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Ipt, we're really not that big, we are the biggest in the Carolinas. There are some companies that have between 15 and 30 machines. We can produce 30 to 40 thousand pieces a day. Molds vary in weight from about 45 to 150 pounds. We are strictlly a family affair, My wife and I and my oldest Son operate the equipment and my 12 year will pick baits off the runners. But I started out like everybody else on here, pop molds, hot plates, lee pots, and microwave. Did you click on the photos? There is a couple of shop pictures that arn't shown when you first open my businesses facebook page, thanks for looking at it.

Their production rate per minute tells me what machines they are using, like you i've been told that they use pie mold machines and the numbers of bait they produce per minute is the cycle time of one machine. Pie molds are round and Zorn may have made some for them but thats not who is currently producing their molds. Pie mold machines have good and bad points, baits made with imbeded hooks, extra large heavy salt, and things like swimbaits that are made with the large piece of hologram in the middle are almost all usually made with pie mold machines. One thing about a pie mold machine is you can remove the mold quickly and install a mold quickly. If you are doing a bait, such as a pre rigged swimbait, then you can be sitting one mold up while the other is shooting, pie molds are about half the cost of a big mold with half the production rate. Those are standard sized runners (runners are usually 3/8 or 3/16) if you want to see my machines you can go to our new facebook page which is listed under carolina baits, click on some of the catagories and you can see the difference in the length of the runner from my baits and the length of the runner of the other bait, that was another thing that told me what type of machines they were using. As far as waste goes we have the same amount. Frank, there is no difference between the difficulties of lamination, its all a matter of time, temperature, and pressure. It may be a little faster to dial in a pie mold machine but once you get either machine adjusted laminates go well. Its something to watch 90 worms laminate at the same time.

Material I used, all of it was around my basement A: Block hardwood 2" by 4" by 1" thick could be 3/4" B: 3/4" Dowel Pin by 8 inches long C: Short Wood Pencil D: Drill 3/4 Hole 1-1/4" down on center, on the 2" by 4" block. It holds the dowel pin E: On the dowel pin one inch from the end drill 19/64 hole. It will hold the pencil stub nice and tight F: Optional You can drill a hole for a 1/4- 20 tap for a set screw on the side of the block, to snug the dowel pin I used some masking tape on the dowel pin and it works just fine, nice and snug I used two layers of masking tape I use it to find centers for my holes and to draw parallel line on my plugs

Ed, I use the "Dual-cure polyester gloss resin". Under the Solarez name on the black plastic bottle it says "fast-clear-strong-UV cure", cures time: 3 minutes by sunlight or 30 mintes by MEKP catalyst. Here's the link: http://www.solarez.com/productsnew/gloss.html

I own a patent on a fishing lure. Based on the research I did, it appears the patent office grants patents they really shouldn't. Putting a ridge along the edge of the claws is not something that should earn a patent. What the patent office does is grant patents (they make money off patents but nothing off not issuing patents) even to products that don't deserve patents, and then let the owner of the patent fight it out in court with those who would produce a similar product. Not the best way to do things, and obviously costs businesses alot of money, and generally the little guy doesn't have the money to fight the big guys.

I just want to say it is really cool that you both share your equipment and techniques with us home pourers! Fascinating!!! Thanks.

That's impressive, Mike.......to say the least! I remember being thrilled at 300 to 400 pieces in a day. LOL

Here's the difference in pie molds and a production mold. A single pie mold is not really considered a production mold nowadays. There's not a whole lot of companies still using pie molds. When you've been doing this as long as I have, you can tell a whole lot about the production process by just looking at a bait, especially when they're still attached to the runners. Like I said above, you can see my machines on our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/carolinabaits The large mold is set up for two colors (body one color, tail different color) something you can't do with a pie mold.

I always heard that they use the small machines and their baits per minute confirms that, now understand a little more why they came after me. My rate of production per machine is double their's, I can do 88 per minute with a 5 inch finess worm and 70 worms per minute with a 7 inch. Also the type of machines they use and the way the molds are placed on the machines is what enables them to pump that big table salt. cbj11lbs, thanks for posting that.