end up being too large to firmly hold the brass pins so I use a smaller size drill bit, and then enlarge the pin holes a little at a time till I get the correct fit, I do this by sanding the pin holes interior with sandpaper wrapped around a smaller drill bit and mounted in a handheld drill. making these molds is hard work and often times it takes maybe 8 hrs of work that why for the most part I only make them for myself. also Redman does a few things differently when he used to press a mold, he would press the hook first and then press the jighead blank, and I don't think he ever used cellophane tape to hold the hook or blank head down either, so there is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[redear]

again I would like to thank Redman for giving up these trade secrets I call them, lol. because back in the day that is what they were. because of his kind heartedness I was able to make the exact jiheads I wanted, it added so much to my hobby.

 

[redear]

I don't see any examples of the bulges created on the faces of the mold when pressing a blank head or hook, just didn't capture that here in these pics

 

[redear]

My press frame has been badly rusted since my son left it outside in the weather, he didn't know what it was, lol. So I asked him to clean it up the best he could, and thought a wire brush on a grinder might work best. yesterday I saw it in the shop and to my amazement it was beautifully clean, I couldn't believe it. He said he soaked it in vinegar for I think he said two days, I mean that thing was rusted up bad too. I think I will get a warm day and put some paint on it now.

 

[walleyescrounger]

My press frame has been badly rusted since my son left it outside in the weather, he didn't know what it was, lol. So I asked him to clean it up the best he could, and thought a wire brush on a grinder might work best. yesterday I saw it in the shop and to my amazement it was beautifully clean, I couldn't believe it. He said he soaked it in vinegar for I think he said two days, I mean that thing was rusted up bad too. I think I will get a warm day and put some paint on it now.

Glad to hear the press frame has been reclaimed. I have heard from Redman he is busy since his woman has been having mini strokes. When he has the time he is going to send me some more stories. I told him you where fondly thinking of him and that we missed him.
Neil

 

[redear]

Neil, thanks for telling him hi for me.

 

[walleyescrounger]

Neil, thanks for telling him hi for me.

Your welcome Redear I’ll be posting some more stories in the near future.

 

[redear]

I bought some primer paint yesterday for my press frame now that the rust has been cleaned off, will try not to let it get that way again. ledhead showed a link to janns netcraft I think it was and they are carrying a mustad brand version of a sickle jighook and looks to be longer in the length, I wonder how sharp they will be. I'm tempted to try some.

 

[walleyescrounger]

I’ll have to look into that hook. I have liked mustad in the past.

 

[walleyescrounger]

I bought some primer paint yesterday for my press frame now that the rust has been cleaned off, will try not to let it get that way again. ledhead showed a link to janns netcraft I think it was and they are carrying a mustad brand version of a sickle jighook and looks to be longer in the length, I wonder how sharp they will be. I'm tempted to try some.

View attachment 4
Here’s the hook it comes in bronze and black buckle.

 

[redear]

yeah Mustad did a good job too on the crappie lite jighooks which are extra thin wire and very sharp and they bend out most of the time when snagged, so I would be willing to try another mustad offering, you never know till you have it in your hand or fish it though, so much you can miss through a pic.

 

[redear]

hey guys, sorry I haven't been on here in a long while, my nerve disease has really made my hands etc. very weak and uncoordinated and pouring jigheads is pretty hard for me anymore. I have retired and kind of started hunting deer more again around my farm with crossbow and muzzleloader etc. it's real hard for me to get into and out of a boat anymore too as my legs are really weak too. just wanted to say hi to ya'll. kip

 

[Hawnjigs]

Howdy, nice of you to check in. I wonder what happened to the old timers like yourself who no longer post on the forum.

 

[redear]

Hawnjigs, thanks, I do miss pouring jigs, I can still do it but I am ultra slow with it. 4 1/2 years ago my health insurance quit paying for my expensive treatments unless my condition got worse. well when I got more nerve damage I couldn't get the function back with treatment, I could only keep it from getting worse.It was probably some of my doctors fault too for telling me it wont do any good to fight it yet. I somehow blame myself too. I think the govt somehow is letting the insurance companies get away with this stuff. this all went down the instant obama care came into action, I can't help but think it had something to do with them cutting me off with the treatments.

 

[redear]

Heck I think it's been 5 years, time flies.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Health insurance companies bottom line is profit meaning they will not pay out more $ than they take in. I've posted before how the industry makes HUGE contributions to lawmakers to continue bizness as usual. So you are correct that " the govt somehow is letting the insurance companies get away with this stuff".

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law almost exactly 10 years ago.

Sorry to contradict, I sympathize with your situation, and at my (our) age my time will come sooner than later.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Here's an example how the health insurance industry buys lawmakers - from a 2019 investigative article:

"Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, received $188,000 from the 10 largest healthcare companies. Todd Young, R-Ind., reported getting $187,250, and Pat Casey, a Pennsylvania Republican, received more than $182,000."

As for government sponsored healthcare advocates like Bernie Sanders:

"The Vermont independent reported $1,273 in contributions from the healthcare companies and their employees for his Senate campaigns over the last six years."

 

[redear]

the affordable health care act may have been signed into law 10 years ago but everyones health care insurance didn't go in the crapper in the beginning. It hit us about 5 years in, just guessing here. I had good insurance for 28 years and then something happened where all us factory workers in the area lost our good health plans and high premiums and high deductibles and high maximum out of pocket limits hit us all. so we were paying much more and getting much less all the sudden. this is when cigna sent me a letter saying they wouldnt pay for my treatments anymore unless my condition became worse. well when my nerves deteriiorated and with that proof I was able to get the treatments again but I never regained my nerve function I lost. I had one of the best neuro doctors around and he told me we had no case to fight it.