SlowFISH

Looking at the pics - it seems like you're trapping air away from the vents. I think there are many suggestions above to try - I'd also recommend one easy one..... shoot the mold on a slight angle instead of straight up and down (say 20 or 30 degree tilt).... I have a few molds that seem to fill better when clamped in my vice on a slight angle... theory being the plastic fills "down" in the mold first then pushes the air up/out as it fills..... on a mold held perfectly vertical there is no "up" for the air to seek as it fills and trap in the ribs areas. Hope this makes sense. J.

The only tricky part is the legs. I'd definitely mold the legs separate from the body... if you really wanted to, you could insert the legs into the body mold if you didn't want to glue/weld them together. As for the leg mold - a real quick/fast test would be taking a small cup and filling it with POP. I'd then wax up some toothpicks and insert them in very close to each other to mimic the legs in the pic (don't go too far as to trap them from being pulled out of the pop). Once it dries up - pull the toothpicks out and drill/grind/whatever a small area on top to give yourself some meat to the leg part - like a table top to you legs. The table top will let you pull the legs out of the mold and weld them to the body (I hope this makes sense). I'd then test with a real hot hand pour.... might have to heat the mold as well. Odds are, the legs won't vent when hand poured. So the next step would be to make top to the mold that allows you to inject. Look at some of the skirt mold out there - same principle except you have a very deep mold instead of very wide mold. I'd still make/test one in POP. On the mold I'd make sure the bottom/end of the legs close to the bottom surface of the mold (say 1/8"). Then get a real tiny drill bit and vent the bottom of the legs. There are some real tiny bits out there, you'll have to use a hand held pin vise to hold them. You should be able to make a vent that is small enough that the plastic won't fill/clog it. This mold I'd shoot cooler and wouldn't press to hard on it at all - to insure you don't fill the vents at the bottom of the legs. Hope that makes sense. J

Can't help with recipe - but I agree with the above post - you'll find a range of colors in alewives. In the one lake I fish - I've caught a few alewives to looks at their color for painting up cranks. Some showed a white belly, silver side, purple highlight on the shoulder then a brown on top (Sort of like a LC Ghost minnow bait)... others white belly - silver sides with a blue shoulder and black top.... On both - that purple or blue area was faint and came/went as you looked at different angles... a nice triple color open pour could probably mimic that basic scheme nicely. J.

Here's his facebook link.... he does really nice work... a few of my friends buy those lizards - that's why I know the image that was shared. (Sorry I messed up his name earlier... Paul Krew) https://www.facebook.com/PaulKrewCustomHandPouredBaits J.

Those look like Paul Crew hand poured baits.... not sure there is a mold you can buy that matches those. J.

I used the silcone cups. I'd recommend buying bigger ones if there are a few sizes where you shop... as noted - you can't fill it up completely and pour as they do "collapse" at the top. 1/2 way filled is probably a safe place to start - and then when you squeeze the top it makes a decent pour spout. They do get HOT as well. As for them being better/worse then pyrex.... it's all about how you use them and what you do. I only make a few baits at a time when using my micro - so filling it half way, heating then sucking it out with the injector to shoot works perfect for me... I like knowing they won't shatter if I set it on something by accident or even if I drop them off the shelf I pack all my crap on. No real right or wrongs in this hobby as long as it works for what you need to do. J.

Whatever your surface on the master is - your mold is going to replicate. If you wanted a grainy finish - not coating the master would help provide that - but depending on the material and shape of the master and mold you could have difficulty getting the master back out.... for example a very porous material could lock in place. I've used elmers glue, epoxy, paint, etc, etc to coat masters. I've even sanded a few as smooth as I could get them just layered on wax and polished it the best I could by hand..... the wax will fill small holes to some degree and help pop the master out of the mold... J.

All good points - and when we talk production - let's keep in mind scale and speed needed by any bait maker who sells real quantities to keep up with demand..... as that might be the bigest driver of cost than any technical challenge of the bait, mold or the cost of the inserted material. It's really easy to say - put a strip of mesh in-between the mold halves and shoot. Honestly - I could modify my swimbait mold to do this in about a half hour and be shooting away. I'd be pretty sure with even the same mold and not modifying the design I could find a material on McMaster Carr or some composites site that would work and not effect the flex/action to any noticeable degree. But that's a hobby mold that produces 1 bait every couple minutes and has one monkey operating it (That monkey is me!!! LOL!)) In reality - even if a production mold is modified to do it and the bait is unchanged from an action standpoint.... how to you get that strip into every cavity in any sort of reasonable production tool. And not only how do you get it into every cavity - how do you do it accurately and in split seconds, every single time perfectly to minimize bad baits. You can do it with a robotic arm - super fast and accurate - but from the work I do, most of these arms start at hundreds of thousands of dollars - guess where that cost goes. And then you'd need a way to hold the mesh in the mold as it's closed... vacuum on mesh-HHmmmm? A feature/action in the mold... can the injection machine or operator handle this? Another tricky piece... As a consumer - we'd love everything to last forever and work perfectly for a minimal cost. Reality is - even when that can be delivered - most of the time it's the process and speeds needed by manufacturing that holds these types of innovation from the market. Smaller bait makers MAY have more flexibility to a degree... but even if it takes someone 10 seconds to load up a tool by hand with inserts and then shoot it on a mold that they typically turn over every minute - that's close to a 18% reduction in manufacturing speed alone - never mind the cost of the material. 10 seconds of me in my basement is nothing - non exisitant - seconds in high speed manufacturing can be a killer. I have a soft bait I've been working on and sharing with friends - and it's awesome so they say.... they all tell me to go market it... but the mold is nuts from a complexity standpoint and knowing what I do know about hi-speed manufacturing - my guess the reason there isn't something like this out there is due to that complexity in opening/closing the mold parts. So it's not the bait cost that will kill me as it uses the same amount of plastic another typical bait of it's kind would use - but the time/complexity of opening/demolding/closing the mold that will likely keep this design in my basement forever!! LOL!! J.

One quick question.... are you using the 20lb Lee LEAD pots and assume the PID thermal controllers are just keeping there temps in the plastics range? J.

Really nice setup... it looks like the perfect hobbist machine.... not so big that you feel you need to use 1 gallon of plastic to fire it up. Would love if there were more things in this size for personal use. Again - nice setup - very impressive. J.

You can pretty much use anything that will take the heat for a mold. Wood, plaster, clay, resins/plastics, etc, etc.... it will all come down to your surface finish and life expectancy of the mold. I make all my molds from a material called REN shape - its' not rated to take heat over mid-200's.... but it works perfectly fine with exception of a little distortion after alot of pours - but once clamped shut it's no big deal or I let it cool off a bit and continue. You can really use almost anything to be honest.... but please use common sense!!! LOL!! Even though we pour anywhere from 280-350 - the plastic is only that temp for a short time as it's quickly transfering heat to the mold... that's probably why my REN works even though it's not rated for the temps I'm using.... I've also used Dick Nite's lurecoat (original formula) on the inside of molds and it works well giving a glossy bait.... may be something to consider for sealing up wood if you go that route.... reduce it a bit with acetone and it should soak right in.... I'd research what guys are using to seal balsa baits... J.

I've only used blue highlights in black.... but I can tell you what I thought was a slight highlight in my basement/house looked completely different in the water... in my case - the blue sheen magnified... my guess is the sun light is far superior to any light I was using. Might wanna check outside and in the water when you get the chance. J.

I haven't used the smooth on - I had a co-worker that did - but he needed to pull vacuum on his mold to get the small detail in the part he was making. I'd call them up and ask.... but from prior experience - being able to pull a vacuum on a mold will help as it pulls the air out. To do so you will need a pump and chamber which can be bought off ebay/amazon... J.

Try this site to start.... http://www.smooth-on.com/ J.

Interesting.... it doesn't seem that much better price wise than 1 gallon of their crystal clear once you factor in shipping. Would be curious to know what to expect different between the two for the hobbyist application. J.

Mark, How big of a bait is it for? I used the Caney Creek Medium and it will float a 3/0 Gammy in a decent size swimbait. Alot will also depend on the line you're using - I don't think anything will keep floro floating - but braid or mono would help. I don't think the stuff I used is any different than others plastisol... alot has to do with hook/bait size. If you're making a DIY mold or willing to modify a mold you own.... there are a few tricks that might help float the bait as well. I've seen a few baits with "holes" in them to trap air and help get that thing up and floating. J.

I'd think that would actually be fairly easy if you could find some thin walled teflon with an OD the same as the ID of your injector... then turn the injector piston down a bit to fit the ID of the teflon and you'd be off and running. J.

Another question on the blasting media... Can you remelt baits with it? I try to remelt almost everything I make provided it comes back to the boat - I keep the used stuff grouped by color so when I need to make something I can mix some old baits in with new plastisol and not worry about weird colors/etc. I could do the same with these baits if it's possible to remelt. Thanks. J.

X2... very solid advice if you're nuking.

Not sure there are any cheaper... if you have 2 injectors already - I believe you can buy just the blending block and clamp which will save you a little cash. J.

Probably the best piece of advice in this thread.... and realistically you can take that even a bit further - as there are somethings you'll NEVER get a cut and dry answer too (unfortunately) and what works perfect for one person is a nightmare for another (ex. prestos vs micros / Pyrex vs. Silicone / Injection vs hand pour / etc. etc.).... as much as the people on this site can and are willing to help - anyone's advice is what works for them and there are almost NO universals with this stuff..... this is one of those trail and error type hobbies.... even if you follows someone else's playbook step by step. Glad to hear you have it worked out - trust me - everyone goes through some sort of unexplained non-sense at some point and gets frustrated - but the more you try and experiment (and spend money LOL!!) the more you'll figure it out. J.

I started this task as well awhile back - and Bob's comments about hooks being different shoudn't be overlooked/underestimated. I scanned a hook and traced as close as I could the form. I then mocked them up in 3D. After that I then used my little CNC to cut the profiles into a block to test fit. I found maybe half worked - the straighter the hook the better the fit (Think simple round bend hooks). Things with alot of bend (think EWG stuff) had way more variability and were a real PITA. I now just concern myself with dialing in the hook eye and shaft near the lead - after that it's just general reference. In doing this I match the critical points (entry/exit of mold cavity) and then leave a wide area for the hook to sit... has made life ALOT easier!!! J.

I'll chime in here since I stated 350 in another thread and maybe should elaborate a bit.... First - I agree - if you have a process down and everything is working well like most in this thread have chimed in and said - then no need to change and hit a specific temp or whatever. But if you are a hobbist like myself - who uses cups and a micro most of the time and tends to pour a bunch in the late winter and then when I run out of something over the next few months it can help. I personally just don't get that feel for just right unless I've been pouring a bunch and I've found hitting a temp (for me 350) and using a digital thermo has eliminated a few variables and I've had better/more consistent results in doing so. I'd also assume that different brands and chemical of plastisol composition may effect the temps you need to hit to kick it over - but from most of my searching around - 350 seemed to be suggested often to insure they have "kicked over". With that being said - I don't keep my plastic at steady 350 or add glitter at that temp - I usually hit 350 - stir and then by the time I'm ready to shoot it's cooled down to the 330 range. Then I'm pouring and re-heating the stuff to stay between 300 and 325 - sometimes a little less or a little more depending on the bait. If I am just melting down baits I've already made - I don't bother hitting 350 either - as it's already kicked - so I get them melted and just go. Hope this helps.... J.

I've had similar issues with a few different brand(s)... from my experiences a few key points were made in this thread and I'd make sure they didn't get lost in some of the above posts... Make sure 100% you hit 350 on temps. This goes for ANY brand you use... I've had stickness from one brand and color changing on another that was MY FAULT for not cooking the plastic enough. Buy a $20 dollar digital thermo... worth ever cent... be sure you are hitting 350. I'd even recommend stirring a bit and checking the temp again as I can hit 350-360 in the center of a cup and be 320 in the top half. Not sure how much you used so far... but it's possible if any hardpacking/particulate didn't get mixed up real well that what you poured out so far was "missing" some of the ingredients so to speak. If you've only used a little of your 2.5 gallons - if it was me - I'd shake/stir the crap out of it and make sure it's all liquid and there isn't anything on the bottom or stuck to the container. I've shaken the hell out of 1 gallon containers for 5 minutes and not even dented any hardpacking on the bottom - I needed to scrape it lose with a long stick and then stir shake even more. After you are 100% sure it's mixed really really really good and there is NO hardpacked stuff on the bottom - I'd let it sit for a bit (1 hour) then use it. Shaking the hell out of it may/will cause more bubbles... but I'd try to separate the variables with the issues you are having at some point - making sure it's mixed perfectly does that. I get bubbles when I microwave even with a brand that usually minimizes this issue. I cook to 350-360 and in my case just push the injector past the bubbles on top and go. BUT I've noticed after I let the plastic cool down into the mid 200's then reheat - I don't have bubble issues anymore - or atleast they are minimized. I'd cook your plastic to 350 - scoop out the bubbles on top with a metal spoon and let the rest cool down into the 260-270 range then reheat up to pouring temps and go... this may help minimize the bubbles. J.

I use a large portion of my basement which started as a HUGE area and has slowly gotten cramped as I've added tools, and more tools, and more tools!!!! LOL!!! One thing that I did which really helps is making things "mobile". I have one of those $400-500 Sears table saws.... I built a platform with wheels that I sit it on and roll in into a corner to store. Same with my airbrush booth, etc. I only use my table saw every now and then and with a saw - you need a ton of space behind it so you can cut long items - so the effort to roll it out in to an open area - drop it off the platform and run it is well worth the space I save. I do this for the other tools that I just don't use ALL the time. You can also do things like make your work benches tall enough to fit stuff underneath - and I mean roll that table saw under there or anything large you don't need all the time. I recently added a dust collector - before you build you space do some research and think about it - as where you place your tools effects the efficiency of the dust collector. A dust collector is a GREAT thing to have. For years I used a shopvac pluged into the back of whatever tool I was using. But my basement is 15x cleaners with a dust collector as I don't "get lazy" and run tools without collection because the shopvac was way over there or whatever. I'd also strongly recommend figuring a way to collect dust from a drill press if you have one. You'd be shocked at the amount of dust you generate boring a hole through something - I have an open 4" hose off my collector next to my drill press that I just strategically place when drilling anything bigger than 1/8" diameter - makes a HUGE difference. J.