Travis

I will take 100 of them.

I have always used WD-40 with no problems for mold release for the bondo molds. I have always found bondo to make good molds as long as few precautions are taken and followed. With a drill press and indexing vise you can knock out simple molds in bondo stock easily.

I use toothpicks (cut at widest point) along with 5 minute devcon colored with paint, worm colors, etc..... makes great buggy eyes for things like craws . Been using it for years, quick easy and great results.

Class act all the way.

Wow all this over a knot, . Welcome Bill, thanks for the link.

Add a teflon liner to the cap and all should be fine. I have had many different volatile solvents stored this way for considerable time in simple 20 ml glass vials.

Bondo followed by fiberglass wool/resin for strength. I have come across it several times on the web. The pectoral and pelvic fins are generally removed. The fish is embedded in medium half way like typically observed for cranks or soft plastics and then the bondo body filler painted over the fish. Let set and then hit with resin and fiberglass. This will give you longer lasting mold. I am sure someone has a link. I lost all mine when my computer crashed months ago.

That respirator should be fine as mentioned. If you a lot of pouring you may want to think about the replacement of cartridges. Once volatiles are trapped they may be released later. We replace cartridges at work at least monthly or after 8 hours of continuos use.

The difference in the two materials plays an important role. The plastic flows into areas to fill and will trap air in pockets. With the nature of plasitc it starts to cool and viscosity increases and the bubble won't be able to rise up the bait and can get trapped. Also plastic is limited in the force it can exert to push the bubble through the small space between mold faces where as urethane foams expand and will drive air out. I can recall several times I left the urethane to cure too long and it had swelled so much in the cavity I destroyed the mold trying to get it out.

I usually use multiple molds at once and just use one of the "one handed" speed clamps/quick clamps. I place a small scrap of 1/4 ply or hardboard and clamp lightly. I find this quicker than rubber bands.

One hundred percent worth the trouble. If not you are losing one of the main efficiencies of molding in the first place. Thru wire and weighting should be done. I have only used 16 lb density foam and as long as the mixture is correct it is going to set. Heat results from the reaction, it does not create the reaction. Now I am sure it speeds the reaction but room temperature the reaction occurs like gang busters and the heat generated far exceeds the ability of some 16 gauge wire to work as a heat sink. Brushing on the master is always nice but the RTV has a long enough working time that most bubbles free themselves. I paint to be on the safe side and frequently vibrate the mold box. I never have worried about filler. To me it just isn't worth the couple of bucks one might save.

Well sometimes the best answer is the one you aren't wanting to use. Just get the RTV and don't look back. When comes down to price it is the cheapest in the long run (number of baits molded, time remaking inferior bondo molds, etc...). Now if you are going to do a plain jane bait with no detail then use bondo. A gallon and hardner is going to get you close to similar price of RTV starter kit and give inferior results and more difficulty with release from master and molded bait. Up side you can make a lot more molds. Of course you will need more molds because some will be destroyed , shorter mold life, etc... I have used Durham's rock puddy also.

It has been interesting for sure. I do think it is a little more complicated however. Drop shotting has been around for a long time. Called different things by many people. I think the important concept is to take a step back and look at some history. How long ago was it and when you said bass fishing you essentially were talking about the South. No where else mattered, tourneys were all held south and methods used in these regions dominated. Yanks fished for cold water fish, westerners fished for trout and well those fish don't matter to bass guys. Things changed slowly and in doing so brought "new" techniques to bass fishing in the South that managed to correspond to an explosion of trophy bass fishing to the west and probably one of the largest surges of trophy smallie fishing in the North that had been observed. Of course BASS decided to capitalize and push in those regions and expand the popularity. In doing so you added an entire new demographic to the "poor" southern bass angler and prices started to follow. Another important thing occured that had nothing to do with fishing. Baby Boomers as a whole had become wealthy based on strong economy, trade, new technologies, pension plans (what's that), etc.. and gained a way of life never observed before. Bottom line times were good and they had the money to spend and companies were there with open arms. Goods were priced for those guys not the generation before or the one that followed. So when guys with fat wallets (with at the time guaranteed things like pensions, social security, etc. for the future) hittting midlife during a fishing boom guess what happens? The get into fishing and they have an entire different idea of what is expensive that continues to drive prices today.

I used testors paint brushes 15 years ago during college for painting cranks and was always surprised at the results. It was a cheap model that screws into the compressed air cans. I would fill the sink with hot water and go to town. I have another testor model with the cheap diaphram compressor that works ok also but the compressor wheres out quick. With the deals one can find I think you are best to just buy a decent brush and compresor. I have been using an Iwata Eclipse HP-SPS for the past couple years and have absolutely no complaints with it's performance and overall value.

I hit the Hobby Loby and bought various brushes and just was not satisfied with the results. I tried various dying methods for nylon and markers and jus wasn't happy with the results. It just wasn't permanent or vibrant enough. Of course the selection at Sportsman's Authority is limited but superior as far as I am concerned. I just ended up ordering online and picked up around 10 colors for use.

Don't mess with the charcoal filter not needed for what you are wanting. Additionally you would have to start to worry about air flow rates, surface area, etc... to figure out needed material. As mentioned a furnace filter will do fine. I spent untold hours doing calculations, figuring out optimal air flow, effects of laminar flow on particulate collection etc... You know all that stuff that is needed to make lures. After many late night sessions and consultations with experts in various fields I headed to my shop and designed the ultimate createx paint booth it worked flawlessly for two winters In all seriousness this simple set up worked great no overspray was found on my wifes antique dining room set. I found the blower on clearance several years ago for somewhere around 10 dollars. It is a blower for a wood stove.

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I usually don't bake mine and usually am not too worried about cure time to be honest. I have been using some of my molds for over 5 years now with no ill effects. When I don't let them cure before use I essentially let them cure later if not, mold generally occurs. The backside of the mold will sweat if not cured but can be placed on newspaper or paper towels to take up the moisture. Overall curing is probably the best to avoid mold but still doesn't keep me from using a fresh mold.

I use a bread pan for my molds typically and don't use any release agent. I shoot for molds to be 1 inch. As far as thickness I like mine to be the consitency of pancake batter or cake batter depending upon the complexity of the bait to be molded. I have never had any problems with the molds setting up too quick this way. I let my molds set for around 12 to 16 hours typically. To demold I just grab the pan and pull outward on the side and then the ends. What I look for is the plaster to "break" away from the sides of the pan. I then place the bread pan upside down over a piece of carpet and depress in the center and the mold falls right out. I have never had a mold break doing it in this fashion. To avoid bubbles you have a couple options. It is important the bait is flat against the pan if not you often get bubbles. To avoid bubbles "paint" the plaster onto the bait to be molded by just rubbing the plaster on with your finger. If the baits are firmly adheared to the pan I typically just give it a few knocks against the table top to knock any bubbles to the surface. The thinner the mix the easier this is to do but too thin and it can run under the masters. Sometimes just some vasoline smeared over the face of the bait is sufficient to adhear the bait to the pan. You can go back and fill bubbes after the fact, just mix the plaster up thick like toothpaste and overfill the cavity after ten minutes go back with a dull prob, rounded toothpick, chopstick, etc... and smooth it down to the surface.

My local Hobby Lobby carries a minimal supply of parts. Print out the 40% coupon online and not to bad of prices.

Nice stuff for sure. I bought some around 4 years ago for a boat rehab project. I have also used it on several baits since.

What style are you looking for? Zoom lizard, paddle tail, water dog, something custom?

A lot will just depend on amount of use. Most of my stuff is Craftsman. Is it the best not at all but Sears still have very generous return policy and when it comes to gifts easy for everyone to use. I have used all my craftsman stuff between 8 to 10 years. I also have a delta planer and bandsaw. No problems at all with either and went with them because of reviews for the planer (best bang for your buck deal) and had Lowes cards get so many dollar off on your'e next purchase. Join the craftsment club (free) and you end up getting additional discounts at times. I figure Craftsman is hard to beat up to a certain price point. Once past a certain dollar figure the money is almost always better spent on other brands but they aren't usually carried by the big box stores. I am not a fan of Menard's at all. I hate their return policy and unfortunatley have had to use it too many times. I don't buy much from them anymore.

Bad Bouy, that second bit of information that you have no problems pouring singles I think indicated the answer. I think what is likely happening is the position of you're divider relative to the lip/contact point of the two plastic colors. Speed of pouring could also be a factor combined with this feature if the bubble problem is consistent. I have included a crude drawing about what I think is happening. I think the plastic is coming in contact away from the divider and incorporating air bubbles since they are getting trapped. If you slow down the pour and/or nip back the divider so that the plastic merges before pouring I think the bubble problems will likely disappear. The problem would also be worse if the plastic is too cold because of the decreased viscosity of the plastic.

I checked mine are the same. I use them frequently. It can give some really interesting metallic swirl designs and defniitely something one should add to the aresenal. Just didn't want guys to think these will function similar to the traditional highlight. I use more than highlight powders by far. Highlights I use the traditional "match stick tip" ratios. With these powders to get the nice mettalic swirl color (like in Ed's pictures) I use up to 1/2 teaspoon (guessing I use a popsicle stick) per 4 oz of similar colored plastic. For example for a bronze gold I will color the plastic to rootbeer first then add powder. I will need to measure next time and see about pouring multiple samples at different powder concentrations for effect.