Delw

Vacumm venting works we played with i it 4-5 years ago.... However I have yet to see it work on ALum molds satisfactory. some molds work but they are big legs and antennas. running small stuff the plastic cools off faster than it can flow. For rtv and pop molds its great. alum molds its completely different. Mainly due to how fast the plastic cools off. it was tried buy guys on tacklemaking.com before this site was in existance and tried in the begining stages of this site. one guy used to be on here all the time, we made some trout worm molds for him. If I remember correcly it would run 2 worms then clog up. one problem we had that a customer fixed was that volume of vacumm wasnt enough to suck in the bigger baits fast enough to get it to fill all cavities.( cheap pumps dont suck fast enough) he kinda fixed that by using a air tank( the ones you get for your shop) as a vaccum tank. There should be threads on it from years ago, just do a search for harbor frieght vacumm pumps we were getting them for aorund 29-59 bucks. can't remember which as it was long long ago. Also remember in those pictures you talking about very big thick legs which most will hand pour pretty darn close. Legs in the 3/32 dia and less usualy wont fly as easy on alum. I dont know on pop or RTVbut I would assume small legs would work on those.

There easy if you have common sence with it out they are UNSAFE and a PAIN in the butt. There are many things you can make injection stuff with. if your making a standard pressure pot the best one is all american as they are alum and they have heavy walls. Injection pot ( most common) you can buy them already built from 2k-7k you will need a alumin welder and some machine work to make a good one. also a small air compressor for the expensive things to have. it can cost anywere from a few hundred bucks to a few thousand depending on what you can do and what and how handy you are and how eloaborate you want it. heating bands can be bought online farely cheap you also MUST get a pressure regulator and a pop off valve ( presure valve) with out it, you can get seriously hurt and so can anyone with in that room. Zorn injection machine is the best but your looking at 20-50k for small stuff for playing around with those little injectors from janns net craft work. 8-12 bucks fabricate one out of a greese gun also works with all these things you cannot be clumbsy, day dreaming talking on the phone or looking at women as any distraction can get you hurt.

Those are pretty nice cameras My daughters friend has one.(might be a older version. it has adjustable shutter speed and you can turn off the flash along with a marco setting, it also has the white balance I think thats the one that dictates what type of light your using. Floresant, white light halegon etc etc( this is very important) whats nice about digitals you can click away with every different setting and see the results immediately and it cost you nothing but a few mins. on my Camera I am able to shoot it from the PC with out touching the camera and it makes it nice for testing. I took hundreds of pics before I got some good close ups done. then when I was happy with them my daughters made them better ( something about reading the instructions LOL) What I use most for adjustments are iso( old film speed asa settings) and shutter speed. if your camera has memory settings keep what you want in the memory so you dont have to remember it next time. Make sure you right them down before you save them cause you will forget. or like I found out a year later, That my daughter pointed out you can use photoshop ( and most other programs) and it will tell you every detail about the picture from settings to time of the day. For example whenI see a nice pic on the web I will look up the file info in photoshop to see hwo they did it. Jerrys Gallery has the same feature if he turns it on.

I had my 17 year old daughter set my camera up, then my 8 year old modified it ever better Geeze I love kids. Its going to make a huge amount of difference in the type of camera you have also. and it helps to have a quality photo program. My daughter owns a seat of photo shop and its really good even y screw-ups can be fixed. The camera we have now takes fantastic pics even with the stock lens but I have a grand into it too. I have seen some other cheaper cameras take great pics as well.

A new white bed sheet, with out stains What ever buld you use make sure your camera has an adjustment for it, this is very very important. I tried the box one and I didnt like it, I like the one out of PVC pipe better. also a white satin sheet will give you better results than a plain white sheet. depending on the bait color will depend on what type of backgound color you use. I have 5 different colors ( construction paper) Black,Blue red, Day glow green and white

1.5" long 5/8" wide 5 cavities per mold and 2.4" long .900" wide 5 cavities per mold and 3.250 long 1.125 wide 4 cavities per mold

Bob did, I thought he quit making the one sided ones a while ago. he is out of town for a few days he will be back mid next week.

we havent put them online yet.

certain molds cannot pour in 2 piece one being the brush hog, however with a little modification we got them to pour they dont look exactly like a zoom brush hog

I have seen that bait before, I have no clue were or exactly when but it was with in this year. I don't remember the excess on the tail ( thats from were they shot it with an injector and didnt cut it off) makes it look even better with that excess on the tail. the one I saw I am pretty sure was a hot pink one, I think it was on a salmon fishing board.

Thats Exactly it Jim, Alum cools off to fast for very thin and even curl tails to get in one pour. Plus alum molds are as smooth and slippery as silicon. If you have the molds pretty hot some times they do work on some molds but not all. What is weird I have a U shaped curl tail mold that pours just fine in one shot but one with a curl tail does not. Personally I havent had time to figure it out as the to reasoning why but I know it works and I was pretty shocked. If you allow 1/8" of an inch thickness on the tail they will pour with no problems. I am pretty sure once I get to fiddling with some molds I can make them work. One problem is that some guys can make curl tails pour fine in alum and others can't this has lots to do with the plastic they are using and how hot they get the plastic. so to make it easy and not break any promises I just tell people they have to pour the tails seperatly. this causes less grief in the end.

tooth brush works fine, I forgot all about the wd-40 and i use it all the time. its one of the best cleaners for alum, also not a bad lubricant when cutting alum, i have a can setting by mh hand mill and hand lathe all the time just for that.

ABSOLUTELY NOT Dont ever use anything that will scratch the surface on alum that goes for your wife's scrubing pads in the kitchen sink. Floor degreaser and water works well with a sponge. a heat gun works with a damp sponge degreaser carb clenaer works also. more than likely you can just pour and it will be fine as there are all ready oils on the alum from the last pour or just use a damp sponge if you use any degreaser(waterbase) rince them off with plain water Immediatly then blow dry as ZEP floor cleaner will turn alum brown if its too much. You can use your wifes dishwasher however NO HEAT and Little to no soap. then rinse really well and blow the water off. Delw

Pretty much any saw shop will make any blade you want, you just need to know the length and width and of course what pitch you want( they can help you on pitch for your application) I run a 12'6" 1inch wide bi metal blade and it runs around $75 you can buy one at a time or 100 its up to you. I use expensive Blades they are double the cost of cheaper blades. if you need the shop name let me know and I will get it to you. I've dealt with these guys for 18+ years and never had problems with blades or service. They are in AZ

adding salt no not surface shrinkage, just the shrinkage/settling form the airbubbles that slowly get pushed to the top due to salt and other particles in the plastic. I guess a good way to describe this type would be like a box of ceral as its moved it packs itself in, thats why on the boxs they say some settle may occour. when you add stuff to plastic other than plastic like salt, you get airbubbles when the airbubbles work themselves out this is what causes the bubble on the top. this doesnt have anything to due to plastic shrinkage as a surface issue. All materials shrink when they cool off some materials shrink more then others. you know the stuff your dentist uses when building a crown that nasty crap they fill your mouth up with and make you wait till it cures while your slobbeirng all over yourself looking like a fool? thats stuff shrinks as well, over time it will shrink. if I remember correctly its 3-5% after 24 hours( we used to use it for making molds of radius and chamfers on parts then put in in a optical comparator to get out final dims.) in all hoestly the fishing bait its a non issue as its such a small amount it really doesnt matter. I have probally made this more complex than it really is or needs to be.

320º - 350º remember any additives will make it so you need a different temp to pour with. I never use a temp guage as is all by pourability. you could have something at 350º with lots of salt or hard plastic and it maynot be able to pour cause its too thick. I know some guys have had it to 400 degrees, dont know if thats true or not. as far as ignition I have ignited it by not paying attention and having it in the microwave too long but it was due to arcing of the glitter that started it. it will turn brown before it catches fire I mean brown black really bad.

Its no problem Longhorn. this is just what I found in making alum molds. Most people can't measure a bait and get with in 1/32 on an inch. calipers or even a micrometer wont work cause just the pressure of barely touching one side with push the bait in and give you a false reading, I use and optical comparator. even laying the finished bait on a table will deform a perfectly round bait just from its own weight. for examply lay a soft full round worm flat on the table and the side will push out slightly making in not fully round. when I have measured them( I have one mold a guy wants perfect) I cut a 1/4 inch section out and stick a pin through it then take the pin and stick the bottom end of the pin in clay thats laying on the table. When I do molds I allow 5-10% depending on what the bait looks like, it took me a few years to figure it out on why the baits were smaller than the mold I made, on diameters. There are some that are very critical on the Dims which in all honesty is silly cause they fish don't care nor can the measure anything. plastic is stretchable it cools on the outside first on alum molds, it will cling/stick to the ribs on a stick bait. This is why it feels tight pulling it out. when you pull it out and let it set for a while the finished prodct will come out smaller depending on how hot it is when its pulled out of the mold. even a .0005 tool mark will make a bait stick to the sides of the mold. if your were to take a perfectly smooth mold, like a 8 finish or better it would be easier to see and understand. if your making a flat mold (one piece)you will only notice it on the sides and not the bottom, a 2 piece mold shrinks more and is more noticeable because its held straight up. I have had guys tell me the stick mold was about .025-.040 off the size I have stated even though they are approx. sizes. I really believe that the type/brand of plastic you use andeven the temp. its cooked at makes a huge difference in size as far as shrinkage. in the first post above unless he has a heavy duty drill press and measures the hole with a gage pin it wont make any difference, cause drilling a hole with a drill bit in a hand drill or sloppy drill press with automatically open the hole a few thousandths if not more. Hope that makes sence, anyway its just what I have found over the years so I always stayed with the 10% shrinkage rule Delw

All plastic shrinks differently from supplier, likewise for soft med and hard. Use a 10% rule and you will be more than enough, generally its 10%-15% and the harder the plastic the more it shrinks. more surface area etc. if you add salt you be as high as 20% usually around 15% or less non salted around 10%. now this is all surface shrinkage with has nothing to due to the shrinkage of what longhorn was talking about. that you don't have to worry about as long as you keep it filled you wont get a bubble. Surface shrinkage is pouring plastic into a mold then pulling it out and getting a different dia on let say a stick mold the one longhorn is describing is what happens when you fill a mold up and the plastic will be hollow inside, this is cause by the plastic NOT shrinking, but slowing filling every nook and cranny rib etc etc while we call it shrinkage it accutally is more of a settling deal as all the bubbles some out and filling into voids. oh yeah you run a drill bit at .109 you will be at 9% if you want .100 so your probally good.

oh yeah modification is some cut 2x4s and duct tape

egg beaters work just fine on low, its best to use only one beater and they work great in a lee pot.

In reading your post I am just guessing but I believe your plastic is a tad to hot. the way I was able to tell was cause you said that your glitter sinks. generally when glitter is sinking fast its due to plastic being too hot

Use a black/Dark background. use sunlight insted of lights and play with the shutter speed.

Only send through post office or UPS, with everyone else you will be stuck with a tarriff bill 6 months to a year later. ups will not give them the items unless they pay the tarrffs, post office I believe tarriffs are nothing if you use airmail. you should be able to look it up on USPS.COM post office website

Nickle alloys usually go up when some war is about to greak out. I believe its cobalt( I get cobalt and some other alloy which I can't remember confused) only comes from india and africa, 2 or 3 places in the whole world. when pakistan and India were going at it and india did some nuke test nickle alloys went through the roof. Alum, copper and steel are effected by the building industry, when they are busy its expensive and hard to get. And of coarse you throw china into the mix and we Americans gets screwed on materials. however now that India, and czek republic is getting into manufacturing jobs and we still have china metals and manufacturing, jobs are going to be hard to get and the price will skyrocket. the US will be getting the left overs basically.

We always wonder the same thing, it usually takes 3-6 months for it to go up in relation to gas prices , I have never seen it come down. April pays the bills but I don't remember her telling me it comes down. I do know that shipping hasnt dropped a bit for my alum or other supplies. nor has my alum price's gone down they are still the same. I still have that guge fuel surcharge tax add'd on. However Plastic never went up the same amount or as fast as the crude did which makes me wonder, plastic usually goes up every 3-4 months a few percent. for scrap alum we were getting over a $1 a pound now I hear its around .40 cents. I have 20 55 gal drums of it,and over 1000 lbs of stainless solids, I should have sold it 3 months ago when it was over a buck for alum and somewhere around 3-4 bucks for stainless. I havent heard a price for my nickle alloys but I got a few hundred lbs of inconel and nickel 200, I thought I heard they were going over like $18 a lb on the scrap market but not sure, I know when I did buy it to cut it, itwas over $60 bucks a lbs in round bar stock. for one type of nickle I paid almost $108 a lbs now its back to $45 per lb