Senkosam

I would never put this stuff in hot plastic! It's highly volatile and is as bad as water in hot plastisol. Just wondering if customers would except plastics that were surface colored with Spike-It or Colorite. Both companies offer good deals to handpourers who make and sell bait. Spike-It also carries a colorant that you mix in.

Does anyone use it in place of adding colorant to hot plastisol? I get some great colors after swabbing it on with a pipe cleaner and laminates are super easy rather than pouring twice. If I want a bright tip on a soft stick, I pour a little clear saltwater plastic and the rest soft plastic. (ie hardnose baits by Mann). I then dip the tip in a bright color and apply a dot of black Chunk Paint with the back of a drill bit. Just wondering if there might be any disadvantages down the road of selling these color-short-cut baits.

Del, have you been able to test the latest batch of Calhoun's plastic? Any microbubbles or suds? Any change from clear to amber over 350 degrees, on the first pour? Softness pretty much like the original batches we got 2 years ago? I still lean towards Calhoun's, but won't take a chance unless you or April tested it.

Ive been having problems with clear plastic reheats. It always turns amber and no good except if I add colorant. This is the case for any plastic, I suspect.

Spike-It Chunk paint (Bass Pro).

Craig, it is the first time I've seen it stocked at Gander and it is not pearl or opaque white. I usually never bother looking at Yamamoto or Kinami products because of cost and the fact that we can make very similar products (except for the creature bait). It caught my eye as I was going down the isle. I use the off white for my 4" T-sticks and senko designs and will try it in a chunk trailer for spinnerbaits. Bill Dance used a white one with a spinnerbait on his show yesterday. I use to use a white pork chunk on a white spinnerbais and for a few consecutive years, always caught some of my biggest bass on that combo.

I was at Gander Mt. yesterday and noted a Senko color called cream white. It's exactly the same color as clear plastic with sugar, though a more accurate description would be milk white. Probably not a new GY color, but it's the first time I've seen it on the shelves (other than pearl white).

Poor Boy Baits owns Lurecraft and PB sells direct to Gander Mountain and retail on the LandBigFish site. http://www.poorboysbaits.com/

Dipping rod diameter should be smaller. Length makes no difference, just cut them shorter. Stove top heat or microwave - little difference - just don't burn the plastic!

3.5" Fat salty tube in green pumpkin Del's T-stick in green pearl, gold and black flake (4 or 5") green pumpkin Paca Craw trailer added to a 3/16 oz. skirted jig

TTDuckman Sugar is $1.25/oz. and 2 oz. goes a long way, especially if used to keep floured salt suspended. It allows bait durability and if you want a softer bait, use the usual amount of softener. If you want heavier baits, there's nothing better than salt as far as I know. I like sugar in place of pearl powder because from what I've seen, a bass's belly is milky white. The price of pearl is far greater. The longer the stick, the less softener needed and the stick will still have twice the action of a hard jerk stick when twitched (t-rigged, wacky or split shot). As an experiment, I wanted to see if salt water plastic sticks would work, so I poured some of Del mold T-sticks in 4 and 5" last year. My partner and I did very well, even though the sticks were a little stiffer than usual. If people want super soft Senkos that fall apart just to get that little extra bit of wiggle, let them pay 70 cents each per stick. I think all of our sticks do well at half the cost to the cconsumer. The best I can do is to cap shipping at four bucks no matter how much is ordered. For frequent customers, I've been giving breaks on shipping and even rebated money back to their Pay Pal accounts in appreciation. Del and I agree - container weight should not be included in net weight. It's misleading. M-F is up front with their pint and quart measurements, so you can figure out cost per oz. M-F has a great selection, but you have to buy more than 4oz. to avoid a large per unit cost. (Jeff Smith from M-F emailed me the following: pint of glitter is 16 ounces, close to 1/2lb., the quart of glitter is 32 ounces close to 1lb. in the jumbo and the whiskers. As far as the standard pack of .008, .015, .035 is sold by weight.) Excellent products and service!! Hey, maybe their purple isn't grape and doesn't bleed like LC's. LOL

Tip - heat in increments with long pauses to allow hot plastic to melt the cooler outside plastic in a pyrex cup (a tip Jim touched on in another post.) Far less chance of smoke or smell and in my opinion, Del plastic has the least odor.

I've heard that LC has a skirt cutter. Target has a pasta cutter with blades that can be adjusted closer. I'm making one with old single edge razor blades, glued in between sets of 1 or 2 popsicle sticks. Might work. In any case, the strands must be thin, even and parallel for maximum action.

Del and April have had problems with Calhoun's lately and the company, while not admitting a problem, has sent Del samples of their new and improved stuff. It turned out to be the same good plastic we ordered over a year ago and hopefully will remain best. As far as bubbles forming when the plastic is nuked, that problem has been solved and April told me last night that they have an additive that prevents bubbles from forming. Future drums won't have the problem, which is good to know, since I don't care for the smell and easy smoking of M-F, LC or 3D, even though M-F plastic is top grade. Unless there is a better or cheaper alternative, I'm sticking with Calhoun's once April gets it in in two weeks.

One of my suppliers is Polycryl and though most of their glitter is heat restistant, not all. Plus, they don't always have the sizes that most people need, when they need them. They will sell in 1 lb amounts, but Del would be cheaper per oz. Otherwise, 10 lbs will get you the discount, which will be offset by shipping and delays. I have over 20 10lb bags of glitter in my workshop - some from Polycryl and some from another company in Mass. Both are like dealing with the old LC before they were taken over. Good Luck! Certain colors can not be used with clear or a few other hues without tinting them a little. Each handpourer has a preference of color exactness and it's very understandable, especially for those that sell. But for many of us, if a specific color enhances our lures, minor tinting is acceptable and maybe warranted for chameleon colors. I originally sold glitter because LC's service was so bad and I wanted to offer a cheaper alternative, as well as colors seen in Yamamoto lures. Unfortunately my suppliers are limited and the best glitter must be ordered in huge amounts from overseas before you will be taken on as a wholesaler. One company in Taiwan has superb glitter, but no USA distributor - can you imagine the shipping? I'm relieved that M-F and Del have good glitter and are the best suppliers when variety is needed, but LC is in good hands and may consider changing their line-up as well as giving a true net weight. Feel free to buy from them and compare.

smallheadz, pm or e-mail me, I'd be happy to give you a refund.

A good grade of heat resistant glitter should not burn or crumple at even 300 degrees. I heat Del's plastisol to around 300 and stir to get the bubbles to the sides, add dye, glitter, softener and maybe salt, stir well, heat for 5 more seconds until thin like Karo syrup, and pour. Some glitter curling is to be expected over 320 and violet is prone to bleed at that temp, but the glitter hue should be the same and visible in plastic that is lightly colored vs. deeply colored. Cooking plastic too fast for the first time, will cause browning or yellowing from searing and carbon chunks will form. Heat/ stir/ let sit in stages!

http://www.bigpiglures.com/uglybug.htm One of many, not including e-bay.

jm, thanks. I haven't used the candy thermometer yet but I'll bet it confirms the reduced heating time. It was very thin and I thought no where near pouring consistency. Calhouns is usually thicker at the same temp.

Tried regular MF yesterday and my results: ZERO bubbles An odor that was strong and not unlike LC's (did I heat it too much?) Softness similar to Calhouns Had to stir it more to keep flakes and salt higher in the mix. Due to the bubble problem of Calhoun I might switch, but only as long as I can avoid the smell. Will have to heat some and take temps to make sure I'm not overheating.

I just opened a new 5 gal. container of Calhoun's and before mixing, decided to heat the plastic not containing the hardener that was layered on the bottom. No bubbles. Once the entire amount was mixed, many bubbles (just like with the gallon containers, with suds on top. It must be in the hardener that was made for this batch because another handpourer that lives close said he hasn't experience bubbles from his five gallons of Calhoun's and that his pail is always in his shed workshop, all year long. If I reheat the cooled plastic, the bubbles go away. Time consuming, but it gets rid of all bubbles. Be interested in Calhoun's analysis and action to rectify.

How does Loe's stack up price wise?

All of the members of this forum and me support any company that offers good service, fair prices and quality merchandize. We need only a few good sources for out supplies and LC has the biggest variety for the beginner. As long as the truth is told regarding a product's limitations and a refund guarenteed for defective products that don't live up to catalog's descriptions, business should be good. No one likes to be gouged for s/h and the $3.85 flat rate envelope should have been in use by all tackle companies long ago. (suggestion to all). The customer appreciates the small things as well as the major issues in service. I know that I'll be buying products from LC and wish the new owners the best of luck. You can't be beat LC for variety. LC should be a sponsor of this site, logo and all! What better place to advertise? FM

I know you weren't. (The reapers worked great and I've copied a few of your color combos.) You've never complained and seem to be able to use all colors to your best advantage. But I can understand those that have certain expectations regarding glitter for stability in size and color. To these people I say sincerely, get what you require from the other good sources I mentioned. I only sell glitter to aid fellow lurecrafters and sellers of handmade lures and purchase 10 lbs. of glitter that can withstand the heat. (Craft glitter is by no means usuable or economical and Meadowbrook Inventions is not a source because it is only sells craft glitter. ) I've found a source in Taiwan that has the best glitter I've ever used, but the costs to ship it clear around the world would be prohibitive. I'm stuck with stateside sources and in general, find the quality acceptable, but not perfect. Again, as long as the stuff doesn't catch fire (aluminum based glitter), have a meltdown or burn at 150 degrees, and holds it's shape and size, it's adequate for most applications. The color emitted is far more important than minor folding or tinting and the final effect is what must be looked at.

Color bleed may be significant if you are working with clear plastic, but if a tint does exist for some colors, it may be useful and desirable for certain effects. For dyed plastic, bleed won't affect the color except with certain color glitter (ie blue, violet or fuscia) and even then, if the plastic is kept 300 degrees or less, won't bleed at all. I've poured many plastics using bleed-prone glitter and rarely see it. I can send anyone who asks, clear plastic with violet and fuscia glitter and you will see no color bleed or folding. But, that's because I pour at a lower temp and add glitter just before the pour, but may not be an option for those using pots. If you want a tint only, knowing which colors of glitter you can get to bleed, will save you from having to measure out dye drops by heating beyond 325 degrees. Only a few colors do this at this temp. I'm happy with my plastics, as are the anglers that use them and the colors are as true to Yamamoto or Zoom color schemes as anyone else's. before the pour. M-F has a good color selection and color fast glitter, so for some, that is a good option (though a two oz. amount is steep in price). Del carries good glitter, though limited in sizes. LC carries standard colors in many sizes and most are adequate (except their purple, which is black grape). LC is under new management, Del and M-F offer good glitter and I no longer see the need to sell glitter or continue to restock, unless the need is still evident for specialized colors or sizes and for small amounts. I've used LC square cut glitter and at times the coarse color effect is desirable and I like it. For subtle sparkle and color contrast in classic combos (watermelon with black and red flakes), the .015 or smaller flake hex, added to .040, don't make a difference in the effect and square cut is not desirable. Intense, bright colors also would not need square cut because the color contrast of light against medium or dark plastic, is the effect needed. I use lazer green (new blue-green color) in green pumpkin and pumpkin and wouldn't want anything except hex glitter, regardless of size. Pin points of colored light are what I want. The source choices are yours, but knowing a products characteristics, neg. or pos., (such as that of different plastisols) is a plus when pouring, and the negatives may actually be positives for what you want to achieve (ie folding of .090 black glitter to create the coach dog pattern). Frank