Delw

pretty much all metals contain lead, if you ever get a chance to look at the certs you will be able to see that. Lead is used for a few reasons in metal one being so you can cut it easier. as far as replacing salt with metals, stainless is too light, you would need a nickle alloy, like nickle 200 monel , or tungten. brass works also but tarnishes. stainless and nickle alloys wont give you fine chips like brass will. Delw

the pics make a huge difference One problem could be bleeding, ? the other problem I am still thinking is the ports they are not the same size and shape the one has bigger port than the other as you can see there is on divit in th bottom port

+1 what Dave said as well. IN picture 3 and 4 they dont looke like they are the same batch just turned over if it was you would see water melon on the bottom part of the chartrue and vise versa plus picture 4 doesnt not have a injection port on the bottom ( you can see the top is perfect minus a scratch) unlike picture 3 that you can clearly see a injection port. There are many types of injection machines, a pie mold is generally used on a low budget injection machine, more of a hand machine so to speak. basically its a big pressure pot you turn the valve on by hand or a hand switch. There is alot of these machines out there and they do very very nice work but 2 laminates are pretty hard to do, due to the nature of the pressure pot and the timing of each shot. Professionals injection machines are the ones that have water cooled molds and and properly placed ports these will give a user almost 100% control on anything from laminates- swirls to different color wings. on the part about the bottom and top being identicle, theroreticlly(sp) if you have a 1/2" hole on the top and a 1/2" hole on the bottom and both top and bottom molds are identical and you have equal pressure of the liquid going into each hole the plastic from the top and the bottom would meet in the middle and spread out words with one being on top and the other color being on the bottom giving you a laminate. however if one has a bigger hole or more pressure than the other one color will dominate the other color. could you take a side shot of the web, i would like to see how the 2 colors are mixing, from the pics on 3 and 4 it lookes like there is no mixing and there is no port on the ones side. it looks more like they shot one color then the other color or both colors on one side. IN thinking about this for a while you may have some success by making a divider out of sheet metal that goes between the 2 halves just to the opening of the ports on each cavity. basically mill your mold down xxx amount on each side and and fabricate a blocking plate in there. this will keep the plastic mixing in the web until it hits each cavity. However if you dont have equal everything (pressure hole size etc etc) on both sides one color will be more visible then the other. if you dont understand about the blocking plate email me a pic of the mold and I will doctor it up in a photo program so you understand better.

pictures 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4 are not the same pour correct?. in pic 1 the chart was just before the watermelon pic 2 water melon before the chart timeing was off a tad. to make a pie mold succesfully work in 2 color laminates and its very hard to do hand injection. ( hand meaning anything that isnt automated via a timer) you should have the bottom mold with a seperate chamber running to the bottom of the mold and the top mold with a chamber running to the top mold. however due to it being round its a little difficult to do. and using a non automated injection system is going to be tough. much easier to shoot in a straight mold when running non automated.your success rate is much better do to timming. The thin plastic sheet is a good idea also. one thing you might want to do is make sure your bottom and top ports are Identical in size and shape. from the pics I don't see a bottom port were the plastic is shooting to colors, looks like it shoots one then pushed the other out with the other color, hence timming off.

The bait was out before smackdaddy started them as they org. came from a guy in western washington. in 1999-2001, he was a semi pro that fished the columbia river BASS events and used them on Smallies, they were a killer bait. He used the 4" Silver/white senko and cut 2.5" of tail on it. Delw

I dont ever think a laminate woudl work in a pie mold due to the design, it could if and only if you shot from the bottom and the top simultaneously. for a laminated mold you need to have 2 ports pretty much to shoot from both sides with 2 injectors. this is accmoplished in a few ways but can not be done in a pie mold unless you shoot the other color from the bottom. Delw

you wont get any better floation using micro bubbles in the plastic thats about the best, however you loose a little bit of flexibility. the 3x stuff, dont plan on finding it, its very expensive 100+ bucks a gal and tahts if you buy a 55gal drum at a time. I am sure in the very near distant future that it will be offered at a more reaosnable price and somethign that people can work with. The 3x stuff was pretty tough to work with, it doesnt melt like regular plastic and uses different types of colorants. however one nice thing about it was that it pours very nice and you dont need to be very hot around 200-250

its softener. first mix the crap out of it, then put in some softener and mix it again

I dont know what kind m-f had but I will tell you a little secret. we quite selling ours due to it was flamable and UPS would have to get the hazzard fee, april figured it wasnt worth it for people who wanted it and the paper work bs to go along with it. 2 years ago when we quit selling it I kinda figured out what it was , it can be bought anywere in almost any city. Its WOOD STAIN thats all it was, smelled the same works the same etc etc, whats really cool is that you can get some really cool wood stain colors, the one we had was closest to walnut and dark ok. One thing be very easy on the use as 2-3 drops will make 4oz extreamly dark in the dark version of it. if its too dark mix a few drops of it with a few oz's of softener and it will be just fine. red oak and cheery is a pretty cool color as well, I used to rob the cabinet worker next door when I was playing lol Delw

the only glitters from a craft store I have found that works was glitter by a company called stampendous they make it really fine down to .002 too and have colors you will never find anywere else. it is expensive but does hold up to heat, if you go to hot it will turn color. Delw

Plastic will stretch enough not to rip when the knife is pulled out, dont pull it out too soon as you will deform it. you can take the knife out when its cool also. It usually takes 3-4 dips for a complete bait., Tempeature is very important when dipping. the hotter the plastic the thinner it will go on. Some guys have 3 pots set up all with different temps. the last dip is usually the hotest one and its usually clear after the eyes are stuck on. Also when donig these remember that the way you hold the knife will actually effect the shape of the bait as the plastic will sag. use that to your advantage. Delw

Are you adidng salt? salt will cause bubbles, over heating plastic wont give you bubbles , in order to get it to give you bubbles like that it would be dark brown and just on the verge of catching fire. are your bubbles in the plastic or after you pour the bait? I would side with what Jd and longhorn is saying. AustinConn your bubbles are comming from plastic with Junk in it, when ever you metl down plastic used from zoon yamamoto and the big guys they put additives into it. some are oil based some are not its also an injection plastic when is a tad different when your using large scale injection as they buy the cheapest stuff possible it runs about a 1/8 of the cost hand pourers buy The stuff really smoles and bubbles.. if it was stuff from plastic you bought raw and you poured then remelted the old baits its caused by moisture. Grab a senko and throw it on the deck of a boat and let it get wet, it will swell 1.5-2 times the size. Delw

No NO GLASS they are alum cans and the candle holders are alum. to kepe them warm for a while there are a few ways to do it, some guys pack them in sand and some guys have wrapped heating bands around the candle molds. you can even set them on a pancake griddle. its best to heat your plastic in the micro then pour it in the cans. also there was a guy online that used a heat lamp, in thinking about it, a heat lamp would be your best option and you wouldnt burn your plastic as the cans are thin. Do a search for heat lamp there is a very good thread on it and if I remember correctly some pictures as well. if you cant find it I will try to look it up tonight, should be pretty easy to find. on the drink cans you ahev to cut the lids off for them to work. Delw

Goto your local conveiance store and buy a few cans of some drinks that are tall and skinny, arizona ice tea and some sports drinks work very good. or go to a craft store or online and buy candle molds, you can get them in 1-5" diam and up to 20" tall. Delw

naw that didn't show you LOL wanna try something cool, grab a bunch of marbles put them in a pop mold ( easier to work with) put about 4 at the head then a long section about 6inch. when it dries cut enough room in between the marbles so the plastic will pour through. kinda looks like this OOOOOO=========> or OOO========OOO======= or OO======OO========OO======> Awsum Action, I had one guy that did a bait 10" long with 1/2" holes( beads) the thing swam like a snake, it was pretty cool. use that bead idea you had and apply it to swimbaits, long worms, and some other baits you will really like the way it swims. Bead baits (not really beads) are pretty popular on the west coast for dropshotting, they use tyically 1/8-3/16 balls to make there molds. there are alot of one sided molds out there like this, I thought Lurecraft or MF had one. its been years since I seen a store bought mold, I have seen quite a few made out of pop and RTV, then of course alum. Delw

I dont know if it would work like a regular bead bait, but its pretty cool. we've made some with 1/2- 3/8- 1/4 balls the whole length and the action is pretty cool Delw

heres the correct link there was an extra flw in the first one you posted and old browsers dont work real well with it. http://www.flwoutdoors.com/image.cfm?id=31025 Heres a good thread for light box's http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/15781-light-box.html

build a light tent out of PVC ( there are a bunch on links in here.) use a white sheet to surround it, then use a tripod hold you camera right over the top of the bait. use a white construction paper bottom plate ( sheet on the bottom) to set your baits one. the key is the lighting make sure you shine the lights properly to avoid shadows. very easy to do, cost 5 bucks with 3/4" pvc pipe and a white sheet. There are also box light tents that guys mentioned as well. BTW correct link is this http://flwoutdoors.com/image.cfm?id=31025 Delw

If your buying it buy the gal you may want to think of buying it by the 55 gal drum and at 4 drums at a time (full pallet), thats when you will save no matters who's plastic you use, if youwant to make your own then be prepared to buy all the componets in 55 gal drums min. you would need more than likely 3 drums possibly four for all the additives, it would cost you way way more than 40 bucks a gallon. if your using 400+ gallons a month it MIGHT be worth making your own. anything less than NO not even worth the hassle. I have no idea what they sell there plastic for but I am sure its inline with everyone else, buying one gallon of plastic at a time is pretty much useless for people who make baits for profite at a min you should buy a 5gal bucket at least for the best bang for the buck. Delw

Yes you can, but if the plastic is a solid break it up into little chunks and try to mix it with all ready hot plastic. A glob of glitter in one spot will actually cause arcing, and even a small little fire. it doesnt make any differnce whos the manufacturer is or if its polyester type glitter or metal based as the arcing is cause by reflection. I've done it a few times.ooops or you can cook it very slow and stir it alot. but breakig it up is the safeest way. Delw

your not nitpicking you talk like an adult unlike someone else in this thread that likes to complain about everything and only comes to tu when he can get a jab or 2 in a 6-10 inch I dont see a problem as the dia are much bigger, but a 4-5 has me baffled a 35% smaller hole isnt bad as it would still be a 1/4" diam hole on a 4-5 inch stik bait. from the pics it looked like a 3/32 hole or smaller what most use for low pressure injection. we have made them before with a big tub so to speak for customers basically a half circle the length of the molds and just pour into them, works fine for most if the plastic is hot. Delw

I watched the vid again, I gotta go try this, I have a few scap 4 and 5 inch molds with something similar for a customer that we made years ago but for injection. Delw

the video made better sence, the picture you posted(just due to camera angle and lighting) makes it looks like a restriction in between the spruce and the bait, when in fact its just an optical illusion as the video shows the bait being pretty close to the same dia. Ie no restriction

The reason it works like that is due to gravity, for example you have a preston sitting above the mold, with lets say 1 gal of plastic in it 1 gallon is roughly 8lbs so you have the weight pushing down plastic down, the nozzle from the preston pot would have to be stuck in the mold so the plastic doesnt over flow. the mold would have to be warm to hot and the plastic would have to be extreamly hot and thin. not med and hard plastics more than likely wouldnt work due to the charactoristics of those plastics ( ie they are thicker then a very soft plastic) salt actually holds heat in plastic so it helps keep the plastic hot, the reason heavy salt wont work is due to the plastic being thicker and being restricted through the small opening to the bait cavities. 1/3 cup of salt is pretty sclose to heavy salt, would work eter with 1/4 or less cup of salt to 1 cup of plastic. it wouldn't work for someone hand pouring out of a pyrex as there is no weight to help push the plastic into the openings, probably wouldnt work on a lee pot either as there is no weight( they don't hold as much plastic). a full presto pot would be best and as the plastic gets lower in the pot you have less weight making it even more difficult. if the hole was opened up between the bait and the long slot basicallythedia of the bait it would have no problems pouring heavy salt, its just being restricted as to why ist wont pour it now, however it still would only work with a presto pot and the nozzle in it and plastic in it and not work with someone pouring from a cup. if the presto pot has the nozzle not in the mold it will back up and spill because the weight isnt forcing the plastic directly into the cavities. Vodkaman could explain it better in tech terms cause he is an engineer and knows that stuff. Delw

The spruce idea started about 4-5 years ago from one of my customers ER Gray on a buzz frog mold, it was alot of playing and testing back and forth, like most people would think( including myself) I applied it to some other molds thinking if it worked for one should work for others I ended up with bad results. the same one that works for one mold doesnt work for another is what we found. so we had to adjust the spruce to each particular mold and application. the problem is that every one pours differently, using differnt plastics, additives temperatures, lee pots presto pots pyrex pouring cups etc etc. while a diamond tail and stik are the same( as far as a straight worm) they wont pour the same with the same spruce hole. Delw