robalo01

one thing I have found when mixing Watermelon/red, is that the watermelon turns a bit brownish when the fine red flake is added. I would add the flake early if you want to match something. i'll bet all you need is the Watermelon and the red flake. It's probably not that complicated.

Try this. Keep a razor blade on hand, and when/if you over pour, quickly scrape the excess away before it solidifies. This works well for me. I pur a 7" ribon tail that has Dragon fins (like small triangluar blades) down the edge of the tail. When i over pour/mess it up, I scrape it quickly and they come out fine. Also, the viscocity of the plastic is very important. The thinner the better. Stephen Robalo01

Great topic. I am very interested in the Hand Injectors. Bear (whom I have bought from and have been very pleased with) stated several wonderful examples of advantages to the hand injectors. But, here is one big disadvantage.... What makes a hand injected bait any better than a machine injected bait? Some interesting colors, maybe, although there are a lot of massed produced baits in wonderful colors. The reason I hand pours is because I enjoy DESIGNING and CREATING something different that what you can find at Walmart or Acadamy or Bass Pro. Unless I can create doable custom molds that will Hand inject, I'm not sure I want to go there.

I'm in Mexico. I've been buying from Bear. The price is good, shipping is prompt. I have it sent to the border and then forwarded here. It costs me a bout an extra 35% to get it here. I quit pouring plastics and started importing from the US about three years ago, then the peso fell about 45% in the course of 2 1/2 months. It is now more cost effective to pour again. For years I have tried to source plastisol here without any success. Now I am hot on the trail of a supplier in Mexico City. A customer of mine from Tampico is getting me the info. Aparently, PVC plastisol is used for a couple of other industries down here and the same supplier makes it for all of them: Metal coverings, T-Shirt printing and water-proofing for textiles. (like the 3-mm spray-on stuff). If anybody is here from Mexico, I'd like to hear from them.

I'd never posted any pictures before. I guess it's time I shared a little. I've been a member for 5 years. I posted some pics in the gallery: Tackleunderground Home - Luremakers Photo Gallery - Gula Baits by Robalo01 I've been selling more traditional bass lures to about a couple dozen tackle shops here in Mexico for a few years now. As tournaments become more and more popular down here, I have been toying with the Idea of introducing a higher priced, direct marketed tournamente line of baits. I've settled on the name "Gula Baits" -- gula means glutten in Spanish. The Idea is to develope some baits that aren't necessarily larger than the traditional ones, but that have more bulk or are fatter. The 5" Chub is something completely new here. It's about twice as thick as a Senko and has the craw tail. I rig it wrightless and pitch it into weed beds. Sinks down quick and ripples around as it drops. The Shad is about 5" long but has a much larger tail than most. It needs the 3/8 weighted hook to operate well, but it is used in deep water during the dead of summer and has resulted in a couple of wins. The Craw Jr was a request from a local pro. It has a body and the bulk that will acomadate a 5/0 hook but has more subtle claws that most craws of the same body size. It is pitched in shallow water stumps mostly. i still have about 3-4 more models that i am twitching and testing. More later.

How does it hold up to the heat of multiple, prolonged pours? Does it shrink any when it cures? If it holds up to heat without warping and doesn't shrink when curing, it might be a good prospect for two-part molds.

I used acetone and salsa cups and got the same gue. What is it supposed to look like?

Southern plastics sell them by the 1000

-- All of the baits were washed with dish detergent and a toothbrush. They spanned from 3 hours to 10 days old with no noticabe difference in the finish. -- I doesn't make sense to me to seal the bait with epoxy, since it is the epoxy that forces the bubles out. -- Is there any solvent that might get rid of any silicone residue without eatng into the foam? -- The reason I'm going with the foam is because it is readily available here. If the project is going to be sustainable it has to be sourced locally.

My baits are casting great. Great density, very little flashing. They look good. The only proble is that the finish is bubbling. I use a two part epoxy similar to flexoat. The paint goes on fine. The finish looks good initially, but as it cures blisters develope. Any ideas as to why? BTW, I applied the same batch of finish to some wood and some plastic lures with the same paint, with no problems. only the foam baits developed the blisters.

Any tips on making 5" sticks with diferent colored tips in a two-piece mold? Do you just pour in one color and then the other? How do you measure the length of the colored tip?

Ah the feel of fresh clay in my hands! it's like a breath of fresh air after along plane ride, a cool glass of water after a long walk in the sun, like a slice pecan pie on a lazy summer afternoon...

I didn't want to steal the "sinking lure" thread, so I thought I'd start a new one. How important IS buancy to a bait? I stated in an earlier post that buoancy is what keeps the bait righted during the retreave, but is it really necessary for a lure to be made of a buoyant material? If so, how would you explain blade baits and spinner baits? It seems that the resistance to the water during retrieve strains the lure in one dimention, while liberating it in another. The object takes the path of less resistance and will either (1) swirl in the vortex, or (2) the heavier part will fall while the lighter part rises erecting the bait, or (3) in the case of lurres with bills, it will do both in oscilation. So, what maters then isn't that the bait be lighter than water, but rather that the differance in weight/volume of the material of the upper mass of the biat contrast enough with the weight/volume of the lower part of the lure so that when strained on a horizontal axis, it rights itself. Is this right? If so, how difficult would it be, in theory, to make a pure lead rattling lure, or, a solid poly resin diving lure (fragility aside)?

1. Why is POP or Resin better than RTV for a 2-piece stick mold? I would think RTV would have a lower risk of have flashing, maybe better detail. Will it stand up to the heat for long exposures? Will it keep it's finish? 2. I think I can make 250 per hour with 15-20 cavities and a Presto pot. I used to make 120 per hour with 10 cavities and a Mic. i can make more molds if that the problem. From other posts I've read this isn't unreasonable. or ist it? 3. I make wood-framed RTV molds for high-impact foam with about 60-80 ml per single cavity mold. I think I can make a 3-cavity 5" stick mold with about 120-150 ml. I get RTV for about $25 per liter. That's condiderable cheaper than aluminum. That having been said. If things work out, I might have some alum molds cut. I'm not quite through tinkering with the design and I'll just have to see the cost-benefit (I'm sure it's there).

I figure I need about 4-5 molds to work well. What I don't like about POP is the curing/sealing process.

If price were not a consideration, would you prefer RTV or Bondo for a two-piece 5" stick mold with 4 cavities? Please don't say aluminum. This is custom design and I want to make my own molds, but I need about a 250 piece per hour production.

Any trouble with them sticking to the mold? Do you use a release?

I made a cutter a few years ago that worked great. let me see if I can describe it. 1. I took about 12-14 utility blades and some 1/8" lexan 2. Cut the lexan into pieces as long as the blades but about half as high that will act as sepatators. 3. Built a small wooden frame from 3" X 3/4" plywood to surround the blades and separators. It is important that they fit tight. I belive that makes the frame about 1/4" shoter than the blades. So, in other words, the blades are sticking out of he frame about 1/4" high.(I think). 4. Nail the frame down on a larger piece of plywood. 5. Lay the tubes on the blades. Take another small board about 1" all around larger than the blade "bed". I made a handle for this board. Press down, no need to hit it with anything. Done. Lube the blades with worm oil, or the plastic will tear when you're pulling it out. You can adjust the distance between the blades with different thickness of lexan, or whatever spacer you choose. It's been a while, but this is my best recollection. I know I could make another one without any trouble. I'm not sure about all of these measurements. I do remember that the cutter needed to be considerably wider than the tube as it spreads out when you push on it. PS. I thought about using cheap retractable "exacto" knife blades for longer tubes.

What about something that requires little or no modification, can be found readily -- without having to order it -- and can be placed inside the mold before pouring featherlite or rigid foam?

Anybody ever used a chess nut or an almond in a featherlite or high impact foam cast lure? Or, rather what kinds of things do you insert in you mold that will add a rattling noise? I've though about those little round bells (don't know what they're called right off) that you see around Christmas, but they have holes and would need to be sealed. I would prefer something that could be used without much prep, and that i can don't have to order from a catalog. Any thoughts?

A couple of years ago my wife was melting some chocolate in the Mic to pour over peanuts for christmas candy. The choc was frozen and it caused a ton of sparks. I scratched it with a fork and it stopped sparking. Weird, but true.

I'll admit I have very ;ittle experience with this. I've only been building divers for a few months. But these are some comclusions I've come to: The diference between the bouyancy of the material you are using for the body and the weight of the ballast are what keep the bait erect in the water. The for/aft position of the ballast in relation to the bill (x-point as it's been called) allows the bait to wiggle. So, It seems to me that it is much easier to weight a light material to get it to run correctly than to use heavier would. The greter the difference in weight between the body and the ballast the less likely the bait is to roll because there will be a greater resistance to rolling. Then it is just a matter of adjusting the position of the ballast in relation to the size and angle of the bill and tiing point. I'm I right here?