What am I doing wrong????????

[crappielimits]

New to pouring and having trouble sometimes with the barbs not coming out right. What causes this??? What setting do you guys use on your LEE POT IV when pouring 1/16 round heads with the barb?

[FishAction]

Set it wide open, lay the mold on top to heat it up as the lead melts. Make sure the wood handles are not touching the pot as they will burn if left in contact a long time. After the lead has melted, flux the lead to clean it up and then pour the mold several times without hooks to ensure it's heated up well.

The pour tip on the pot will cool down some as it sits. Open the valve to get any cooled lead out and then immediately fill the mold. Keep the mold on a downward slant to prevent lead from splashing into the following cavity. If it does get into the next cavity it doesn't have any force behind it and will quickly cool, forming a blockage to prevent filling the cavity completely.

Leave the pot set on high until the mold is pouring well, then you can lower the temp some. For quick short runs, I use the 8 cavity 1/16 round head production mold and usually get a full fill on all of them. I fill the mold in one continuous pour, starting at cavity one and being generous with the lead, moving quickly to the next until all are filled. It takes a hot mold and hot lead to do this, but get your aim off a little or wobble the mold and you will get some not filled out completely.

Charlie

[willsjwills]

May be the kind of lead you're using, also. Pure lead pours the easiest. Wheel weights and printer's lead is a blend of zinc and lead and tin, which will pour poorly.

[skeetbum]

Smoking the mold with candle smoke made a large difference in my incompletes. It seems like grease to the hot lead. I run my lee on 8 to 9 and I pour the cavities full without hooks, then turn the mold on it's side and pour the flat area on the side with hot lead til I get what looks like a hershey bar of cooled lead off of it. Letting this set for a few seconds, maybe 30, helps transfer heat and warms the mold more complete. Once or twice on each side and a cold mold is almost ready to pour. I'm pouring pure and wheel weight at different times and get good results with both, but the WW works better with 1/8 or better. You have to run a very hot mold to pour WW in small jigs.

[PBUG2009]

Tilt the mold alittle to the side to allow the air to escape also will help. do it has a mold spray also that might help. I do not use this. I use heat heat heat... My molds are so hot when I pour they will scald you very badly...Redman has passed some knowledge to me on this. Drop him a private message, he will gladly help you.. I use 100% pure lead..And it pours so much easier than wheel weights.

[Sandwich Maker]

I've found that different hooks will effect the final pour on barbed heads, too. The sum of above information amounts to the fact that you have to keep the lead in the melted state until it can fill all areas of the mold. On 1/16th barbed, I have little trouble if I'm using a #6 gold VMC, but I like the #4 sickle hooks and they have a larger diameter, thus restriction is increased resulting in incomplete barbs.

So, if you try all the above and still are having trouble, you might look at different hooks with smaller diameter shanks.

[crappielimits]

Thanks guys! I was not heating the mold or tilting it. What can I do with the barbless heads? Can I melt them and reuse hooks?

[Slabs Inc]

Thanks guys! I was not heating the mold or tilting it. What can I do with the barbless heads? Can I melt them and reuse hooks?

Yup

[Cray]

Crapielimits, I hold them with needle nose pliers and dip back in pot then shake off excess. May have to scrape off a little but not much. I bought a single burner electric burner and put my mold on this to heat before I pour. With pure lead once you pour once or twice mold will stay hot enough. Wheel weight lead has always given me fits with small jig heads like everyone else said. Good pouring

[Fatman]

I've poured for years and there will be times when no matter what you can't get that stupid barb to pour right. Before I bought the collar less ball head mold I just cut the collars off. I won't put my molds on top of the pot, I just pour lead into them till they heat up, never smoked a mold, but I do flux.

You'll never be perfect pouring so relax and have fun doing what your doing. If you get a bad one, as has been said just dip in slightly to melt the lead off.