Quote:
Originally Posted by SquidJig
I recently replaced an old 6x Jr and I swear the new one is heavier and definitely doesn't kick like the old one. Do 6x Jrs come in different weights? And do you really have to buy several irons to get one that swims well?
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OHHHHH Noooooo!!! The voodoo of the good jig myth....
I mean really who knows but as usual I have a few theories....
6XJR's are die cast, and they are still using the same molds that they always have as far as I know.
In other words the 6X you buy today should in theory be exactly the same size and therefor it should be pretty close to the weight of the ones you have purchased in the past. That said there are few variables that effect the process, and these have been debated for decades.
I don't know the exact makeup of the alloy they are using for 6XJR's but like everyone else they are buying that alloyed metal from somewhere.
They then melt it down and pour it into those same molds they have used for years. Whatever that alloy is: it's a mix of various elements each with their own weight. Simply put depending on what that exact alloy's composition is: it's weight can vary, and depending on where they bought it it probably does..
Just for an example let's use copper based alloys. Self serving on my part since I used to run a Bronze Foundry.
Silicon Bronze the stuff they make sculpture out of is mostly copper. Specifications for Everdur Bronze are 95 percent copper 4 percent silicon 1 percent Manganese. I'd call that a true silicon bronze. Herculoy another widely used bronze casting alloy is in contrast 92 percent copper, 4 percent silicon, 4 percent zinc. I don't like herculoy for a variety of reasons, and I'd say anything with zinc in it isin my opinion a form of brass.
Common yellow brass like you would see at home depot is something like 58% copper 39% zinc. Naval bronze has exactly that same ratio but has something like 1.2% percent added tin. Anything that has more then 80% copper and that contains around 4% silicon can be marketed as silicon bronze. There's C87500 which is 82% copper, C87600 89% copper, basically there is a shitload of alloys out there, all of which are technically called silicon bronze, but they are all slightly different due to the composition of the elements in the alloy.
Now as a bronze caster this was a huge issue for me. Sculptures are cast in sections. the pieces are then welded together. Zinc is not only lighter weight then copper but it's also lighter in color, so in order to keep it all the same color you have to have a matching copper content in every section cast and it also needs to be consistent in all the wire or rods used to weld them together. Once polished or patinaed I can visually tell the difference Everdur and Herculoy Silicon Bronze and if they get mixed in a project it it can totally screw everything up.
So to keep everything matching we only purchase Evedur Bronze from reliable sources. Fair enough, problem solved right...Wrong!!!
Even buying the best material from the best suppliers you still are constantly plagued with inferior alloys creeping into the process. I'm talking 10 thousand pound lots of ingot at 5 bucks a pound, you'd think it would be consistent. The fact is that it's so bad that with any given project of size we'd have to order all the metal for that project in a single order from a single supplier just not to get totally screwed.
I imagine that Salas Tady and all the local jigs are composed of alloys iron tin, zinc, and aluminum. Here's the part that applies to what I said above. Since each element in the alloy has a certain weight, and they are different weights, the ratio of the elements in the alloy in turn effect the weight of a given jig. You can have a jig poured one day, and one poured the next that are in every way identical, but the weight could vary slightly simply do to a different alloy. So even if you have people who give a damn pouring the jigs in the US you still might get varied weights simply because it's probably almost impossible to get the same alloy every time.
Anything cast outside the country and all bets are off. Trust me you never know what your going to get from outside the country.
So do jigs vary in how they act, kick or run .. yeah I'd say they do. Is it weight or alloy related.. It very well could be. It's not really just the weight it's the Relative density, or specific gravity in relation to the displaced water, and the jigs shape that make it swim.
Surface Irons are just lighter alloys then deep drop jigs, and therefore shaped different then deep drop irons in order to swim.
Every jig made will swim best with a specific mass to displacement ratio, and for each there is a specific alloy that will hit that sweet spot.
For instance I love tady 45's but every once in a while you get one that won't run right at all, that just keeps planing to the surface. On the other hand every once in a while you get one that is just absolutley amazing. Most of them are somewhere in between. I've also seen surface Iron that were some of them were super brittle and that would snap in half if you dropped them on the deck, but then others were indestructible. I'd say those things are likely alloy related.
Alloy aside.... If you look at your 6XJR's you'll notice that the hook rings are not all the same shape or size, that they all vary slightly do to the fact they were done by hand. Even little things like ring shape could in theory effect action.
That said it still sometime seems to be the luck of the draw.
Like I said who knows... For me with jigs I just pick them up bounce them around in my hand to check if the weight feels right, then look at the rings to see if they are round and if it looks and feels OK I buy it. I mean WTF it's more guesswork then brain surgery
If you find one that's runs well.... well... fish the shit out of it. If they run like crap.... well I call those loaners and gifts around here
Jim