Thread: Help!! Bad castings.

Sometimes it is from hard lead and sometimes the stem is thick and they need to be cut instead of broken off. I have a minnow head mold that is like that.

Lead is too hard. Usually the number one reason. Happens all the time on our 3/4oz and 1oz jigs which have rather large sprue openings. With soft lead, it is usually, flex, flex, and it comes off. Leaves a ridge that can be cleaned up with a pocket knife, file, or sanding unit. Harder lead bends and breaks and leaves a pit. Usually the result of wheel weight lead with large amounts of alloy deposits.

Our mix was 15lbs of soft lead to 3 pounds of wheel weight lead. Produces a good head, spue comes off easy, and the minimal amount of alloys doesn't allow the head to tarnish if you don't paint them right away. Not a big deal with everyday colors but a huge deal when using candy colors or leaving the jigs bald.

I prefer to use a sprue cutter and then file to nub smooth to be sure there is no indent. I also hit the mold line with the file so all is smooth for painting.