HJS

macbor - I agree with all that has been said. I've made lots of mistakes before coming here to TU and learning the right way. Definitely start with making a 1-piece mold. 2-piece molds are several times more difficult. I rejected several 2-pieces before I finally got one that worked. Lure selection: To start with, choose a factory made lure for a master that has at least one flat side, like sluggos. Lures with fully roundish bodies, like Bass Assassin and many others, are more difficult to make a 1-piece mold from. Liquid plaster tends to creep under and almost completely surround a round master thus making it difficult to extract from the mold without delicately cutting it out. Push in or attach to bottom - I've tried pushing in masters from the top. It works but I now prefer attaching to the base with super glue. Lot less bubbles collect next to the master. Glue Or tape - Flat surfaced lures tape well to the base. But roundish lures don't tape well and are best glued with superglue. Due to their round form, there's much less of a round-bodied lure that makes contact with the tape (think of a car tire sitting on asphalt, only a small section makes contact with the road). As a result, they tend to break free of the tape after the PoP is poured and agitated to remove bubbles. I use Future Glue (superglue) available at Wal-Mart. The bottles comes with a little brush inside, like fingernail polish, which is very handy. Mixing PoP (plaster of paris) - Bubbles in the PoP are your enemy! Pouring water into a bowl of dry PoP will result in a lot of trapped bubbles. One of the best hints I got from this site is to FIRST pour cold water into a cold bowl THEN spoon in the powder PoP mixing the entire time until you get the right consistency. I mix with a single beater from my wife's mixed. Consistency of the mixed PoP is ALL IMPORTANT!!! Best thinner than thicker. I stop at "runny pancake batter", like extra heavy cream. It MUST be very pourable. If you have to help it out of the bowl then its too thick. Have all your ducks in a row before mixing PoP. PoP sets up very fast. During hot weather PoP is a done deal in only 3-4 minutes. Theres more, but you'll learn quickly after a few mistakes.

Sorry, I didn't make my question clear. I WANT runny as oppossed to too thick.

I think I read elsewhere on TU that alcohol is used to thin epoxy... am I right? Are you all referring to the cheap rubbing alcohol thats available at drugstores?

I've never done fiberglass resin... heck, I've never even seen it done although I'm familiar with the basic principle. Just wonder exactly how runny is the resin after it is mixed with hardener??? Can the consistency be adjusted like PoP?

How right you are!!! I spend a lot of time fishing for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay. I use soft plastics almost exclusively. At first I'd use all the natural colors of Bass Assassins, like albino, crystal shad, and opening night. But there's a common saying amongst C-Bay striper fishermen, "If it ain't chartreuse it ain't no use". To make matters more confusing concerning color, many also use limetreuse, including me... which is about as bright as a brand new traffic cone... and it works too! Now ya gotta ask yourself, what is a striper thinking when he hits limetreuse. But then again, stripers are not known to be picky eaters, nor very smart either... which is why I like fishing for them:yeah:.

Earlier in this thread I explained how a hollow would form in the tip of my lures as the plastic cooled and shrank. I'm using the 2-piece mold pictured above. Topping off helped some to solve this problem but it still persisted to an annoying degree. MDC suggested I should try boring a larger & deeper pour hole that stops just short of the tip of the lure. Sorta make a reservoir to hold excess hot plastic so it can be sucked in as the plastic shrunk. So that's just what I did using a 3/4" drill. The results were MUCH better. No shrinkage, problem solved, thanks everyone. George Castanza would be proud of me (shrinkage). Another question: You guys that make 2-piece molds out of PoP, do you seal both the lure cavities AND the interior flat surfaces? When I sealed my mold with 50/50 Elmers/water I only sealed the lure cavities, being very care not to get sealing agent on the flat interior surfaces. I was concerned that the sealing agent might compromise the close fit of the 2 halves. However, after several pourings, I notice as I was pulling out the hardened lures that the sharp edge at the lure/flat-surface interface is starting to chip away ever so. I'm starting to see more pronounced mold lines in my lures than I would like. Now I'm thinking I should seal the entire interior surface to strengthen the plaster edge against chipping. So, do you guys also seal the flat surfaces or should I leave them raw plaster?

After many attempts, I finally made two passable 2-piece molds using PoP and 4" paddletail Bass Assassins as masters. Pictured is one of the molds and the end result... almost free lures. (used recycled plastics) Thanks to everyone who offered advise. Based on advise, I bored the pour holes bigger, as big as a pencil, to facilitate pouring. I never let the pour trickle touch the side of the pour hole (or almost never). Also, I topped off each mold ~3 times to minimize shrinkage gaps at the pour hole. Topping off was easier said then done because it was difficult to know when the plastic was approaching the top. Each top-off had to stop just short of the pour hole, wait 15 seconds, then pour a little more, wait, and repeat again. If plastic rose up into the pour hole during one of the intermediate pours it was a done deal, shrinkage or no shrinkage. Also, in another thread in TU, I learned how to properly mix PoP. That is, to pour cold water in the mixing bowl first THEN sprinkle in dry PoP as I stirred until it looked like extra heavy cream (or 90W gear oil). As far as bubble control, this technique made a HUGE MAJOR difference. Whats really kool about these molds is that the resulting lures barely have any mold lines. As a matter of fact, the factory mold line from the masters was more discernable than mine...KEWL!!! On the down side, pouring 2-piece molds takes maybe 2x-3x longer per pouring than 1-piece mold, mostly due to topping off repeatedly as well as a longer cooling time before lures can be removed from the mold... but they sure are pertty!! Thanks again for all the advise.

Thanks guys, I knew you'd come thru. nova - I use a strong rubber band to hold the halves tightly together. And you're right, the few plastics that came out OK were poured without the plastic touching the sides of the pour hole. Willy - And yep... now I know I need a bigger pour hole. My pour holes are definitely smaller than a pencil... like I'm trying to pee in a coke bottle at 6 feet. Should be easy to bore out a bigger hole. I was thinking that I should keep topping off as the plastic cools to minimize shrinkage. But thats difficult when I can't see whats going on inside the mold and don't know how close I am to the top. A bigger hole, topping off and lots of practice should solve most of my problems. Vodkaman - Yes, I drilled my vent/pour holes after the plaster had hardened. I held the 2 halves together tightly as I drilled the holes. Worked out well, but does take a delicate touch.

Finally, after 4 failures, I was able to make a pretty decent 2-piece mold using PoP and 4" paddletail Bass Assassins as masters. No bubbles and surfaces were smooth. I tried my first pouring using remelted old soft plastics. I also preheat my mold in the oven set at 170F. 2 PROBLEMS: 1 - My pour hole seemed to clog a little too easily regardless how slow I poured. I heated the plastic about as hot as I dared using a microwave. My mold does have a tiny vent holes at the bottom that seemed to worked as planned. My pour hole was made using a 13/64th" drill bit. The pour hole is about as short as it can be, maybe 1/8" long. I used a large counter-sink drill to flair the pour end to facilitate pouring. Should the hole be bigger in diameter? What size pour holes do you all use? 2 - I did get a few successful lures... very nice if I must say so. But when I removed them from the mold and cut the excess off at the pour-end, I saw that shrinkage had caused a small hollow that extended about 3/8" into the lure. How can I avoid shrinkage from wrecking my pours??? Thanks

I second the need for a tiny vent at the far end from the pour hole. Also, I preheat my 2-piece mold in the oven at its lowest setting, 170F. Hopefully the warm mold will delay setting time by 10-15 seconds. I just finished my first successful 2-piece mold and am having my own pouring problems. My post requesting help will appear shortly.

This is what I do to cure my home-pours. Line them up real careful, exactly like you want them to be, then cure for a day or two. Putting the pan of lures in the freezer speeds up the pocess.

Like others have said, there is a long curring time after plastics are pulled from the mold. As soon as mine come out of the mold I lay them on a large cookie sheet in the EXACT position I want them to be. Then I let them sit over night to cure. Sometimes I've even put them in the freezer for a few hours to speed the process. You're asking for big trouble if you bag them right out of the mold, they will get all perminently kinky and bent.

I wrote in another thread about my DAP plaster of Paris (POP) setting up too fast before I was able to lay in 6 masters. I was trying to make a 2-piece mold. As suggested by others, Durham Water Putty (DWP) had a longer setting time. I did a test of setting times before attempting another 2-piece mold. Testing is my forte. Being a retired scientist who did all sorts of testing like this, so I was in my element... whooo-hoo, back to work again! I mixed up both so that they poured easily like pancake batter, maybe even a little more pourable than batter, like extra heavy cream. I pored test puddles on a sheet of fairly rigid PVC sheeting. RESULTS: POP gott too hard to set in masters in 4 minutes. THAT'S too fast for making a 2-piece mold with 6 masters!!! DWP had stayed workable for at least 10 minutes, plenty of time to set in several masters. Also, directions for DWP said that a small slash of vinegar would further delay setting time. So, in a separate patch, I tried adding vinegar. I'm guessing my fluid was about 2+% vinegar and 98% water. This greatly delayed setting time to ~30+ minutes or more. This additional delay in setting time will allow more bubbles to rise to the surface and dissipate. CONCLUSION: DWP has a significantly longer setting time. If you're new at making 2-piece molds I highly recommend using DWP. Cost is comparable with POP. OK, now I can retire again.

COBRA - Do you use some sort of release agent on the top of the marble/granite before pouring the POP? Also, I'd think if the marble was chilled in the freezer 10-15 minutes that the setting time of the POP would be extended... big plus in my book. Thanks for the info.

Troul Hawk - Just found Durham Water Putty at my local hardware store. Directions say to mix with water until its like putty. Question: Can more water be added to make it as pourable as POP?... or doesn't that stuff work that way?

Trout Hawk - I'm using standard plaster of paris (POP) I bought in a hardware store. Looks like flour. Give me more details on this Durham water puddy. Does it come dry and is mixed with water like POP? Is it available in hardware stores or craft shops? Might give it a try. COBRA - I mix the POP fairly runny. When I pour it in its almost self leveling. Just 2-3 taps on the side and its flat as a pancake with no excess water on top. I'd think water collecting on top would interfer with the laying in of the masters when attempting a 2-piece mold. Also, I read in other threads about using a base called lexan? (not sure I have the spelling right) available in hobby stores. Whats that stuff like? Is it flexible? As a side note. I'm fairly new to this board and it only took me an hour of reading thru the many threads to find out what the heck POP was... and I had been using plaster of paris all along:lolhuh:... how embarrassing was that!!!

After a couple of abysmal failures, I thought I would try again to make a 2-part POP mold using six 3" Bass Assassins as masters. ( I got the making of one-piece molds down pat) Knocked together a 4"x7" box, 1' high, and taped it to a pane of glass as a base. Greased up all components with Vaseline to include the glass base. Mixed up the POP like extra heavy cream using ice cold water. Poured 1/2 into the box then quickly started setting in the greased masters. Even though I was working as quickly as possible, the POP had set up too hard by the 4th lure. Man was I p*ssed. Stomped around the house for 15 minutes searching in vain for something good to kick. After an hour of thinking it over I decided to try again. I disassembled the mold box to remove the ruined, now-hard plaster. I had one HECK of a time trying to remove the plaster from the surface of the glass. Ended up having to break up the plaster with a putty knife. SOOOOO... I'm guessing that glass is NOT a good material for the base, even if its well greased... am I right??? I'm guessing the base material needs to be at least a little bit flexible so that it can be peeled from the hard plaster. If I try again to make a 2-piece mold I guess I'll need to limit myself to setting in only 3 masters. Anyone know of a way to slow down the setting time of POP???

chas - Look in the "Homebrew Tools" forum located at the bottom of the list of different forums. Fluidizer beds are discussed in many threads. You might need to go back several pages to see them all, but its all there and worth looking at. If you're only going into dipping jigs for yourself, maybe couple dozen at a time, then just shaking the jar of PP after every couple of jigs and that might be adequate.

Need more info. -How do you heat the lead heads? An oven set at 350F for 15 minutes works great. A torch does work but is too unpredictable. -Jig heads that are too hot collect too much powder paint (PP). -Must shake (fluff-up) PP after every couple of dips otherwise the PP is prone to caking on jig head. -Swish jig head quickly thru PP than instantly tap off excess. -Excess PP on jig head will sag during the curing process. PP is great stuff and won't melt in contact of soft plastics. Hard as nails. But, as with everything in life, there is a learning curve.

I've been pouring my own for about a year now. Made my own molds and remelt old beatup soft plastics. Mostly using old Bass Assassins (BAs) and old ripped 9" & 12" trolling sassies I get from my troller bro-in-law. My resulting lures range from 4" to 8". Pretty much self taught with a few hints I gleaned from other sites. Just found this site a couple of weeks ago (first post) and found out EVERYTHING I was doing wrong. Great site!!! I use my home pours mostly for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and in the Kennebec in Maine. Tried 2-piece molds at first. Molds came out OK but pouring just didn't work out, the hole clogged way too quickly. So I've settled for 1-piece molds and that's working for me. At first I tried pushing the BAs into wet POP... what a mess THAT was! Then learned elsewhere to glue the master up-side-down on the bottom of the mold container and pour POP over it... worked great, why didn't I think of that??? (Still on my learning curve). I made a series of tiny sculpting tools out of nails then sculpt my molds to my liking. I painted the molds with epoxy and spray with PAM as a release agent. Like many others, I use the family microwave to heat plastic. Tried using the 2 cup pyrex measuring cup but felt the mass of the thick glass was solidifying the plastic on the sides too fast. So I am now using a thin-walled 250 liter scientific beaker slipped into a neoprene beer cozy. Seems to work much better. Using scissors, I chop up the old plastics, presorted to color, into limabean sized chunks then heat in the microwave in the beaker. QUESTION: What is everyone's routine for heating times in the microwave??? Right now I start out with a couple of 20 second burst at high power, stirring after each burst with a kabob skewer. As melting begins I start to taper back on the time, from 20 seconds to 15, 10, and end up with 5 second bursts until it looks right for pouring. Seems to work OK, but is there a better way??? Seems like I need to open the microwave door and stir at least 20+ times per patch. Is this how you all heat your plastics in a microwave??? Thanks for a great site. I'll add a few pics: -Pouring equipment -Various end product -Tray of curing 4" paddletail BAsPouring My Own