SlowFISH

This works REALLY well... helps avoid gluing the ball in place and provides a real nice smooth surface for the ball to move back and forth. And for what it's worth... McDonalds has some of the widest diameter straws you can find.... plus they are free!!! J.

+1 J.

Figured I'd chime in as well to help out.... I've been meaning to post this up - seems like a good time with the above trick as well... Tapping the can: This is the BEST method I’ve found for keeping DN fresh. (BTW I have one small pint that’s still pretty good after 1.5 years…. Yes 1.5 years!!!) It’s a getting a little thick now, but since I thin it to spray, it’s still working well. Here’s what I do… Punch a hole on the bottom of the can smaller than the bolt you plan to plug it with. Once you have a hole, thread your bolt in to “plug it”. I recommend finding a fine threaded bolt to use and possibly one with a wide flange. Don’t get too crazy about DN dripping out – I found intentionally letting the DN slop around the bolt helps seal it. It tried washers, neoprene seals, etc… just get the screw/bolt in the can the best you can and let the DN set up around it…it’s the best method..... although Ben's solution sounds like a much neater and cleaner way to work. I also agree with shaving some of the bolt down I just grind a big chunk away "midway" on the threads - this way when I back it out it can't "drop out" as there are stil threads above it and obviously threads below to seal. Here’s my add…. I punch a second smaller hole on the top of the can and put a screw/bolt in that as well. Now when I need to use DN, I remove the top, then bottom and the DN pours out nice and quick with NO AIR GOING / GURGLING BACK UP through the bottom hole. When I’ve taken out what I’ll use, I screw in the bottom bolt, shoot some Bloxygen in the top and put the top screw in. I believe this method has a few advantages… One – the DN pours out so much faster with a hole in the top… so if you need a ½ ounce you don’t have to wait till next week for it to seep out of a little hole on the bottom. Two- by not allowing air to gurgle up through the product as it drains out the bottom – you avoid air/DN contact and thus keep the product “fresher”. Three- by spraying Bloxygen down the top hole you push the lighter air up, and only have the inert gas over the DN… again for more freshness!!! I also try my best to avoid tipping the can over. I store it upright and when using it try to keep it upright even when removing the screw to avoid mixing the “air” in the can with the product. I hope this help... I’ve sure some of the real vets can help out here, but as a hobbist that makes 20 or so hardbaits a year – this is what I’ve learned on top of what others have shared. J.

Try buying some 1/8" or slightly larger diameter aluminum tubing from a hobby supply store. Cut it into pieces 1/4" longer than your weed guards and then flare one end out (I used a large nail that a sanded smooth - then just stuck in in the tube and rotated it around until the edge flared out). Then slide the flared end 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. I slide the tube on, heat with my heat gun and dip in the fluid bed to coat the head.... then cook them in the oven. Once fully cured I slide the aluminum tubing off and trim or bend the weed guard as desired. J.

I bought a brand that has the holes. Basically it looks like you could take a mold (for example an injection worm mold). Drill a line of 1/16" holes along the main axis up the body, then place dowel pins in those hole that protrude into the cavity, but leave a little room above for plastic to cover them when injected. Inject and pull the worm out. I was going to make a mold like this but for the most part just pouring baits without salt and using a lighter hook when necessary works for me. J.

No... My molds are made from a urethane resin.... but no reason the process wouldn't be the same. For a mold with the belly split on the parting line - you can either place the aluminum part into position when you make/pour the POP molds or if it's in the "center" of the mold cavity - pour it in place, or grind a small slot with a dremel and glue it in place. J.

I've made a 5" swim bait with a very deep split in the belly to let a weighted EWG hook sit inside the bait. The bait has a similar look/feel to a Keitech Impact Swimbait and I made the bottom/hook slit VERY deep into the bait as it goes a good 3/4 of the way up from the bottom of the belly towards the shoulder/top of the bait. I used an .0625" thick piece of aluminum for the slot. The piece of aluminum is held between the mold halves on the belly side and I have two dowels in the mold to align it precisely each time. I inject then split the mold. The aluminum plate stays in one half of the mold still in the bait - I then pull the bait and plate out of the mold at the same time then slide the bait off. Reinsert the plate in position, close the mold and make another. If you are doing a bait with the slot perpendicular to the mold split - I'd don't think you'd have any issues as long as it's smooth with out too much of an undercut.... as the plastisol is really flexible.... even with undercuts you can pull most baits out if your careful. Hope this makes sense... it's tough to describe without pics. Also... I was worried 1/16" aluminum would warp due to the heat - no issue at all I'm actually gonna go half that thickness next time and see the results. The slot isn't obnoxious their as when the baits come out you can barely tell the slot is there. J.

One great thing about powder painting is you don't have to fully cure the paint immediately after getting it on the head.... I heat one head at a time over my heat gun - in a couple seconds I can get the jig just hot enough to get the powder to stick well when I dip it - I then hang it up, and continue to the next jig. Once I have all the heads coated, I'll hang them all in my small oven, turn on the heat and cure them. Sometimes it might be a couple days / a week before I have everything coated and put them in the oven... it doesn't make a difference if they sit there coated but uncured for an extended period as long as you don't really bang them around and chip the paint off. With that being said... you could heat you heads with the gun, "dip" them, then once you have a reasonable day outside - bring it all outside and cure them. Just a thought. If you get the head just hot enough to "flow" the powder out but not clump it on heavy they are pretty durable - sometimes I throw them back in a box before curing if I don't want them hanging around for awhile (to avoid kids sticky fingers!!!) I wouldn't try to cure a head fully with a heat gun.... for one you can't control the temp and this stuff takes 10-20 minutes to full cure which just isn't practical to try one by one. J.

I use a heat gun to head the head and dip, then cure in a small oven... IMHO... For the most part - powder painting heads is one of the "safer" things you can do compared to melting lead/plastisol, using solvents, aerosol paints, etc. Most of your exposure will be if it burns (buring is bad no matter what you burn) or if the powder gets airbourne (as if using a fluidized bed) and even then - it's like being exposed to a very dusty area - some people have no issues, others like me are very sensitive to airbourne dust. With that being said - simple precautions will go a long way. Don't burn the powder when curing, wear a dust mask when using a fluidized bed and open a window if you can. I wouldn't use a toaster that you plan to cook in later... buy a cheap one just for this purpose - not sure if it is even dangerous, but just doesn't seem prudent. All that I mentioned above is also proportional to how many heads your going to coat... if you're coating 50 heads a year for your own use, probably not too much to worry about even if you ignored all safety precautions - BUT DONT!!! LOL!! If your coating hundreds or thousands of heads a year as in a small business... you should take steps to set things up right. J.

+1.... otherwise as previously mentioned wear a mask as when the fluid bed is going, some of it will get airborne and you'll breath it. It's not "poisonous/toxic" per say - but any dust particulate over time doesn't help your respiratory system. j.

If I were to go after a unit.... these were just released from one of the leaders in the the 3D rapid proto industry. They don't quote the cartridge cost, which I'm betting is their way to make money on the lower cost "home" unit... kinda the razor blade / print cartridge model of giving the technology away at close to cost and making money on the refills. http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/6914/3D-System-Introduces-Two-New-Affordable-3D-Printers.aspx#!

All really good advice here.... a few others for people going this route... ONE.. and SUPER IMPORTANT... if you plan on buying a used machine... make sure it's still supported and will be supported by the manufacture. We were informed this year that our machine will reach it's "end of life" mid 2014.... which basically meant the manufacture is going to stop making material/supplies and parts for it, as well as eliminate the servicing of the machine - even though we are on a maintenance plan!!! So my guess is you may find good deals out there on used machines, only to find out you'd have to rig something up yourself to feed it material and if it breaks you'd have a hell of a time fixing it. Second... if you buy one and by chance have it serviced, the guy that shows to do the work could be your best friend!!!! I learned more about our machine from the service tech than anything we learned from other sources. Even little tips like placing items in strategic areas on the build plate to avoid movement from the internal fans... you don't get that in books, but the techs Iive that stuff every day.... so make a friend with the guy. J.

Already being done..... I've been "secretly" using the 3D printer we have a work for a few years. Right now the technology is good - but it's not the be-all end all. For testing protos it has it's place, but to think you can print a lure, then replicate it in Balsa or another material and get the exact same action isn't really realistic. But if you build one, then get a mold made and inject it at the same wall thickness and material it should really cut down on development time ALOT. I've used it more for masters to make POP molds and pour baits. Works OK for this, but the resolution is a pain, as our machine prints in .013" steps/layers.... so as a proto bait it's OK.... but you have to sand/fill alot to get something smooth. I also made a topwater bait with it once, but since I couldn't just keep printing a bunch out without getting fired I stopped there. j.

That's sick!!!! I hope it's a super specialized process so I don't have to try to figure out how to do this in my basement!!!!! LOL!! J.

I heat in a micro with a silicone measuring cup... uncovered - and got the bubbles... never tried covering it. J.

+1 It's also fairly delicate.... meaning don't touch or mess with it until it's clear coated. I tried to mask off and area - spray - then remove tape before clearing and it flaked off near the tape. I'm sure like anything else with enough work you can get it to work - but nothing is going to beat real metal (foils) from an aesthetic standpoint IMHO. J.

You'll want to google/search for "thermoforming" or "thermoform". As with most stuff... alot will depend on what you need service wise. To make parts you'll need a mold made - which if for short production runs is usually cnc machined from a "prototype" resin. If for a long tern investment or high volume - you'd have an aluminum mold made which can be internally cooled providing faster runs and longer tool life. For either you'd need a CAD model of your part to start. I have ZERO experience or knowledge of this company.... but it was one of the first that popped up with google... hope this helps. http://www.walterdrake.com/services.html J.

What I've done... and think it helps (purely my speculation).... is tap both the bottom and top of can. I use the bottom to release the product (drip out).... the top screw (with rubber washer) I open to vent the can as I remove product.... I assume this avoids bubbles/air going up through the DN as I remove product. It also allows the DN to flow through that small hole on the bottom a lot faster. I also squirted some Bloxygen into the top of the can. Between the layer of bloxygen over the DN, air venting in above the DN/Bloxygen (not through it) and never tipping the can over I have a small pint that's a good year and a half that hasn't frozen yet. J.

Yep... you can inject.... I started with 2 part POP molds and hand injecting. Two pieces of advice if you go this route..... make the molds robust/think to insure when you clamp (not too tight) that you don't crack them.... I even epoxied a piece of plywood to the back of each mold half to give it some strength. Second... seal the mold well.... it makes all the difference in surface finish. You can use almost anything.... but I found that the Elmers trick most on the site recommend worked best for me. Not sure if this will or wont work... you may have to buy and try. The difficulty with most of the "Home Depot" type silicones is they are not made to be applied thick..... they are made for filling cracks and corners not thicker than 1/4" or so.... when you make a "block" of it for a mold the outside cures but the inside doesn't. The two part silicones you buy from the prototype/hobby places cure all the way through. J.

Yeah.... it should seal up pretty quick. The screw I have has a wide flange/head almost like a washer is on it. DN sets up pretty quick.... I'd put some paper or something over the screw to help absorb the DN and freeze up. After the first time or two and it builds up you should be good to go. J.

LOL!!! I tried an o-ring at first to be "smart"..... doesn't work.... let the DN drip around the screw and seal itself off like you're doing.... it works 100x better that way. And don't clean the build up off. After a few open/closes it will build up alot of Dn around the screw head.... this actually helps seal off quicker than the plain screw head.... As for brushing... I had a tough time with it.... from what I can tell you have to practice and know that subtle way to apply enough without too much or too little and do it fast enough so it doesn't ruin the bait... I didn't have the patience like some other here do. J.

That's what I'm doing as well... I'm usually making smaller batches so I tend to cut sprues up and toss them back into the micro/presto ASAP..... didn't know if waiting to re-heat all at once would be a better option.... thanks. J.

Yeah.... enjoy it... and start thinking of the ways to rationalize this hobby!!!! LOL!! J.

Like most above - I "prime" with white Createx..... i will apply a few coats and sand between to smooth the surface out if I feel it's a bit rough. As for hook hangers.... In the baits I make, I drill a 1/8" or 3/16" hold and insert a short ABS dowel rod (1/2-3/4") where the hook hanger is to go and epoxy it in place. I then drill/tap the ABS dowel with the hook hanger. The ABS is much tougher and I'm more confident it wont pull out. There are sites that sell inserts/dowels for this purpose - I just buy it online in 36" sections and cut/drill it myself. J.

I'm pretty sure this hobby will not result in your baits being "cheaper"..... you'll need to make 1000's and 1000's of baits to recoup your costs once you factor in tools/time/etc. I'd bet for most of the "hobby" guys on this site, making you're own stuff is about passion, fun, an irresistible urge to try and make things better or just too much damn time on their hands!!! LOL! If you are looking to make things cheaper.... I'd seriously just look for closeouts of baits you like on EBAY or overstockbait.com and buy in bulk where possible. Not trying to be mean or discouraging - just honestly, the math doesn't really work for a "hobby" pourer. As for bringing down you're costs. I'd recommend trying to use POP for molds..... I'd bet you can't make molds cheaper than with that stuff. With it being cheaper, it takes more time to make the mold, they can break and depending on what you compare them too may result in slower pouring due to not cooling the baits quickly. So you'll need to weigh cheaper (Pro) against the con's to choose you're best method. Ton's on info on POP molds here... and some amazing results can be had. That's where I started. As for plastisol costs... hard to beat Spike it.... but again - if you try to compare buying 1 gallon of plastic from them against a company like Zoom that is probably buying tankers worth of plastisol - you'll find you are paying more per bait... not much you can do about that. I believe if you're goal is to cut your bait costs - there are smarter ways to to do than making your own baits. But if you want something nobody else has, or you have a great idea or thought that will make you enjoy fishing even more.... then jump in, join the club and get the credit card out!!! LOL!! J.