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You can't complain about those.Maybe a touch hotter on your mold will fill in better. I put my mold on top of my lead pot while it warms so the mold and lead are about the same temp. Don't torch molds to warm as they may warp if they don't heat unevenly. Looks good to me though.
One more thing I do, I pour a couple times with no hooks and just put the lead back in the pot. Keep on pouring as it is fun to create your own.
Looking good my friend !
Look good to me! I made me a pair of sprue cutting pliers by taking a cheap pair of Harbor Freight side cutters and grinding the back side of the pliers down flat to where the taper use to start. That makes a good clean cut, Just don't cut any wire after you grind the back of the blades down.
Thanks guys my post kinda got messed up by the wording don’t know what happened to the title human error I reckon. I know after making a few I’m glad I’m not making them to sell if so I would have to get about 10 dollars a piece for them [emoji23] I’ll get me some for practice in maybe that will speed things up.
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Looking good and they will improve with time.
You are on the way, keep going!
One tidbit of advice I'll offer is with those jigs without a collar on them, you'll occasionally have one that the lead won't bond to the hook. It'll rattle around on the hook. I just go ahead and redo those. The head won't stay in place right.
It is extremely hard to pour for a monetary profit but to me there isn't anything like more than making my own stuff and a few for friends here locally. They like it too as they can just call and get a dozen or so and not do big online orders to make it economically efficient for them. To me it part of the addiction.
Fact- Be sure and smoke the cavity with smoke from a candle or match. Makes a huge difference.
Harbor Freight should already have side cutters that cut close. Go look where they have the stuff to build guitars. They are used to cut off the frets, as they are being put onto the neck.
But I don't want to get anyone addicted to another hobby, just saying.
Can you provide a link to those pliers at Harbor Freight? I didn't know they had guitar building stuff. I've never seen it in our store, but I haven't ever looked for it either.Quote:
Originally Posted by S10CHEVY
X2Quote:
Originally Posted by FurFlyin
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I wonder if this is them Attachment 390899
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Well if they don't have them then try here. Yes I know I'm living dangerously, showing all of you this stuff. These are what you want to have. If buying over $50.00 shipping is free. $24.99 for them. You could also use them when using wire for guards.
Flush-cut Fret End Nipper Pliers - for cutting fret ends - C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply
Those would only be good for cutting electric wire.Quote:
Originally Posted by Javelin 180
S10Chevy, the cheap ones from HF could be ground to cut flush. That's what I did with the side cutters. Just ground the bevel off the back side. The end nippers you posted would probably work better than the side cutters like I use. I'll have to get me a pair to try. Thanks.
Attachment 390946
Got these from Hobby Lobby years ago. In section where stuff for making ear rings and necker laces. Used for cutting fine wire. Think I paid around 7.00 and they have cut a lot of spru’s.
I have a pair like Cray's, they work great on lead and that's all they see. There are other ways to cut wire for sure.
Looks good to me. I stick the spout of the pot directly in each cavity so that head fills complete and tightly around wire keeper. Also use a harder lead now as soft lead tends to wobble on non barb/wire keeper heads. I use 95% lead 5% antimony. Once I started using harder lead never understood why most use 100% lead. Will get a better head this way.
Thanks that’s great info I’ve never heard that I did have a couple that had loose wire keepers.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNip
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When I make finesse heads, the wire feels loose sometimes. If you powder paint them, it will help lock the wire keeper in. Heating up your mold on top of the pot with the hooks and keepers in there will help get the lead to bond better around them too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Javelin 180
I have a set of sprue cutters, single ground, that work fine. Less than $10 and I use em for everything. My best ones came from some folks in Cane Poles old line of work. Built along the lines of a quality pair of Klein’s or like that. Might be German made but don’t hold me to it. Also single ground and were designed to trim circuit boards of excess stems of the components, and they are some kind of tough. I also wouldn’t want to go buy another set, I’m sure they were way pricey. I gave $4 at a flea market for em. Never tried the nippers, look like they’d be worth a try.
For getting rid of the sprue, most of the time I just snap them off with a pair of pliers. I have 2 pair of flush cutters that I got from craft stores in their jewelry making section, one from Hobby Lobby and the other from Michaels. Both work really well for smaller jigs and for larger jigs I use them to score the sprue then snap it off. No matter what way you do it, if you want it to look smooth you will have to file it. I just put a file in a bench vice and run the head over it a could times to smooth out the burr left behind from cutting or snapping.
I would like to add to this for safety. Files and such work great but the air born particles from filing are way worse for you than melting lead with an exhaust fan. I have worked with lead since the 80's both professionally and hobbyest and have health issues now that could have been avoided. Heck, I can't even give blood as my lead count is so high. Oh and it never goes down. Once you got it it's yours for life. Wear a mask, don't snack or smoke and never touch your face while working with lead products. Sermon is over. Think about this post. Please
Grumpy, you're exactly right and I probably don't give it enough thought. I do run an exhaust fan when I pour jigs and only "render" lead outdoors on a windy day, but you can't be too careful when working with lead.
Robbie, you're gonna have to get busy pouring more jigs so Garrett can have more to tie up. rotfl
I spray a product called Drop out on my molds where filling is an issue and like magic no more bad pours. Eye protection is also a must have. Some years back a friend sent me some large sinkers that he found during low tide. When I put one in my pot it exploded and some lead actually hit the sealing. I had some burns on my hands and had some lead hanging from my eye lashes, it was a miracle that I wasn't blinded. Not sure if it was water in the sinker or perhaps salt but it's something I will never forget. Safety glasses go on before I even sit down now.
I remember that Jim, I was new to pouring and the pics hit home. And I’m glad it wasn’t any worse than it was.
My first time ever melting down lead was 2 or so years ago and I had a very similar thing happen. I had gone around to some scrap metal places and bought lead. I got quite a bit of x ray room lining that had been folded up into a pretty small piece. I didn't think about trapped water turning instantly to steam, but it does and it did, and it blew molten lead everywhere. Luckily I was dropping pieces of lead into the large pot and turning my head to avoid an accidental splash or whatever. If I had been looking at the cooker when I dropped it in, it could have been bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS