SlowFISH

I'll chime in on one other thought.... I have a close friend that was in software sales. He took a large portion of his salary a few years ago and invested in creating a bike business. He made a business plan and decided to purchase one container ship of "his" bikes built in China and see how it went. If they all sold - he'd keep going - if not - eventually he'd cut the price low enough - put them on EBAY and get his cash back at worst. Needless to say - he's done VERY well with it and a few of the notable things he does that might help you... First - he's a salesmen - very nice guy - can talk to anyone. So he sticks to that - he outsources the manufacturing, development, shipping, warehousing, product photography, etc,etc, etc, etc. The theory here is - he's only one person and he's NOT qualified to do many of the tasks that need to be done as part of the business. He took on the portion he's qualified for and devotes a large portion of his time to doing it very well. This allows others (the people he pays) who are more qualified and efficient to do the things they do. Does this come out of his bottom line... no doubt. But if he's spending his time labeling and shipping bicycles to a shop that have already been sold - he's not using that time to sell more bikes to someone else. So he's been able to grow the business in a way that works to suit his talents best. Second - (Add admittedly this really helped) His wife works in PR. So she's helped guide him to get his company name out there. He's worked to get into publications - on the news - they use social media extremely well - sets up demo rides - sponsors bike rides and the like - so aside from sales - he's constantly promoting to drive more sales. He does this all from a 2 bedroom condo with a wife and 2 kids - no office - no warehouse - no garage... a laptop, a phone and a car to get out there and sell. So the point I'm trying to make is - you don't have to wear every hat to start your business - and in some cases in may hinder you to do so. Pick off the chunks you NEED to do - and take a look at how outsourcing can help support the others. it's a little bit of a different world out there today - Kick-starter, Quirky, etc didn't exist years ago - now relyign on others to help is entirely possible and in some cases may be the only way to do it. If you can only carve and paint 5 baits a day in your garage - but can develop a pattern and have a shop carve 5000 in a couple days and ship them to a painter who knocks them out in a couple weeks - you'd have alot more product on hand and during those weeks you can be selling, developing, etc etc. J.

I honestly think everyone in this thread is saying the same thing - just going at it different ways. The truth is - it can be done - BUT YOUR GONNA HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. IMHO one great idea is just the start and honestly - NOT ENOUGH. There are no "million dollar" ideas - there are good ideas combined with hard work and cash that may make money.... but there is no easy ride... and I think that's what everyone is pointing out in either a positive or negative way. I have 16 years of experience in Product Development (it's my "day" job LOL!!). The hit rate of successful market launches compared to "projects" conducted is extremely low. The reason's for this are so complicated it will make your head spin - but usually it's the fact that just one facet of the business didn't work or wasn't given the proper attention - and that crumbles the rest. I've worked on many projects where the consumer feedback after testing a product was off the charts, but the product failed or never launched because the COG's were a fraction of a cent too high, or manufacturing speeds were not high enough, or marketing teams didn't position the product or support it properly, or retailers decided they wanted to merchandise the product it in a location that didn't make sense - so it fails after launch....etc, etc... I point this out NOT to deter you - but to make sure you understand it takes more than just a great idea or two... it takes being prepared to take on the many challenges of launching a product and running a business that are way beyond the great idea you have to ultimately be successful. Good luck. J.

Yeah Bob - it worked reasonably well - I use the silicone cups. I had some 2" extruded insulation laying around - so i stacked and glued it - bored some holes to fit the cups and then made a simple lid. A couple things I'd suggest - 1. Keep the cups close together - in case you are using a twinjector type setup - this way you don't have to remove them every time. 2. Leave an inch or two of the cup above the block you drop it in - this way you can get it out!!! This will mean your lid will have to have some thickness to make up the difference. 3. If you use foam - it will melt. ARRGHHH!!! Even my silicone cups got hot enough to melt over the bottom of the holes I put them in. After seeing this I just jammed some alum foil in there and that was good enough. If you are using a pyrex or something that transfers alot of heat you may want to line the bottom of the the hole with something more substantial and possibly think about lining the sides with alum foil as well to keep anything from melting and getting sticky. 4. I haven't tried this yet - but I'm tempted to ditch the foam and make one out of plaster - this way I don't have to worry about the melting issue and POP is a pretty good insulator as well. J.

Yeah - I wish I could demold that fast!!!! LOL!! I still wait a decent amount of time - but I can see by the crater in the sprue how much the bait has cooled - if it looks like a volcano - it's good to open.... It's never too hot to handle - just in some cases too hot to hold shape if you try to hold or sit it down where it will deform on it's own weight. This condition is mostly the case after I've shot a bunch where the molds start getting hot over time and don't have enough down time to cool. J.

I open the mold and lift the sprue sightly and cut it either with a scissor or x-acto depending on the mold - then reheat them. I try not to reuse anything I've dumped in the water unless it's sat out for a day to dry. J.

I make my molds out of a urethane resin - so it insulates the bait ALOT more than aluminum.... which makes for long wait times to demold. Three things that I've found that help which haven't been mentioned... 1. After kicking the plastic over at 350 - I try to shoot the baits at temps closer to 300 - this drastically reduces how hot the molds get and how fast I can get the baits out. 2. I remove my baits and immediately drop them in a cold water bath (Some people frown against this - some people do it). I've found if I keep my molds lubricated well the baits will almost fall out of the mold once I open them - this lets me demold while they are still VERY soft which cuts down on time and since i dump them straight into the water - I don't get any deformities. (I hope that makes sense). 3. I nuke my plastic when I'm making 12 oz or less instead of using a presto. I've found that when the plastic is just sitting - keeping it in the microwave keeps it warmer than leaving it out on the counter. I've also made a small insulated "box" out of extruded insulation foam to keep the plastic in (and hot). It worked well in keeping the plastic hot longer as well. J.

Assuming Do-It's plastisol is the same formation it was under the Craney Creek brand - there is no settling. If you go this route - make sure you hit 350 on the temps when you first kick the plastic over as it seem to "cloud up" if you don't. J.

Thanks for all the replies.... cooked up a cup tonight and tried a few different things... found I got the color/shade I was looking for by just really putting alot in the mix - wound up being about 40 drops in 4oz. I now understand from bears post above that this colorant isn't meant to make opaque baits... But with this ratio I have what appears as an "opaque brown" body with a nice purple translucent arms. The thick section of my bait is definitely letting light through as in a glass bowl of water over a white piece of paper the bait looks all purple - but put a different color piece of paper under the bowl and it starts going brown in the thick sections... if placed on a table - nice brown body and purple arms. Looks like a nice color - hopefully the fish will think so too!!! J.

Thanks for the replies... it seemed like it needed alot of drops - I'll start by shaking the hell out of it - and then shaking the hell out of it again!!! Any other tips to making it a bit more opaque besides adding salt? I don't use salt in any of my baits - it's not a show stopper - but would be helpful to avoid if possible. I tried adding a little green pumpkin last time but that just killed any transition from purple to brown I did have - basically went brown with some very tiny purple highlights. J.

Hey guys.... Picked up 2oz of Bear Chameleon. First time playing with it I had a hard time getting a "opaque" bait. I was doing a craw type bait and the claws were a very translucent purple and the body mostly purple with very little brown - which I didn't expect. The claws are thin - range from .06" to .1" in thickness and the body has a good 5/8" diameter through a good portion of it. Not sure if you need to use this stuff on baits with drastic or thick sectional changes or not. At one point i was up over 50 drops per 8oz. I shook the hell out of the colorant prior to use - and added a few steel balls in the bottle to help shake it up. It's possible I didn't shake/mix it enough, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Just curious for those that's used it - is this a colorant I need to add PRIOR to heating like a fluorescent?? Do I just need to shake the hell out of it even more??? Any tips would help. Thanks. J.

OK I'll bite!!!!! Before i say why CAD/Printing has real value in bait making - I'll state I believe there is NO "better/best/etc" way to make anything in this hobby - it's all what works for each individual builder - what they enjoy - and what they may have at their disposal or be good at. Why choose the path to CAD up a model and print instead of hand making one.... a couple good reasons. 1. For some their talent is using a computer. I for one can 3D model anything I dream up far quicker than hand carve/use shop machine to do it... and I have pretty damn good shop skills. But I have over 15 years of CAD experience thru work - so my case may be different than someone starting from scratch - but if your skill is using a computer and you enjoy it - do it. 2. Repeatability should be VERY consistent. Once you have a bait built and tested - you should be able to pump out multiples very quickly as all should be/near exact shape/weight/etc. This is also really helpful if you want to make subtle changes - you can pretty much eliminate variables that are harder to control by hand when you make multiples or revisions to a design. 3. For some - they just may not have the tools/space or a basement/garage to make baits. When I started - I lived in an apartment... no way I was going to be allow to bust out power tools in my living room!!! But spend hours to make a CAD model - I could do that all day long - then have it printed... that made the wife pretty happy that it didn't "happen" in the apartment!!! LOL!!! 4. Making scaled versions is VERY fast - ie. design a crank/mold/etc you like - want it 25% bigger - usually you can just scale a model very easily then go back in and adjust locations you may need to. Once you have the first one built - your second or third size takes maybe 10% of the time sometimes much less if you plan to scale it from the start and build your model accordingly. 5. When I'm making molds for soft plastics in CAD - I love that I can overlay multiple hooks in the model to see where a EWG 4/0 will puncture the bait vs a 3/0. If making a hard bait - I can calculate the bait weight in CAD and it's volume to understand how it may float as well as understand it's center of gravity before i even print/cut the first bait. Those are just some of the reasons off the top of my head. But again - if you're a "hand" guy and that's your thing - so be it nothing wrong there - just a different way of getting to the same result - a custom bait. J.

+1..... My first experience with Florescent Chartreuse I used a ton of it as I was adding to hot plastic.... next time I added it to cold then heated and it worked great - used alot less colorant as well. For all basic colors I add to hot plastic so I can judge how translucent or opaque it is. For a hobby pourer - this works just fine. If you are pouring for production or sales - I'd make sure to write down your recepies and follow them each time. J.

Thanks for the tip Frank.... I also made a bit of a design/tactical error with the ribs as I was getting a bit "creative" with the baits form.... I tried "curving" them across the body (think C shapes instead of straight ribs/lines).... it looks AWESOME but I'm pretty sure the curve I put on them is what's trapping the air... probably why nobody else is doing it!!! LOL!!! But I'm gonna keep screwing around with it to see what I can get out of it... who knows, maybe I learn something that makes it all work. J.

I've shot a few multi cavity lures with a blending block that had a layout of the injection sprue from top and a horizontal layout to the bait. I agree it's a much tougher deal to get perfect baits - but if you make sure you line up your blending block in to the mold just right you should be good to go... but I agree it's not much fun!! I am working on a lizard mold that I laid out the same way your worm is for exactly the same reason (Laminating)... can't get rid of air in the body ribs which are very deep.... even tried shooting it at a 45 degree angle in my vice and still get air pockets.... Pretty sure getting those ribs "vertical" with a good vent is the key... I'm in the process of filling the original sprue and cutting another at a 90 degree angle. J.

I've been doing alot of molds with ribs lately.... two things I've learned... 1. Place a vent at EVERY rib top and bottom. They can be VERY small and even cut in by hand if necessary - a .005"-.0075" deep vent is plenty. On my molds I try to run .005 deep with a 1mm dia ball mill. 2. If you can run the body "horizontal" in the mold and fill from the top - it may help. This allows the air to rise up and out of the vents and not get trapped perpendicular to your vents. So if you took you're injection sprue and rotated 90 degrees CW I'd think you'd have a much better chance to let the air escape. J.

It can be done successfully.... I posted this up awhile back... Buy some 1/8" or slightly larger diameter aluminum tubing from a hobby supply store depending on your guard size(K-S is a brand that makes the tubing I'm talking about) This stuff is way cheaper than teflon guards. Cut it into pieces 1/4" longer than your weed guards (say about 1.25" long) and then flare one end out to make sliding over the guard easier. I used a large nail that I sanded the head smooth - just stick it in the tube and rotate it around until the edge flares out - you could probably use a Philips head screw driver if you're lazy!!. Then just slide the flared end of the tube over the weed guard and slide it down to the base/lead before heating your jigs and you're good to go. The tubing will keep the weed guard from warping/bending when heated. You want a "snug fit" with the tube.... easy enough to slide on but no slop... if there is room in the tube - the guards will warp. The whole reason the tubes work is when the guards gets soft and try to bend/warp the tubing holds them in place so they can't move - kind of like a straight jacket!!!! LOL!!! If you buy 2-3 feet of tubing you can make a good 20-30 of these things and make alot of jigs fast. Powder WILL cook onto the tube.... dont sweat it - I use the same tubes over and over and over with different colors without cleaning them - doesn't make any difference. I found that baking the heads in the 340-350 range will cure the powder I use and not melt the guards. I'd test a few to get a temp you like that works well in curing and not melting the guards. In general, most powders are spec'd to cure closer to 400 - I haven't noticed any issue with a lower temp - I do bake them longer though. Most powder companies provide cure temp guidelines... colors/manufactures all have different temps and times - you might be able to find something that cures in the low/mid 300's which would be helpful as well. Good luck. J. J.

I only make baits for myself... so not sure if you're doing it for production.... but if your doing low quantities I have a few tips based on my experience... 1. My molds are not aluminum - so it takes awhile for my baits to cool down - my experience is POP/RTV/Bondo/Resin molds all cool much slower than aluminum... I can't wait 10 mintues to demold on a thick bait - so I've found once the sprue "stiffens slightly" I can open my mold. In most cases all thin parts are cured - but on thicker baits the "body" is still VERY soft. Again... VERY SOFT... I remove gently from my mold and drop right into a bath of cold water. I don't use salt - so the bait floats and cools without any "weight" on it. These same baits if layed on anything directly out of the mold (table/board/etc) will deform. I used a nylon cutting board at one point and wound up with flat spots and texture on the contact points. Since then I put them in the water and let them float around awhile - they come out perfect. 2. After the water bath - I let them rest on a soft towel to absorb the water and not "flat spot"... I'll let them sit for as long as possible - no less than a day - if I keep my kids away - sometimes up to 3-4 days!!! 3. If I'm impatient (very often!!!) I'll put a few in tupperware nicely and put them in the freezer. I have no data that proves it cures them faster - but they do seem to "harden" a little quicker. J.

I looked ALOT for different options before I bought a Presto - I wanted something small, as I usually only cook up 8oz at a time. The fry daddy is the only real option out there in a small size BUT... it doesn't have a heat control so I didn't even bother with and just went and bought a presto for $27 at Walmart. Trust me - if there were other low cost options, the guys on this board would have let you know... the reason everyone is suggesting Prestos is they are really the only legit option at a super low price point unless you want to starting rigging up something yourself. J.

You'd be surprised what you can do that you constantly told you SHOULDN'T!!! I use a urethane material (REN 5169) for my soft bait molds - it's not rated anywhere near stable enough for use with lead.... but I tried it this weekend, and while it smoked a bit I was able to get a few usable parts out.... What I'd say is if you're looking to make 3-5 items for "prototype" before making a real mold - you'd be surprised what you can use.... just make sure to do it outside and wear alot of protective gear just in case!!! J.

Nice job.... always cool to use stuff you got for new uses. J.

If you can take the burn/smoke - the melting and sticking together you're doing is best IMHO. You get a good weld AND it's real fast - mend it and other things have their place (on water or infrequent use) but if you're doing a bunch - it's hard to beat the speed of melting and jamming them together. J.

Can't help you but gotta say that's a nice mold... looks like it was machined on a 5 axis mill to give you that undercut in the "popper" area.... nice piece of work. J.

EVA is common for reel handle knobs and rod grips..... it uses a gas reaction to "foam".... not sure it's something a hobbits can actually do, although there may be some two part mixes that might give you something close. I'd look at getting some air pockets into the worm and that in combination with a floating plastisol might be enough. Alot will depend on what type of hook your looking to use and line... a lightweight hook and mono and your probably OK... a heavy weight hook and flour and I'm not sure if you can make that work. J.

I've also used Dick Nites with pretty good success as well.... you can pretty much seal with anything that you can get in there evenly and dries rock hard. J.

Another option to check/test is to etch the aluminum. You can actually etch with a 9V battery and a Q-tip.... google DIY etching.... a guy in my office makes knives, he's ethced the blades with his logo and it looks pretty damn good. You'll want/need to do it on a flat or cylindrical surface - but may be an option if you're looking for something VERY SUBTLE and hand work with a dremel isn't you're cup of tea. J.