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DIY Jigs

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Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Heavy Metal - Jig fishing
Forum Description: Anything related to jig fishing here
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62781
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 3:32am


Topic: DIY Jigs
Posted By: JOLLY
Subject: DIY Jigs
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 12:11am
Has anybody had a any success (or lack of) making their own Jigs. I was considering giving it a nudge. 

Searching mighty Google for 'the idiots guide to making jigs' found one fairly relevant post, almost enough incite to give it a go.   I'm sure the 'collective we' -  that obviously have way too much time on our hands - can come up with something close enough to provide the necessary encouragement to invest time & money.

there appear to be two prerequisite courses: Lead Alloy 101 & Mould making 101

Lead Alloy 101 (some dudes brew ex google)

plain lead 65-75%
printers metal ( a lead -tin alloy ) 35-25%
then add a touch of white bearing metal ( usually high phospherous/ antimony ) to toughen the above mix.

A touch is a touch............too much white bearing metal & the mix goes too brittle & will break when dropped.

The standard approach is to take your best guess of the above
cool a casting , place in vice 50/50 exposed & hit with hammer .
( don't test it warm..........it needs to be at room/water temp ).
- If it snaps add more plain lead.
- If it bends too easily..........add more white bearing metal.
- If it bends a bit & does not crack , you have a good mix & cast the rest of the mix into jigs.

Metallurgy from a previous life coming to the fore.

I cast a lot of lead slugs & jigs with this mix for personal use.
Most car bearings these days are a thin white bearing metal coat over a copper shell, so its no longer a suitable source of the white metal.
The best source is lathe swarf from an engineering shop that does Industrial machinery white metal bearings, but make sure its clean white metal.

High phos lead powder can be obtained directly from metal alloy companies you can find on the web, but its pricey that way.

you can get a tough alloy using just high percentages of printers metal in the mix & no phos...............but thats an even more pricey way of getting the end result & its very touchy as far as brittleness .
The right mix is found in a very narrow range of plain lead - printers metal percentage without using the phos to modify the lead -tin alloy that results.

The best user-friendly alloy is a lead-tin-phos-antimony alloy that results from the mix identified at the top.

Issues: 

  1. I don't know where to get phospherous or antimony
  2. I don't know where to get printers metal.
  3. Some people use Hard lead alloys such as that used in wheel weights but that was more specific to jig heads.

Mould making 101: There is quite a bit available on moulds, the main points being

  1. Bog moulds are OK- not as durable but ok for a few.
  2. High temp resistant silicon RTV mould - last well and durable. The Ducks nuts
  3. Mould needs to be hot, repeat cast to heat the mould until primo.
  4. The harder the lead alloy, the harder it is to cast due to the rapid setting nature of the alloy 
Any advice would be appreciated (excluding 'get a life', and other comments regarding the pucker of my money sphincter) 


 






Replies:
Posted By: makka
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 8:14pm

mates of mine on the oil rigs catch kings on 200mm shifters with assist hooksWink



Posted By: feeder
Date Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 10:07pm
Wheel weights have approx 4% antimony, printers lead approx 13% antimony, printers lead these days is a bit like finding rocking horse sh*t, old style jigs we used the 4% mix and this was satisfactory, you can bend them but they don't snap.
 
Cheers


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The only bar to frequent is the Kawhia Bar


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 3:14pm
Bog is ok for smaller jigs (<150g) but dosnt hold up for larger jigs, it melts/catches fire. It is also cheaper to just buy jigs if you are going to use bog.
By the time you buy the bog , CRC, stainless wire, shell out a box of piss for a bucket of wheel weights, stuff up a few molds trying to time it going off, buy some more bog, spill molten lead over the driveway, splatter your shins, put on some pants, splatter your toes, put on shoes, pour 10 jigs, melt mold, clean up the driveway, pants, shoes, buy primer, paint, clearkote, holo foils, eyes, then spray the  jigs, ruin all the holo foil, realise the eyes wont stick, sand em all off again, spray the jigs again, give em some clearkote, end up with some pretty **** homemade jigs, try to make a mold out of concrete (dosnt work), plaster of paris (dosnt work), concrete/POP mixes (dosnt work), placate the missus for all the concrete dust/splatter around the place and then go fishing and use all your favourite shiny store bought jigs anyway cos they will probably work better, it is probably cheaper to just buy jigs.
 


Posted By: Dohboy
Date Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 3:27pm
Big smile


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www.acewash.co.nz


Posted By: ReelAppealLures
Date Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 4:02pm
Originally posted by treedoc treedoc wrote:

Bog is ok for smaller jigs (<150g) but dosnt hold up for larger jigs, it melts/catches fire. It is also cheaper to just buy jigs if you are going to use bog.
By the time you buy the bog , CRC, stainless wire, shell out a box of piss for a bucket of wheel weights, stuff up a few molds trying to time it going off, buy some more bog, spill molten lead over the driveway, splatter your shins, put on some pants, splatter your toes, put on shoes, pour 10 jigs, melt mold, clean up the driveway, pants, shoes, buy primer, paint, clearkote, holo foils, eyes, then spray the  jigs, ruin all the holo foil, realise the eyes wont stick, sand em all off again, spray the jigs again, give em some clearkote, end up with some pretty **** homemade jigs, try to make a mold out of concrete (dosnt work), plaster of paris (dosnt work), concrete/POP mixes (dosnt work), placate the missus for all the concrete dust/splatter around the place and then go fishing and use all your favourite shiny store bought jigs anyway cos they will probably work better, it is probably cheaper to just buy jigs.
 
 
I think you have summed it up pretty well there treedoc...
 
If you want to try a really cheap and super easy DIY jig making venture, have a looksy at this website- http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php?topic=546.0 - http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php?topic=546.0
 
Depending on the size of jig you want the above link may help you.Big smile
 
 
 


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Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 12:06am
Yanks have a similar issue, too many toothy critters, not enough $$$ to feed them as well. 
http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f87/help-me-choose-butterfly-jig-mold-3823/#links - http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f87/help-me-choose-butterfly-jig-mold-3823/#links

Was thinking of using a product like this to make the mold:
  http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/TDS/Wacker%20M4670%20-%20Silicones%20-%20Addition%20Cured%20-%20TDS.pdf - http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/TDS/Wacker%20M4670%20-%20Silicones%20-%20Addition%20Cured%20-%20TDS.pdf  

Mold making method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSH19G_6Yeo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSH19G_6Yeo




Posted By: ReelAppealLures
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2011 at 9:07am
Originally posted by JOLLY JOLLY wrote:

Yanks have a similar issue, too many toothy critters, not enough $$$ to feed them as well. 
http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f87/help-me-choose-butterfly-jig-mold-3823/#links - http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f87/help-me-choose-butterfly-jig-mold-3823/#links

Was thinking of using a product like this to make the mold:
  http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/TDS/Wacker%20M4670%20-%20Silicones%20-%20Addition%20Cured%20-%20TDS.pdf - http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/TDS/Wacker%20M4670%20-%20Silicones%20-%20Addition%20Cured%20-%20TDS.pdf  

Mold making method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSH19G_6Yeo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSH19G_6Yeo



Hey Jolly,

Got any further with this? Would be good to see how you are getting on... 


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Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2011 at 11:46pm
No, not really. Not many encouraging posts...

The Silicone RTV linked above is about $80/500g in NZ, it's significantly cheaper in the US so I'm looking at shipping some. There are only a few that say they're good for 300°C, Soft Lead melting point is about 327°C and hard lead is higher still I think.  http://www.aeromarineproducts.com/high-temperature-silicone.htm - http://www.aeromarineproducts.com/high-temperature-silicone.htm

I need a supply of hard lead, tyre weights shouldn't be too difficult but something with more antimony in it will be. Is The Sinkerman still in business in Onehunga? I might pay them a visit. Battery lead could be the go.  http://www.planet-metals.com/lead/ - http://www.planet-metals.com/lead/  

Attention's now turning to topwater lures, had a bit of fun at the Kauri Pt Wharf in the weekend, little poppers copped a fair bit of interest, got the locals pretty excited. One customer, for a while anyway. Felt a bit under gunned on the SP gear. I better check if Dohboy has sourced a decent blank yet.  


Posted By: markallan
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 12:28am
Originally posted by JOLLY JOLLY wrote:


No, not really. Not many encouraging posts...
 


YOU CAN DO IT JOLLY!
hahaha. Kauri point?
If you live near Tauranga I might have a few big pieces of lead lying round somewhere.
If you get to that stage, which I'm sure you will.


Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 7:39am
Cheers.

The in-laws live there. Enough action at the Jetty this weekend to keep a grown boy interested, for longer than is socially acceptable anyway. 

As I was leaving there was a big stingray cruising about the shallows with 4-5 legal Kingis on it's shoulder, they all peeled off and  exercised a bit of foreplay on the Warehouse popper, left wanting though... bloody foreplay - I wanted more! 

I might start with battery Lead. 10% Antimony supposedly. I have a heap of Net Leads for soft lead to add if required.   


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 9:45am
 
Here are some of my jigs in various states of completion, none are finished. Two shapes here, a 220gr with lots of flutter, and a 320gr long jig.
I stand by my original comments though LOL 


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 9:46am
Ps.... YOU CAN DO IT JOLLY


Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 10:16am
 Clap 

What Lead did you use Treedoc? How do they compare in terms of rigidity to boring old store bought ones without ... character.


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 10:45am
Tyre weights bro. The long ones bend, but only if something hits em, and you can bend em back again. They catch fish, have had better results with lumo, so most of these have one side lumo.  I have about 25 jigs on the go at the moment, not as flash as store bought but I couldnt afford to buy 25 from the shop at once..
If I were you I wouldnt get too carried away with antimony/mettalurgy or RTV in the early stages. I would buy some cheap bog, clone a 150gr jig with wheel weights and see how you go. Lead is pretty toxic $hit so keep the whole process away from kids and wear protection.
 


Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 1:35pm
Thats all I needed Treedoc, got the enthusiasm surge required, off to Bunnings for bog this arvo!
Cheers...I hope


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 3:46pm
http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php?topic=3211.0 - http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php?topic=3211.0


Posted By: michael29973
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 4:38pm
what paint do you use treedoc?


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 5:33pm
Just whatever I have got in the shed mostly..  I sand em, prime em, attach foils if using foils, give em a couple of coats of white undercoat, then 5 coats of lumo on one side (bought it from Mitre 10 but it glows better than some jigs I have seen) and whatever paint on the other side.
Then I spray 4 coats of clear.
Sometimes I use spray cans, sometimes brushes. If using brushes lots of thin coats gives the best results.
If using glow a good white undercoat is essential. The more lumo applied the better the glow. I use 5 thin coats with a brush.
You can spend a fortune on two pot/etch primers, compatible undercoats and top coats, and two pot epoxy clears, and get all funky with airbrushing if you want.
The reason I make jigs is because we have lots of barracuda and I lose heaps of jigs, so I dont get too carried away on paint.
I dig the effort of pros like RAL on the topwater stuff though, mean.
 


Posted By: michael29973
Date Posted: 01 Mar 2011 at 5:41pm
cheers mate.


Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2011 at 9:15pm
Would you pour them vertical, horizontal, or a slight incline? My gut feel is the latter. I assume that it would have a significant impact on the finished casting. 


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2011 at 7:32pm
I just pour em straight up and down. Finish is most affected by water, make sure your mold is bone dry, and a release agent (I smoke the mold by holding a candle under each side, carbon is a good release agent).
How are you getting on, had a crack at a mold yet?


Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2011 at 12:15pm
Why not just use stainless bar?  Comes in round or rectangular cross section.  Easy enough to grind into shape, drill etc although your not likely to get the full range of shape you would from pouring into a mould.  Cheap and easy to get your hands on.
 
I had a look at them last year but not enough time to make them.  I looked at using the jig as a simple black and snap on flies for colour.


Posted By: Dohboy
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2011 at 2:34pm
Best i come over on the weekend for a beer and we try this out KaneBeer

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Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 11 Mar 2011 at 10:59pm

Going to a wedding this weekend Dean - a beach wedding - as long as it isn't a wash out. Guzzling your home brew is always appealing though. You back on it? lost that spare tyre already?

Yep, made eight last night, 4 OK, 4 not as good. Poured them fairly flat and the lead didn't make it to the last 15-20mm, tried up to a 30° incline and it was no better. Put a couple of breather cuts in one half to see if that helped. The finish was OK. I'll give it a nudge vertically next time or modify this mold. I don't get much Internet access during the week Treedoc- useful access anyway, none of this sort of inappropriate material.

I used fibre bog for the first half, had a night mare using that to mold with that so I used normal bog for the top half. Using fibre bog for detailed stuff is like trying to heard cats into a corner. Going to persevere with the fibre stuff though, cracks in the non fibre bog half already. I used the normal bog as a fairing coat on the fibre bog imperfections - sweat asThumbs Up. Fibre bog feels so much stronger. Wire showed through on a couple – can fix that with a better wire jig.  Forgot to counter sink keys so I put a couple of bolts through for alignment. Pretty stoked but, for a first effort anyway. Too easy – sort of. The mold could be better, the next one will be. Smoked the mold with a big old candle, worked a treat with no hang ups.

Prepared the tyre weights by making ingots - cleaning the crap and slag off. Made ingots out of stick-on tyre weights and compared them with the clip on ones. The clip on ones were harder than the stick on. The lead had a sharper tone when you tap it – indicating it was harder. Looked different too - crystallised appearance . Haven't given battery lead a go yet - sorted for that next week though.

Heard a good report about the Stainless thing there SD, heard they kick ass.

This is the 400gr Mk 1


 



Posted By: viscount
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2011 at 5:35am
go to make lure .com and you can buy mold making rubber high temp/strength. i have brought it for making game heads and the mold lasts. we where using the same stuff years ago when Grimreapers were costing a packet.

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Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job - Paul Schullery


Posted By: tackle whore
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2011 at 9:06am
stay away from battery lead
1. its crystalised/very brittle  due too the acid
2. the fumes from the lead with the acid residue will cook your lungs mate . you can add zink to your lead 10% instead of antimony , you just need to up your temp by 40'C. 
 


Posted By: treedoc
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2011 at 6:27pm

Jolly those look primo mate, gotta be happy with them for a first effort.

Tackle Whore..  Any further on your rubber details?
Cheers, Muz


Posted By: Tiger Fish
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2011 at 5:12pm
What kills me is the effort you put into it. The high expectations, clear coats and dreams of huge kingi seeing the attractive new friend you  spent hours with in the garage... only to be chomped by a smelly old cutta.... hrrr hrrrr 

I have lost some beauties but doing something fishing related in the garage is priceless 


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I only fish with Jigstar rods!!!


Posted By: ReelAppealLures
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2011 at 9:20pm

Awesome Jolly, must be pretty stoked with your first pour!Thumbs Up

Mark ( tackle whore ) put up some of your jigs for us! You are talented...

I will need a source of quality jigs in the future to paint, I would love to make em but time is tight and I don't like lead... I could buy jigs from some far off land that are rubbish etc... so get pouring guys and get the process dialled in Wink

Had a go at painting a few little ones for a friend. 3" littleys.




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Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2011 at 10:52pm
Those look awesome, go on then, spill the beans... 
Finishing 101 please....

Where and what paint do I use? 
Are there compatibility issues with Paint, clear coat or foil adhesion?
Best clear coat?
Where and what do I look for in a foil?
What is the best Lumo paint? I've read Redenz stuff is OK for sinkers.
Do you clear coat over the foils - how do I avoid ruining the foils? 
  
Originally posted by treedoc treedoc wrote:

 pour 10 jigs, melt mold, clean up the driveway, pants, shoes, buy primer, paint, clearkote, holo foils, eyes, then spray the  jigs, ruin all the holo foil, realise the eyes wont stick, sand em all off again, spray the jigs again, give em some clearkote, end up with some pretty **** homemade jigs,  
 

placate the missus for all the concrete dust/splatter around the place - I've had employ this a couple of times already Treedoc - I think I'm about a 1/3 of the way through the process you described earlier.

Dean, can I borrow some more of your s#!t, maybe an Air brush. I'll get some primmered and lumo on for this weekend, how's the home brew supply?



Posted By: ReelAppealLures
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2011 at 11:56pm
[QUOTE=JOLLY] Those look awesome, go on then, spill the beans... 
Finishing 101 please....

Where and what paint do I use? For the detail / size of jigs airbrush capable paint is best.
Are there compatibility issues with Paint, clear coat or foil adhesion? Hell yeah, It is a matter of finding what works and doesn't...Knowing a paint chemist would help, or do what I did ruin paint jobs and throw away money until something works for you.
Best clear coat? Most would say a 2K PU clear...but it will depend on your base coats etc...
Where and what do I look for in a foil? This stuff is top secret for many commercial jig makers, it needs to stretch for convex curves etc...trial and error here too.
What is the best Lumo paint? I've read Redenz stuff is OK for sinkers. This would be one of the hardest to get info on, how many spray painters you know paint lumo cars? LOL I don't really dabble in lumo but I think most add a photoluminicent stuff to there paint...Lumo colours aren't very light fast so U.V kills it so special coats of products are needed.
Do you clear coat over the foils - how do I avoid ruining the foils? Epoxy the finished jig.

Jolly will PM you some more details and specifics...Also try and track down JTF...he has way more knowledge in this area and may help you out...
 


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Posted By: JOLLY
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 8:35am
  • Found a friendly automotive paint chemist
  • The only Enamel Lumo I have found to date is a Spray Can by Plasticoat from Mitre10.
  • Why 2pack PU clear then Epxoy finish as well?


Posted By: ReelAppealLures
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 10:34am
Originally posted by JOLLY JOLLY wrote:

  • Found a friendly automotive paint chemist
  • The only Enamel Lumo I have found to date is a Spray Can by Plasticoat from Mitre10.
  • Why 2pack PU clear then Epxoy finish as well?

Haven't used this stuff, but looks good.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Fishing/Big-game/Lures/auction-362628193.htm - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Fishing/Big-game/Lures/auction-362628193.htm

You don't need to epoxy the jig, but I think it would give the best "lasting" finish... I have been trying a product from POR15- on jigs yet to try on wooden lures....
http://www.por15.co.nz/POR15Prod/pelucid.htm - http://www.por15.co.nz/POR15Prod/pelucid.htm




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Posted By: Kingaling
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2022 at 3:21pm
Some bloody impressive creations here chaps. Inspirational stuff really..  

I'm looking at making up a few smaller metal jigs - anyone able to tell me if this stuff would suit for making moulds with?

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/gorilla-high-temp-silicone-sealant-310ml-black/p/343143 " rel="nofollow - https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/gorilla-high-temp-silicone-sealant-310ml-black/p/343143  ;

or perhaps this as it's a tad cheaper: 
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/gorilla-310ml-fire-cement-sealant_p0207689 " rel="nofollow - https://www.bunnings.co.nz/gorilla-310ml-fire-cement-sealant_p0207689  ;

Cheers



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