Vodkaman

Hoping you catch a big fish on your new plastics. Happy birthday. Dave

The drill does centre itself. But for the same reason, I do the operation twice. Also, the first coat has soaked in slightly, so you are unlikely to destroy the seal. I guess a soak test would be in order. I'll add it to my list. Dave

Dwp, RTV, PoP, they all work well and each have a good following. Each have pro's and con's too. A few searches should get you all the information that you could possibly need. The problem with the grubs as that there is not enough weight of plastic to force the pour into the thin tail section. Ghost posted a similar pour (successful) just a day or two ago. It was a larger body though. Check out the post and see the venting strategy. If this does not work then you are either going to have to inject or vacuum the plastic into the tail. Lots of posts on this too. Good reading. Dave

Yes, I was on the wrong page! I have thought about this problem, as it has been discussed recently. If I were doing this construction, I would drill the pin hole 3mm dia. Seal with resin (or thinned epoxy), working the liquid into the surface with a tooth pick. This first coat will be absorbed into the wood, giving a good seal, but rough, raised surface. Then, after curing, I would re-drill 3mm dia. Add a second coat, slightly thicker, but not blocking the hole. After curing, drill through using 2.5mm dia drill. The cotton bud shaft should be a close fit into this hole and provide a nice bearing hole for the hinge pin and no possible wear on the sealed surface. If you don't want to go the cotton bud shaft idea (Snax originally posted the idea, thankyou), just modify the drill sizes to suit your application. Here is the pic of the pen injector.

I use a cheap biro pen. I dismantled it and drilled out the point to 2.5mm dia. A cotton bud tube (a recent TU discovery, thankyou) was a nice push fit. I then cut the pen shaft short and pushed the rubber end of the ear dropper onto the pen shaft. It worked perfectly, leaving enough space for the air to escape as I injected the resin into the 3mm (1/8”) diameter hole. For a clear tube, the ink tube could be cleaned out and used instead of the cotton bud tube. It is 3mm dia and might give more control via visibility. Not tried yet though. Only did this yesterday. Ironic that you asked the question the very next day. The make shift injector can be re-used many times, just by squirting acetone through for a minute and leaving to dry. I cannot see why the same method would not work for D2T, even though it is slightly more viscous. I seal inside all the holes with resin. After curing, I re-drill the holes. Then inject the resin and insert the twisted eyes. Thanks to Mark Poulson for the method of loose twisting one wire around the other. A far superior method than a plain twist, giving more area for the resin or epoxy to grip. A pull test is in progress, 46Lbs, 20 hours so far. Dave

Geluflex is re-meltable rubber, similar to what you just described. I found that melting it in a pan, on a gas ring, required a football field on a windy day. The fumes were choking. I then used the microwave. I found this to be the best way to go, much easier and no scorching. Not sure what the price is, but more expensive than plastisol. It is available in three hardnesses. Not sure about coloring. It is the stuff I used in the vacu-vent tests. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/11056-hairy-worm-2.html See post 15. A lot of this plastic has already been re-melted a few times.

Many people are of the opinion that it has all been done before. But I maintain the opinion that there is a lot more out there to be discovered. Respect to Pete and Diemai and anyone else that displays an ounce or two of originality.

Pete, I reallt like it. When I started exploring the hunting action, I experimented with double lips, but not in the configuration that you are showing. I put both lips parallel, one front and one rear. Even tried the rear lip on the back of the body. Never got it to do what I wanted though, but the action was plentiful. I will re-visit the idea one day, as I have learned a lot since then. Even 25 years ago, you refused to sit and think in the box. Dave

How did the top coat stand up to the tooth? Great pic. Dave

Great job Jim, congrats, good result.

The member submitted tutorials has a few tutorials on the subject. Do you plan to use plaster of paris or RTV? I did an advanced search on 'piece mold' for the 'soft plastics' forum. It came up with 275 replies, so didn't help much, too much reading. I then searched on 'making piece mold pop vent', this produced 3 replies. Still probably not what you are looking for. The best way to go about it is to read some, then search on specific words for more detailed information. But the tutorials section has everything you need in one package. If you cannot find any specific information, then post a question. You will get far more response that way. Answering how to make a 2 pc mold could take hours, answering a specific question, only minutes. Hope this helps. Read some and ask away. Dave

What do you plan to use it for? It reads like a latex type product, but it is a 2 part, so is a very soft RTV. Probably would make a good one piece mold, allowing you to make almost round sections and still allowing you to remove the casting. Might be too stiff for a bait, but only a test will give you the answer. Also, a long time to wait for a bait to cure. Keep us informed. I forgot to check the price. Dave

Resin releases from RTV molds without too much fuss. I usually add a smear of petroleum gel, but even when I forget, sticking is minimal. The density of resin is about 1.2, so it is only just heavier than water, this might be an issue for you. But this will be true for all plastics, unless they are mixed with something heavier, maybe tungsten powder, don't know where you'll get it though. I suggest you tie a lump of plastic on and try it first, before getting too involved. I know the resin can be colored, again craft shops that deal with molding products (chess pieces etc) will be able to help. Try a google search on coloring resins. Maybe others will be able to help with other kinds of hard plastic, I've only experienced polyester resins. Good luck and post your results, good or bad, so others my benefit from your experience. Dave

RobRaven, maybe a pic would help stir up some ideas. Dave

Resin might work, if the mold seals well, if not, it will run out all over your bench, so best put some plastic sheet down first. Resin is a bit on the brittle side, but quite cheap. Fibreglass resin (polyester) has a purple tint to it,I pay $3 per litre. It is possible to get a clear, colorless resin, but it is much more expensive. Try craft shops. The resins used by the hard baits boys (alumilite) might be less brittle, not too sure. But for small jig heads, I doubt that the brittleness will be a problem. Try a search. What type of plastic are you planning to use? Dave

No problem Pete, thanks once again to everyone. I did behave myself, even arrived home early (early in the morning). No cranial damage done. Dave

I weigh my mold before going into the oven. I then aim for a 30% weight loss in the drying process. I remove the mold at intervals to weigh and monitor progress. Over cooking will make the mold brittle and powdery, rendering the mold useless. Would be a shame to ruin the mold at this stage, so I believe the extra work is well worth it. I can see a few heads shaking, but I cannot help myself, it is the engineer in me. After a few molds, you get a feel for how long to cook the mold anyway. Dave

MT, a bamboo fly rod! Now that is art. I found a materials supplier for you.

A spur point bit or a forstner bit. http://diydata.com/tool/drillbits/drillbits.php When people refer to a forstner, I believe they are referring to the spur point bit. Go for quality and keep 'em sharp. The above link explains all. Dave

Hi Ellie, welcome to TU. I only know about lipped cranks, but would love to see a pic. Lots of experts here, I'm sure you will get the help you need. Dave

Bruce, I'm just waiting for the lake to freeze over, so I can try the ice rod that my brother bought me. Lots of projects on the go here. Once I get this computer table finished and installed, the next project is a duplicator. Dave

Thad, I think your argument holds up for a moisture cure urethane, like DN. Are you sure your friend was using a 2 part epoxy and not a moisture cure jobby.

The reason a swimbait does a 180 deg turn, is that when you 'twitch' it and stop, a big vortex is thrown over one side of the back of the lure. Because the bait is not moving forward, the vortex stays in contact with the lure and keeps pushing on the tail, forcing the bait to turn around. My guess is that it would turn with lip, but may not be strong enough to make 180. To be honest, I can make an argument for and against and would be very interested in the result of this experiment, to refine my swimbait theory. Will the lure swim without the lip?

PhilB, you were right, big grin here.

MT. That is how you know you are addicted! (now where was that wine shop?)