nova

If you watch Antiques Roadshow they always tell folks not to clean things up too much beyond a good dusting. I wonder if the same holds true with this situation. You may want to check that out with collectors. You may take a lure worth $1000 and turn it into a $100 bait. www.novalures.com

Definition:- "progress"- man's ability to complicate the uncomplicated. Not suggesting that 3 axis enginering isn't; I'm just saying that in general the definition is true. www.novalures.com

I wasn't suggesting that someone get a hacker to write code for them; I was just commenting that it can't be that big of a secret. www.novalures.com

That would be funny Bruce, if it wasn't so true. I knew a guy once that could spell hammer but that was as far as it went.lol A fellow would think that with all these "closet" puter brains out there, that one of them would get into this. I mean if they can hack into NASA writing a CNC program would be a snap. www.novalures.com

When someone is that secretive it makes me wonder just what they are protecting. Is it just their corner of the market or is it the fact that what you are paying for is not worth the money you have to shell out. I don't know anything about CNC, but this all sounds quite fishy(excuse the pun) to me. What is it that makes it worth all the money and effort? www.novalures.com

Post some pics of it when you get them done. I think you'll like that color. www.novalures.com

Here's the last pic. Couldn't get it on the first post. www.novalures.com

Ok guys. I just finished doing the splitring thing;lol. First I put the splitrings on the thread and lined them up in the mold. Second, put the mold together and pull the string from each side to center the rings. Tighten the mold to flaten the string. Pour the baits and let cool a little. Then open the mold and pull the string right through the baits. As you will notice there are bubbles in the plastic as well as voids. This was cause by the thread. I used ordinary sewing thread which caused the plastic to bubble. This can be avoided by using waxed flytying thread; which will be easier to pull through the baits. Give this a try; it's quite easy to do.

I prefer LC's brown for the pumpkinseed. Start with 2 drops and work upward until you get the color you want. www.novalures.com

Nothing wrong with what I see. Looks like you're off to a good start. www.novalures.com

I think the sheet thing may cause a problem with clogging. The plastic will collect on it because it will not heat up as much as metal. www.novalures.com

It's a straight 2 minutes. Then out and stir. Back in (for me) heat for 30 sec.; out and stir; then repeat until done. I never try to get the whole thing done at once. If you do that you are asking for trouble. www.novalures.com

The cheapest way to do it is with plaster of paris (POP). Do a search for this and you will find tons of posts about it. www.novalures.com

There is a differance between heating liquid and heating solids in a micro. With a solid the heat tends to concentrate in one area and spread out from there causing overheating in those sections. By adding a little fluid plastic to the mix before heating this allows the heat to spread out beyond the confined area of the solid baits and reduce burning. www.novalures.com

Bruce that's basically what I was describing but with a fine thread. The wire would hold the molds apart and cause flashing of the pour. The thread should flatten out and prevent this. I can't try it just now as we are expecting company for the evening and the major has given me my marching orders. LOL I'll try this tomorrow and post a pic if it works. I'll do it with clear plastic so it can be seen. www.novalures.com

David; I haven't used remelts for years now. I prefer not to do it as you cannot repeat what you get. That being said; I would suggest that you add a little bit of good plastic to the pot before you remelt. This should help to not overheat the worms that you are trying to melt down. www.novalures.com

I've used split rings in open molds before and they work well. What about split rings spaced out held together with a fine thread. You may not even need to modify the stick mold for the string if it's fine enough. www.novalures.com

I do exactly the same thing. The way I see it is that it doesn't matter what kind of micro you use(cheap or exspensive) as long as it has a turntable. The main thing is that you have to learn the limits of the micro that you are using. Once you have that down you can turn out consisitant product. You can also learn to use the micro in other ways. I like to use the #90 black glitter and increase the heat level just a little to curl the glitter over. This does two things; it leeches out some of the black color and leaves a kind of black/silver rod instead of the flat glitter. Personally I like the effect for the top color of a two or three color bait. www.novalures.com

Nice rainbow Mike. www.novalures.com

Try brown watermelon MF with a drop of LC motor oil. The center looks like a clear with heavy gold holi glitter and the bottom is a white pearl maybe with a touch of blue highlight. www.novalures.com

Check out the recipie sticky in the soft plastics forum. www.novalures.com

My comment about bleeding glitters is not a knock on anyone's product. It's just that I find all colored glitters tend to let a little of it's color into the plastic. You can make a nice light smoke stick buy using just black glitter and you can adjust the color by increasing the heat. Gold glitter gives an interesting color almost honey-like. Red will give a rose type color. I haven't got any chartreuse glitter but I can imagine that would be nice as well. The colors you can get are not strong colors; they are almost like a pastel or soft color. Give it a try; experiment away. That is how you will aquire more understanding of the product and just what can be done with it. Using the stabilizer will help with the scorching of the plastic. I don't know that it will help with the bleeding. www.novalures.com

Sounds like straight clear plastic with floured salt. Comes out like frosted windows. The only glitter I could use with this was silver and/or silver holi. I found that other glitters would bleed color into it even at lower temps. It doesn't take much of a "bleed" to discolor the bait. Hope that helps. www.novalures.com

I use cheap brushes I get at the dollar store. I take the brush and crimp it with flat needle nose pliers. Then I pull on the bristles to get rid of the loose ones. I then take super glue and glue the bottom of the bristles making sure the glue goes into the metal band and does not "climb" the bristles. I've tried the foam brushes but it tended to cause a lot of bubbles in the epoxy. www.novalures.com

I use a micro torch to get rid of bubbles that are floating on the top. Just bring the pyrex out of the microwave, give it a slow stir and let it set for a few seconds. The bubbles will float to the top and you quickly pass the torch over them. Sometimes the plastic will catch fire, but just blow it out.(not a problem) Do not use a blowtorch. This sounds dangerous but it really isn't; just pay attention. www.novalures.com