May 11. 2023

40 & 60 Gram Bullet Head Jig Molds

STL’s for this lure are available for purchase from Cults3d.com

These are a few more custom jig head molds that I am working on for somebody by request.  These are going to be Bullet Head Molds for larger 40 & 60 gram  jig heads which is a size I personally would probably never fish with but I was curious if these types of silicone molds would work for something this big so that’s why I took on the request. (which is something I normally don’t have the time to do.) In this case I’ve already done bullet heads so it was an easy request.

This is the Hook picture that I was sent and will be working from… as you can see it’s a 6/0 VMC hook, although I’m not sure what style it is.

The first thing I did was design the hook and a basic keeper in CAD.

Once the hook was done it was just a matter of sizing the bullet head to get close to 40 Grams.  1.41 oz converts to 40 Grams according to the online calculator I used.  (this is the same method I used when making my other Jig Heads so the CAD program is pretty accurate in my experience.)

After that the Master Mold Box was designed around the Jig Head.  (Note – it will take 3.33 oz of silicone for Each mold Half.)

I did things a little different on this one compared to some of my other designs as far as the hook goes. (example above)  I didn’t design around the actual hook but made a larger box area so other type or styles of hooks my be able to be used… depending on the eyelet to shaft distance.)

Here you can see after a silicone mold would be made there would be a gap in the rear that other hooks or keepers could fit in.

Once the silicone molds are made the hook and keeper are placed in one half of the mold before clamping the two halves together.

In this transparent view you can see how everything would sit before pouring in the lead.

After the lead has cooled this is what you should be left with.

Once the sprue is trimmed off and the head cleaned up you should be left with a nice 40 (or so) gram Bullet Head Jig ready to fish.

I also made a shortened mold to save on silicone.  (Note – it will take 1.77 oz of silicone for Each mold half.)

This would mean the hooks and keepers stick out the bottom so you would have to get clever when clamping the mold halves together.

While I was at it I designed an actual mold too because there is always at least one person who will try 3D printing these in high temp resin. (I hear it works but have never seen it done.)

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60 Gram

Next it it’s back to the CAD to make a 60 Gram version for this 8/0 VMC hook.

Here are the dimensions of the 60 Gram head.

The Master Mold Box is pretty much the same exact design just scaled up a bit. (Note – it will take 4.88 oz of silicone for Each mold half.)

Here is a simulated transparent version of the 60 gram Mold.

I also did a shortened mold box for the 60 Gram. (Note – it will take 2.41 oz of silicone for Each mold half.)

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Here are some pictures of the printed master mold boxes (Thanks to Nikos for the pictures) …

…the actual silicone molds.

And here we have the actual poured 40 gram Jigheads.

The weight is almost spot on… I did pretty good with the design (well Fusion did well with the calculations I should say.) I’m sure the slight weight difference is because of the lead shrinkage during cooling.

Overall they came out great and they should work out as intended… I hope they help catch some big fish…  I’ll post some updates if I hear that the were successful.

To Be Continued…

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