Travis

I have had the best results just using sculpey. I have "baked" some in the oven to make molds and then finish them up with sand paper and dentist tools for detail. I put a coat of finger nail polish on mine and they demolded fine from rock puddy. I demolded it as soon as the stuff set up. I also just use it as is and make worms, pork trailers, etc... then it doesn't matter how long you leave it. This works great because if a certain cavity makes better baits can grease the cavity up and press the sculpey back into it and remove. You then can repeat and get as many duplicates from this "master mold" to make a second mold with baits that are mirror images.

Lowes carries the DAP equivalent of Durhams, works just as good, I think better it seems to cure quicker. Durhams seems to hold water for days where as the DAP wood putty doesn't so far both have held up for me the same length of time. Durhams is carried by the Ace Hardware around here.

Aluminum hands down. I have plenty of plaster molds that I still use but honestly they can't compare to the aluminum molds I have purchased. My plaster turn out great uniform shiney baits but bottom line they lack the detail present in aluminum, although they do give a less professional, as some guys have told me "hand poured" look, where as the aluminum look better than alot of the stuff you can buy at the store. Like the plaster (water puddy) because you can whip out a mold but if I where going to pour a lot of that mold or for sale I would have an aluminum mold made. Last water puddy mold I made I had baits poured after an hour great for making prototypes.

I pour a medium smoke/ blue highlights with copper and gold flake that has really been dynamite this year. Another color I have poured a lot of has been cinnamon blue, and the old standby arkansas shiner.

I like the roboworms and original zippers. Would be nice to be able to quit your job and start a business like he did and be as successful as he has been. I like his story about the big tackle guys and zipper worm.

I find the bittering agents don't work a bit. My lab and australian cattle dog drink the stuff down matter of fact it made it worse anything sprayed with it they really tore into it. I think the best solution is to buy the area shock colar set up. It protects an area 2 feet to 12 feet in diameter, runs 70 dollars at Pet Smart. Set it up next to the cord and the dog will get a mild shock when it encounters the perimeter. Works just like the hidden fence systems.

I have made several one and two piece molds previously with no problems. I initially used plaster of paris for my first couple and then since I couldn't find any Durhams used DAP Water Putty Wood Patch from Lowes with fine results. Sets up hard and quick. I could make my mold clean it up and seal with Devcon 5 minute epoxy and be pouring worms within an hour to hour and a half. Recently bought some Durhams and have had nothing but problems. Mold shattered when I removed it from the pan. Even after several days I could easily break the stuff with my hands. Any tricks to using this stuff. Read most posts already just wondering if anyone else has had these problems.

I haven't had any trouble removing masters (clay) from plaster and water puddy molds. I just remove them before they are fully set. I usually end up up putting a small imperfection in the nose but it easily patched in a few seconds. I just seal the clay mold with finger nail polish then apply vaseline.

I typically just make a plaster mold for these type of baits so I don't worry to much about these blemishes. After 30 minutes I usually remove the master from the plaster or water puddy and fill in any imperfections with fresh paris/puddy. Weight another thirty minutes and it easily smoothes out with dental tools and bits of sandpaper, and the best a wet q tip.

I like water puddy better but the plaster molds I made turned out just fine when I began making molds. I used Devcon to seal the molds. I also just greased them up good with a fish attractant and just didn't bother using Devcon. They aren't quite as "smooth" looking but the fish havent seemed to mind. I use powder, lurecrafts, for pearl white.

I am off to the microwave and will give it a try. Thanks.

The bass like it. I poured some as soon as I got my molds in. They work great and overpour is easily trimmed with a razor blade. Most overpour areas are straight cuts so easy to clean up the anteneas (the only tricky part of the pour). I like the A's Magic pour looks good.

I just started pouring earlier this year so from an experience level am a novice but find that pouring into a four cavity stick mold goes rather fast. Easily pour the four ounces without having to reheat in the microwave. The mold does get a little hot with the last pours and I have to wait a little longer to let it set but would think that from start to bagging it takes less than 15 minutes to go through 4 oz soft plastic.

I ended up just purchasing the VMC wide gaps from FFO. 25 bucks for 1000 hooks seemed like a fair price to me. I just have to go through these darn hooks now. I got 1000 5/0 and 1000 2/0 should last me for quite some time.

Thanks. I was wanting to see if anyone had looked into it before I wasted a weekend in the lab at work. I guess I will proceed and see how fine I can get.

See a lot of talk about salt and was wondering if anyone has looked into what is too fine when it comes to salt?

www.gtzip.com

You can always order syringes from places like Fisher Scientific, Aldrich, etc... your one step shop for lab supplies. They also sell plenty of different vials and containers that colors can be transferred to. Buy caps with teflon septa and you will have some of the cleanesest color dispensing bottles. The septa will clean the needle after removal and will keep spills non existant as long as the septa are replaced before they become pierced to much. As far as cleaning syringes you will find that they withstand some of the usual solvents that most guys will have around the house or shop.

Yes get some polarized glasses. I know too many old timers with serious eye problems after years of exposures on the lakes. A couple hundred bucks is well worth continued vision. If you fish a lot I would suggest spending the money and get quality polarized glasses. The reduction in glare and overall increased visibility and perception are added bonus the protection of the peepers. Action Optics, Coastal Del Mar, H2O Optix, Maui Jim, etc... all make great glasses. I have a pair of Action Optics Switchbacks that are very good. They come with interchangeable lenses, gray, brown, and amber. They cover all light conditions and run around 160 bucks. Coastal Del Mar make a line called Fluid that also come with interchangeable lenses. I would look for something light weight and that wraps around the peripheral vision with a comfortable nose fit. These glasses cause the least amount of fatigue and do a very good job of protecting the eyes. You don't have to spend a fortune either you can find good buys at a lot of places.

I found that if I mixed the plaster or water putty with a little more water that the molds were more true to form afterwords. I don't know how most do their molds I am new at the game myself. I always pour a base let it set for a couple of minutes and then put my masters pressed into the base. I let it cure and then cast the top after a very thin coat of vaseline and foil. I don't have any high spots or areas that don't meet well unless I place vaseline on too thick. I haven't had to trim most baits then I have kept it rather simple like stickbaits and worms.