making your own jig molds

[mncrappie35]

Where would a guy go to get some info on making his own jig molds

[lowe175]

Not sure. You can buy blank do-it-molds. You would have to have a machine shop to cut anything in it. I am a machinist its more work than you would want to take on. Just buy what you want . What did you have in mind?

[mncrappie35]

Not sure, was thinking about coming up with a design for ice fishing. But maybe it will be better to buy unpainted stuff and coming up with new color schemes instead

[snake River]

Yes you can buy blank molds from do-it molds and the tricky part is the cutting if you have a milling machine it is cheaper to buy the molds already made from do it or go to Jacobs not sure what you're wanting to do.

[mncrappie35]

As of right now I make my own summer time jigs. As you know color combinations can be made that are not found in retail stores. I am also a hard water fisherman and now am looking into making ice fishing jigs and have some ideas for a couple new styles of jigs that I wanted to pour myself. But I think I will try something different

[lowe175]

You can make modifications to a mold they already sell, with drills and hand power tools. If what you're wanting to make is close to a mold already being sold, you can make slight modifications to it. I have made modifications to some of my molds. That's a lot easier than starting from scratch.

[redear]

there is a feasible way to do what you want to do, it is a lot of work, but for me it was worth it. several years ago a member we call Redman was kind enough to reveal the age old method of making jighead molds with 1 or 2 cavities, I will forever be in debt to him for this because with that info I made somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 molds, all custom designed to be what I wanted. yes it is a bit tedious to pour 1 head at a time but if you are just making them for yourself and a couple friends who cares as long as you get the shape head you always wanted. long story short, this method requires making a jighead blank out of steel and then sandwiching the blank between 2 pieces of soft aluminum, the pieces of aluminum at this point also have 2 alignment pins to keep them from moving sideways during the pressing procedure. the pressing procedure is done with a 4 ton bottle jack used for automobiles and also a press frame crudely welded together, the frame holds the bottle jack and the aluminum blocks with the blank sandwiched between them. I sit the aluminum blocks at the bottom of the frame and the bottom of the jack sits on top of the alum. blocks, the frame is made so that when I begin to operate the jack it only has to rise about 1 inch before the jacks ram hits the inside top of the frame. now at this point everything is tight so when I crank down on the jack handle a little it squeezes the blockes of aluminum together so than the steel blank jighead creats an impression in both sides of the alum. blocks. It would take me several pages to explain it all.

[redear]

ok, what I described is vagely telling how to make single cavity mold out of soft aluminum. these molds have produced the best fit and finish of any jighead mold I own and they pour better too. I am not savvy enough on the computer to post photos and do it right, but we did get this accomplished on another site, showing pics of my press frame and a mold being made and several finished molds and the resulting jigheads. I don't know if it is proper for me to refer people here to another site to see this thread but being as I can't post pics it is the only way for anyone to see it. It was posted on Jigcraft under the mold making section, it is the single largest thread on that site with something like 36,000 views over 2 or 3 years. It is over 80 pages of me learning how to do it and Redman walking me through it, and a bunch of people cheering me on, it was a lot of work and I spent several hundred dollars I know for aluminum and other supplies. It takes me at least 8 hours to produce a mold to my satisfaction, If you haven't done it before it will take longer. I still use do it molds and the new Jacobs molds which are really sweet, but for creating something you can be proud of without going to someone else and paying plenty of money, this method puts it in reach of people who are fairly decent working with tools etc. sorry guys if I did anything wrong by referring to a thread on another site, but that's where it is. Kip

[skiptomylu]

Maybe it would be easier just to make some of my little glow jigs to see if they pay off ice fishing?

[PA_Slabs]

Maybe it would be easier just to make some of my little glow jigs to see if they pay off ice fishing?

I fish glow jigs or glow heads morning, noon and night thru the ice. I typically run smaller sizes 1/64 oz or smaller for crappie. Rat Finkies tipped with spikes were my go to prior to getting into jig making. I still tip or scent my jigs most of the time thru the ice. It is a different bite than open water.