cadman

Ben, If you want to just lower the angle of the weedguard hole, it is easier to drill it out with a cordless drill than to modify the mold. Just use the existing hole in the jig after it is poured and drill down. Just watch so you don't dull the hook point. However if you feel really ambitious, you can modify the mold. The only problem you will have is the new base hole you make will probably be in line with the hook point on the mold, and when you pour your jig and take it out of the mold you may have a hard time getting the base hole pin out.

Ben, I have modified many molds, and unless you have the machinery to do it correctly what you are trying to do would be almost impossible if not extremely tedious if you get it right without screwing it up. I don't want to dissuade you from trying but here is the info on it. If you want them to look like the Tabu jigs then you are going to have to have a custom mold made and be done with it. Now if you only want to make a couple with the molds you bought then this is what I would do. #1 Pour the jigs with the molds you are getting with the weedguard pin sticking just up to the face of the head. #2 Now you will take the jig out, cut off the sprue and cut off the excess where the weedguard pin was supposed to be. #3 File all the sprue marks, parting lines and area where weedgurd excess was. Everything should be smooth. Do this to all of your jigs. #4 Put your jig in a fixture, clamp everything down and drill new hole on a drill press. #5 You're done. Powder Paint jigs, put in weedguard and go fishing. It seems like a lot of work, but this to me is the quickest other than buying a custom mold. Now doing it your way will be more work if you get it right. #1. You will have to fill the existing weed guard hole in the mold, or you can use a pin to seal it off and file later. #2. On the mold itself, you will have to find the location, of where you want the new pin. The new pin has to be clear of the existing pin due to interference problems. Also you may not have enough room to put the new weedguard hole further. #3. You will have to cut out material from both halves equally and accurately. Preferably a milling machine, but I guess you can do it by hand with a Dremel. This is very slow work. Cut measure, cut measure. Cut once measure twice. If you screw it up, you will have problems. However there is always J.B. Weld. #4. Make sure everything is symmetrical on both halve of the mold otherwise, your pin won't line up and nothing will fit. Modifing your own molds is fun to do, but it is a very slow process and costly if you screw it up. Also remember that you have to do this to every cavity that you want to pour if that is your intent. Also if you have shop experience, then that will help tremendously. If you run into problems or have any questions you can PM me and I will try to help you out.

Yes that is an Arky, and the quality jigs are poured with the screwlocks in the mold to keep them from coming out.

I know for a fact that the 38109 fit without bending the hooks. I use them all the time.

The closest jig I know of to what you are looking for has a 28 degree hook. That's about as straight as your going to get it. The jig is a bullet or a modified bullet jig with eyes.

A lot of guys use 24 to 26 ga wire. I tie my skirts on with thread. It's a personal choice. I use a heat gun to heat my jigs and then powder paint them.

If that is a flat eye, then yes there is a wide gap hook that fits in that mold. The hook is a Mustad #38109BLN EWG. I pour this hook with this jig all of the time There are also Gami's that fit, but I'm at work and would have to let you know when I get home. If you want to know more PM me your e-mail with questions and I will answer them for you.

Powder paint is the easiest to use with no fumes. If you want durability than yes you have to bake the jigs. Harder lead is harder to pour but in my opinion the paint stays on better. There are a lot of variables with painting, pouring and so on. Most of this you will learn by trial and error. You will have many questions as you start. The biggest issue in all of this is safety of pouring hot lead. Everyone here that posted gave you excellent info.

I can give you an answer if you give me the model # of the mold or part #.

Very nice looking jigs. Are those air brushed or powder painted? As far as not fishing a lot of jigs. I was the same way a year ago. You would never catch me with a jig it was always a crankbait. The only time I used jigs was for walleye and sauger. Then in May last year I went with a semi-pro friend fishing and he just started to kick my butt fishing a jig for bass. He showed me his technique and how he fished a jig and I've never looked back. My bass catching percentages went up 100% on a weekly basis. Also I catch bigger bass now. I was never a great bass fisherman with a crankbait but adding jigs to my arsenal has really changed my bass fishing.

Ranger for my jigs I use the same ones that G-man uses from fishingskirts.com They have the best price anywhere. For my spinnerbaits I use Starflash, a much higher quality skirt, which I get from Barlow's.

Now I get the question, that was un-intentional. I thought you wanted to dull your paints. Anyway what type of powder paint is it. Pro-Tec? What color? and what did you heat your jig with before you put the paint on? I do know that if you overheat a jig and you put powder paint on you will burn the paint, and when you bake it it will come out like two different shades. The best way to avoid that is by using the count system for each jig. Count out by seconds and use the same number if you are doing more of the exact jig weight and color. Different sizes and paint colors will require different counts.

I can't answer that question, but I buy things to last and are a bit over built. I have the Hagens wire former, and I love it. Durable and strong. If you are only going to do couple dozen then I guess it would be OK. JMPO

You can buy matte clearcoat powder. Now remember that there is a difference between matte clearcoat and flat paint. Matte clearcoat softens shiny finishes. Flat powder paint is just that flat powder paint. If you need more info PM me and I can help you out.

I get mine from Barlow's. I have looked and posted to many places. For some reason I can find the manufacturer's to everything else except the rattles. I'll keep looking and let you know

Yep that's me, I bet my avatar gave it away.

Ranger BTW where do you get your rattles now if you don't mind telling? Or you can IM me if that would be better...............Thanks

Stamina, Barlow's and Jann's Netcraft to name a few.

Actually I never heard of colored wireforms. I know you can dye them and paint them but IMO it would never last long enough for all the effort. Do you have a link or some pics. I am curious about this?

You can try this link.http://www.hiltsmolds.com/ArkyJigMolds.htm You can modify the mold yourself real easily. If you have any questions about it you can PM me.

Tell your buddy he did a beautiful job on that rod. I am not a Vet, but I support our troops. God Bless them.

The best stuff I've found for jig heads is Devcon 2 Ton 30 minute.

On the Poison Tail, that design belongs to Do-It molds and as far as I know it is not available in multiple cavities of one size. Now on the football mold you can look at Hilts molds to see if they have a multiple cavity of one size. If they don't you can have the football mold custom made by Shawn Collins. I would ask Do-It if I were you about there Poison Tail mold and if you can copy it......Just some food for thought.

Stringjam, Very nice looking bait. 8-) 8-) Are those lacquer paints? If not would you mind sharing color sequences?

Black, custom crawdad brown and green pumpkin