Good info

Thank you!!!

get a hot pot and hand pour you will have less pouring issues & you can also lay your hooks around underneath the pot to heat them while mold is getting hot. great video & great tips keep up the great work!

Thanks for the tip. Nothing is more frustrating than pouring multiple baits only to have incomplete results. Definitely going to start doing this as I pour outside and temperatures can vary depending on the time of year.

What if, you laid your mold out, and properly place your hook, and weedguard pin or whatever, and then use your heat gun to heat up the entire setup just prior to closing up and pouring ???? Yea, I know I'm late to the party. Just got into lure making and am learning a lot for guys like you and smalljaw. Thanks

How do you remove the lead from an imperfect jig head

Another hint to use besides a hot plate, is to degrease your hooks or spinner wires with a quick wipe with acetone.

Yep a cold mould is very frustrating. I pour outside and in the winter I struggle to keep my mould hot.

Talked with Lloyd at Do-it, who told me that keeping the lead at 700-750 degrees would minimize this problem. He also advised not to pre-heat the molds. Although that seemed counterintuitive, I tried what he said. I have an PRO-MELT down pour. He explained to me that the pressure from the lead in the pot forced air into the molds and that the back pressure that is caused kept kept the lead from evenly filling the mold. Since I talked with him, I’ve doing as he suggested. My pours have been very successful. I would think that you won’t encounter is issue when using a ladle since the amount lake is so much less than what most bottom pours hold

It's not a cold hook problem (unless you pour in sub freezing temps..lol). Like you said it's a mold that's to cold but another big issue is lead barely over it's melting point or a combo of both,especially on larger heads. Lead melts at 621.5*F (327.5*C) so if you have it at say 650 it's not long before it cools.Then add that with a mold that's to cold and you're always going to have a bad pour.A good mold temp is one you can't hold your finger on (what's the temp...IDK).I pour 8-10 clean (no hardware) pours and let each one sit top of pot for 20-30secods each time before I start adding my hardware. The heavier the head the hotter you should set your pot and make sure you have a properly heated mold.On my smaller jigs for Crappie is set my #20 Lee to about #7,between 7-8 for 1/4-3/4 and between 8-9 for my heads up to 2oz. I also pour sinkers up to 8oz and after 2oz. I'll turn it up more but make sure it's not starting to overcook the lead. A FYI for anyone,don't pour using a 1/2 pot or less.A 1/2 pot or more will hold more heat and have the pot cycling less (will add life to pot),it also adds weight to push lead out the bottom which fills a cavity faster.I try to run at least 3/4 a pot at all times unless I'm doing large heads and it uses it quick.Then I'll try to refill once I'm down to 1/4-1/3 left.

What about contaminated lead with zinc? I do pour with that lead/zinc and I am able to poor in a freestyle mold; 30% of the poor are bad. I had better success slightly tilting de mold and preheating de mold with propane torch between each pour. Using a small ladle. It was my first time so I gived it a try and it worked out.

Good ideas, however hot hooks and plastic keepers are hard to load with gloves on!