mark poulson

I wanted an orange for a craw bait I was pouring, so I added Lurecraft bright red to Lurecraft yellow. I was trying to use the colors I had on hand. The color I got was not the hot orange that wanted. Instead, it is dull and more creamy orange looking. Any suggestions of how I can get what I'm looking for, short of buying more colorant. I do have some Del's chartreuse, if you think that would help.

Welcome! You lures look great.

What kind of was are you using?

I push the keeper back into the plastic enough to cover it, and that's more weedless. Just push the hook point a little deeper into the bait before you expose it, so there's enough plastic to cover the keeper barb. Using a punch skirt will also help keep the bait more weedless, and be sure to peg your sinker tight to either the top of the bait, or the punch skirt.

I found that I was able to control how my plastic poured very easily, once I got a digital infra red thermometer like on BaitJunky's site. Being able to know what the plastic temp is before you pour/shoot lets you vary the temp to get different molds to shoot better. I do laminates by filling one half of the body in one side of the open mold with one color by hand, and then closing the mold and shooting the second color. I found I need to shoot at 335-340 to get the second color to go past the first and fill the claws, and to really bond with the first. I could never have done that without the digital thermometer. Like Apdriver said, just be sure to stir the plastic before you take the temp, because it will be hotter in the middle than on the surface.

I bought one of their composite swimbait molds, and it is great. Injects easily, and the bait swims well, too.

Would adding a feathered treble damp down the wobble, like a tail on a kite stabilizes it?

That should work for making stencils, too.

I would think that it would be an expensive proposition initially, unless you get your equipment and product donated. Try contacting some of the soft plastic suppliers and equipment manufs and ask if they can help out. Good luck!

Maybe you need to put your face in the corner, but, then again, that might scare off customers. Hahaha

Cooler plastic, and holding pressure should do the trick, but it has it's own issues. As seems to be my wont, I shot myself in the foot again. This time, I made a 6 individual cavity pop mold with a fat, long profile. Because I wanted to keep denting to a minimum, I injected at 325. Because I hold pressure on the injector for a five count before I move to the next cavity, I can only inject four cavities before the plastic cools too much. I don't preheat my injector, which I'm sure would help. The mold came out good, so I'll just do four cavities at a time, and be happy that it works.

Good to know. I have tons of allergies, but, fortunately, epoxy isn't one of them.

I'm sure that's just because they know you. Hahaha

After I get the face cut to the proper angle, I use a dremel with a sanding cylinder attachment to hollow out the popper face.

You don't need a lathe, if you have a stationary belt sander and a dowel of the wood you want to use. They don't have to be turned to work. Topwaters like that are very forgiving when it comes to symmetry, as long as you get the ballast right.

Thanks. Those baits look great, but it's too rich for my blood. And, just for the record, I like the first batch better. Nothing in life is perfect.

Those will get bit! Whose mold is that?

If it isn't getting enough amps, the breaker or fuse would blow.

Ask them to fire it up in their shop to test it before they send it to you.

The biggest toads I've found are the Stanley Bull Ribbits, and they are only 4.5".

Welcome!

A larger ball in front of the lure body might give you more bearing surface for your clevis.

Geez, don't you just hate when that happens? Hahaha

I think those blanks should never have been sent out. Lousy quality control. I don't think we, the customer, should be their quality control, and he has a poor customer relations attitude if he thinks not being happy with poor product is complaining. Posting his company name would be a service to us all, but it might open you up for legal action, so I'd suggest you consult someone, like a lawyer, before you do it.