carolinamike

Only in the name of fairness.

Mark, I'd like to kind of discourage you from the use of floating bubbles. They're not really that safe and they also throw your colors off. They're microscopic glass spheres with air trapped in them. As you know air expands when it's heated. Most people find they have to use a lot of these to get a bait to float. Keep in mind the softer the plastic the more bouyant the plastic. A super soft formula I know will float a 3/0 hook(Gamakatsu). And also a lot of people complain when they use a microwave on regular settings that Lureworks plastisol creates microbubbles. This might be what you're looking for. Either one of these alternative methods will help keep your colors more true and a whole lot safer for you. Remember if you breathe in those microspheres, they don't come back out, you carry those in your lungs for the rest of your life.

I started this one and there's been so much talk about great customer service, I think there's other companies that need to be addressed about this subject, especially for the guys who have never dealt but with one company. There's several companies out there besides the one mentioned above that has great customer service and that have paved the way and have set a great example for other companies to follow. First there's Lureworks. One of the newest to this end of the business but a very large company that is a major player in the industry. They can supply you with very small amounts or very large amounts of products. Before these guys came along, you could only buy 4 types of plastisol, super soft, soft, medium and hard. They have a large range of plastisols that can meet any special need that you have and they have excellent customer service. This is another one of those companies that have been around a long time and who wouldn't have been without great customer service. Then there's Bear's Baits. This company made hand injection a standard by producing the first hand injector and injection molds, specifically designed for hand produced products. He took so much ridicule when he first came on the market with these. There was a lot of people that said hand injection was too slow and was a bad idea. His company really took a lot of flack when it was first started. And now most all the people that said these things do hand injections. Dave's a really great guy and set the example for a lot of people on what good customer service is all about. M-F. This is a company that has been around a long time. Another one of those folks that if it weren't for great customer service wouldn't be around. I would venture to say that really they helped start the hand pour industry. I can remember their bait making kits way back from when I was a kid. At one time they were sold in every major tackle store around, and they carry a full line of completely phthalate free products. Jeff and Robert are great folks to deal with. Of course don't forget Lurecraft. Before hand injection, this was the go to place for molds. They have the largest selection of open pour molds on the market. Kim and the folks at Lurecraft are great people to deal with. When I first got started making plastic, they were my bread and butter. I've bought a many a gallon of plastisol from them. Always excellent people to deal with and some of the greatest customer service to speak of. If I ever had a problem with a mold or anything else they were always Johnny on the spot to fix it. And of course there's Kevin at Basstackle. I've always heard nothing but good things about these folks. They have a large selection of molds and now Kevin is making large scale production molds. He has a large number of CNC machines and is a very busy fellow. His company has also been around for a long time. Another example of high quality of customer service. Like I said I wish Do-It and their staff the best of luck with their new venture. And if they follow the examples set by these other companies I predict they'll do very well.

vabassen02, I know the person you're talking about in KY. He's an older gentleman and one reason that you can't find any information on him is I don't think he's taking on any new customers. No matter what injector you go with, you will be required to purchase a production mold. There's 3 companies I can recommend to you now, who are experienced in these types of molds. But the cost of these molds are still significant and based on the type of bait, the number of cavities that will fit in a mold and whether you want the mold to do solid colors or laminates or two colors (body one color, tail another color). Yes we do smaller minimums than the other injectors, that's one way we've found our niche in this market. The minimums will be based also on the size of the baits. If it's a normal size bass bait, worm, swim baits, creature baits and things of that nature, we usually require at least a 2000 piece per color minimum. Much larger baits we require a 1000 piece per color minimum. This is mainly because of machine setup time and color changes. But this can also vary according to color. You can PM me here on TU for details or you go to my profile and then go to our website and our phone # is listed on the website. I can give you more details and moldmaker's names. Hope this helps you out some.

We have some really exciting news to share. We wanted you to know about this before an official Press Release is made in the near future. For the last couple months, there have been discussions between Do-It and Caney Creek about how we can provide the ultimate products to you. The owners of Do-It, Jason Haefner and Ryan McBride, are both really passionate about the outdoors and fishing, just like we are. We have gotten to know them and learn much about their mold business, other lines of business like CSI (Component Systems), and most importantly – the passion and pride the employees of Do-It have about what they do. Overall I can say this, they are awesome, and are going to bring so much additional technology, innovation and manufacturing capabilities to what we are doing. With that said, and with this common passion, Do-It Corporation is acquiring Caney Creek Molds. What does this mean? Initially - all sales, operations, manufacturing, etc. will be moving to Do-It. Research, design and prototyping of soft plastics will continue as normal on Lake Fork. tpalmer, first off, welcome to TU. I was not assuming. Like I said I was speaking of the standard practices of larger companies in the plastic industry. I make plastic for a living on a large production scale. I had been in business a couple of years when I too had a similar offer, but basically what would have happened is that I would have taught the company to run the equipment and they would have canned me. I'm sorry to say, but this is also a standard practice. I also have a customer who had a company that wanted to buy him out for a set amount of money and they offered him 3% of total sales for 2 years or a job in research developement and testing. Does this sound familiar? I was not stating this to offend anyone and the current owner of CC made the move he felt like he had to make. I did not make the statement to offend you or tbilly. I merely went by my experience in the industry and what was printed on the former owner's forum above. smallmouthaholic, a couple of the companies do buy in 55 gallon drums now and repackage the product and 3 companies buy the component for plastisol and compound their own formulas. So, buying by the 55 gallon drum only really won't bring the cost down, but there are 3 ways that the cost may come down. first - they may buy their own components and compound their own material but these components are not sold by the 55 gallon drum, they're purchased in much larger quantities. So a very large facility is usually needed to do this. second - they can buy it by what's referred to as the tote. Which again is a much larger quantity than a 55 gallon drum. A 55 gallon drum is around 440 lbs. I could be mistaken but I think a tote is around 2000 lbs. third - they can buy 10 drums or more which may reduce the price per lb some, but it definitely reduces the shipping cost. 10 drums or more is the way I prefer to buy. I wonder about the moldmaking aspects myself. You've got to remember you were dealing with a Mom and Pop company that was completely run by the former owner and his wife. Now the molds will be run by someone paid to do the job at a larger company. And also since it was a Mom and Pop operation it was no problem speaking directly with the owner. Now you will deal with a larger company's customer service, which apparently is very good or they wouldn't have been in business 50+ years. Sometimes people are real anxious to take things the wrong way. That seems to be the way arguments get started on this forum. It's a discussion guys, don't be so easily offended.

At first it says that Do-It has acquired Caney Creek and all production, operations and sales will be conducted from Do-It, then it says that they are partners, now it's turned into a merger. A company that is as large and well established as Do-It (50+ years) usually does not take on partners, though one common practice in this industry is to acquire a company and keep the former owner on as an employee. Does this mean Poly One and P&D Coloring are also part of this merger? I think we'll know more of the details when and if Do-It makes their announcement. But I would like to wish Do-It Molds the best of luck with their new venture.

I had a friend to call me yesterday and tell me that Caney Creek has sold their company to Do-It Molds. I checked their forum and sure enough, it's confirmed. Well, what do you know.

Paulforpaws, sounds like you bought the plastic paint made for soft plastic lures such as fishing worms so there is really nothing wrong with the product, just the application. They make a retarder that keeps the paint from drying so fast, for people using an airbrush its a must have. I have dealt with these folks for years and they are very helpful, when you call them dial extension 106 you'll probably have to leave Bruce a message but tell hm the problem you are having and ask him for help solving it and you should get the results you are looking for, next time be sure and tell them what youre wanting to paint and im sure they will point you in the right direction.

Frank is right, there is a big difference between the two (mainly the heating elements). I dont know about lead in the plastic pot, but plastic in the lead pot is a big no no!

Guys mine is stored outside in an open air shed and catches a north wind and we get down into the twenties and teens and i have never had a problem, just as long as its stored where you cant get any moisture in it, then you are ok. One more thing I need to mention if you store it out side and buy it by the drum dont let water get on top of the drum even if its sealed, the natural expanding and contracting will actually cause it to suck water in at the top, I learned this lesson the hard way.

Thanks for the link Bill. They have what I'm looking for, but $10 for 25g is way too expensive. Especially when I'm needing 2lbs. I don't believe my customer would want to pay the price per piece for that. But they have exactly what I'm looking for.

I don't believe any of those are open pour Bob, are they? They look like injection molds to me. You don't need a laminating plate for open pours.

LureCraft has the largest selection of open pour molds.

jigginpig, I know what you're saying. I use a red plastic with a blue hi-lite to do Tequila Sunrise, which gives you the purple effect. But then I would have to start looking for red pearl powder and considering I'd be using this in a clear plastic, it just wouldn't work. I can't find a purple pearl powder through my regular suppliers and other suppliers won't respond back to me. So it looks like I'm going to use a purple coloring with a regular violet hi-lite. This should get me close to what I'm trying to achieve and I've just figured out the bait that was sent to me to match is actually a paint and not a pearl powder. But they do make purple pearl powder, I have a sample of it, but my regular supplier is waiting on the product to come in from China and my customer needs his baits ASAP.

Sorry about that Dink Master. With so many swim baits out on the market, they're hard to keep up with. So do you know who's plastisol they use to help Rooster out?

Rooster, when you say top shelf swim baits, if you're referring to a machine made product that is done by one of the larger injection companies, then there's no such thing as a top shelf plastic. Most of these guys call around and find which plastisol is cheaper per pound. When you're using heat exchangers, it really doesn't matter. When it comes to plastisol and doing hand pours, just because the plastisol is more expensive certainly does not make it a better product. Plastisol is a personal preference only when doing hand pours or hand injection. What is not a good plastisol to one person is the best plastisol in the world to another. Some companies are more than glad to send you a small free sample. The bottom line when it comes to plastisol is to get samples from everyone (Lureworks, Bear's Baits, Lurecraft, MF, Caney Creek) and find out what is best for you. And then let us know which one you like the best and why. This is the way to share great honest information on TU.

Check with Bear Baits and Bass Tackle and see if they have anything close to what you are looking for. Like you said you are looking for something close, not exact.

I think thats made to catch fishermen more than fish.

Mike, LureWorks will be cheaper than anyone else. They're not just a retailer they are a distributer.

LureWorks has it, you may have to call Bruce and ask for it but they have it. I'm trying to find purple(with no luck).

JSC, thanks for letting us know. How bad is it? I really feel for him and know where he is coming from, on top of asbestoses, I was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago with emphysema. We will definatly keep him in our prayers. Keep us up to date on how he's doing.

Or you can just buy green pumpkin. Just call Bruce.

Andree, as long as you aren't using any kind of mold release the Spikeit paint is about the best on the market for doing airbrush work on plastics. I have a customer that curently uses it and he sent me some samples of his baits after they were painted and I could not rub the paint off, and he does no clear dipping.

I know most people dont like the lee pots because of the inconsistant heat controls, but they are absolutley great for doing two color pours in open molds. set them up side by side, pour 1 color then the other, and it eliminates the cold factor all together. I used them for years and never had 1 cold crack, sometimes i had to wait a couple of seconds to keep the colors from swirling together, but truthfuly they looked like machine made laminates.

J, heating and air conditioning supply stores carry a special kind of soldering rod that may do what you're wanting to do. It is a hard solder, so you may have to have an acetelyne torch, but being that it's so small, propane may get it hot enough. Now I'm not really sure what this is going to do to the integrity of the metal, and you may be able to accomplish it with a good silver solder and flux. That would be something you could try.