SlowFISH

FYI - powder paints are subject to humidity issues and will "clump" over time resulting in some of the issues your having. I had a plastic jar of black from harbor freight sitting around for quite awhile and it "solidified" - I was able to break it back up and sift out some of the solid pebble sized clumps I couldn't break down - but be aware that sealing the powders up after use is a key to help keeping them "fluffy and flowing". J.

As most have stated - every process has it's plus/minus as with everything in this hobby - you have to pick your poison and learn to deal with the route you choose. If staying with a "manual/hand" method of creating lure blanks is of interest - a carving duplicator is probably what you need to look for. This was on EBAY (https://www.ebay.com/itm/143953712063?hash=item21844f53bf:g:KpsAAOSw5VFWKTVN). Not saying get this one - but should give you an idea of what to look for - or DIY your own. They make CNC lathes - I've even seen small/desktop ones... but You'd still need to learn CAD and programming and unless you want to make "spook" type topwater blanks it can't handle non-spindle type shapes. 3D printing is great - has a ton of benefits - but is labor intensive if you don't already have the CAD skills - and even then you still have to process the part (sand/smooth/etc). Realistically - if you are happy with resin baits - making one - then a mold and pouring multiples is probably the best method if you want to keep cost down to start with. J.

Thanks - I've used the screw on top/bottom method - and honestly- think it works great. I had one can that lasted 9-12 months after first opening it before the DN started to thicken. I only do a "few" baits at a time. My last can (still in use) I didn't bother with a screw on top - instead poked a hole with a screw driver thru the lid and after I was done just put a small piece of HVAC foil tape over it. Seems to work just fine.... and each time I need more DN - I just poke a hole through the tape and go - then put another piece of HVAC tape over it to seal it back up. I feel I get much better "seal" with the tape vs the screw as the lid/cans are such thin material - and being it's foil tape - I'm "pretty sure" it makes a barrier seal. Similar to you - I also thin it. I pour out what i need into a small glass jar THEN add thinner as necessary. This way the product is always "fresh/not thinned". The syringe method you mention is a novel idea as well - being that it minimizes the "exposure" time for the DN. Try the foil tape - might be super easy to use with the needle. J.

Landry - I don't believe a laser engraver will do the job - those type items usually work best on "softer" materials - Plastics, Leather, Paper, etc. They will "etch" or engrave on aluminum - but not sure it will come close to removing enough material for you. Any machine shop should be able to do what you need on a mill - but I wouldn't rule out doing it yourself. A Dremel with the right bit/grinder can really cut through aluminum quite easily - sometimes too easily! If you go slow and just slowly chip away at it I'd think you can get something that works reasonably well. I've used a dremel on molds to open up vents and small areas. Best piece of advice is practice 2-3 times on a scrap piece of aluminum first to get feel for how much material gets removed and how your best positioned to hold the tool with your hands for control. Once you have that - it's not hard. J.

If your using a pyrex/microwave to heat plastic and shoot - what's happening is pretty much par for the course when using this method. You MAY be able to use a hotplate or something of the sort to keep the injector hot between shots - but you'll have to figure out a way to make sure it's completely empty of what's left or it will solidify or burn. When I was using my microwave and pyrex - I basically popped the cap off - pushed out the plug each time - then just reheat the plugs after a few cycles. Most people looking to speed up and shoot more molds use presto pots with stirring/electronics to keep the temp right - in this case - you can just leave the injector inside the pot down in the plastic - the injector stays hot and you don't have to keep opening it to empty the cold plug. J.

I highly recommend trying "The Powder Coat Store". They have some great colors and if you want to sample - they have 1/2lb sizes for reasonable prices and ship USPS flat rate boxes which helps as well. I bought a bunch of different samples to powder coat parts for my kayak... Anodized Candy Red is beautiful... and even picked up some purple that looks great too. Their prices have risen a hair over the last year - but that's pretty much the case with everyone since Covid - even still pretty reasonable if you only want a small amount which is hard to find. J.

You might also wanna take a look at a workbench/table vise. I found an old one in my shed from prior owner of my house. Cleaned it up and had it sitting around. Tried it one day and found it works great for my needs on smaller molds. I don't even have it bolted to the table.... just load the molds and tighten down - then sit it between (2) 2x4's to sit it flat.. holds a bunch of molds and puts a good amount of pressure across the molds. If you really need it dead flat on table with out sitting it on wood you can probably trim the bottom a bit with a cut off wheel - or mount it. Here's the type I'm talking about..... you can find them cheap at Harbor freight or online. J.

I'd agree its a clamping issue. I use the Irwin hand clamps on most of my molds too... but for some molds or stacks of molds I have to use C-Clamps to get enough pressure... there is no way those hand clamps can put as much force as a C-clamp or Vise. J.

Sorry to hear that - I've read many of his post over the years as he was always helpful to the masses here on TU - he will be missed. RIP Ben. J.

Take a look at Missle Baits - they have a bunch of really cool combos. I always start by browsing what's out there. They have a color that's amber/orange outer and green pumpkin core which is really cool.... and another with a watermelon outer and red core... I bought a bag of each just to see them in real life and they look great. Personally - I like the look of many of the baits with a clear or smoke outer with some highlight or a light amount of glitter and then a vibrant color inside - green/purple/etc.... It's really hard to go wrong with core shots - they just seem to look cool regardless.

+1 on this.... I like/make baits with alot of small appendages - trying to keep them "straight" or in the desired shape/location kills me. I'm convinced the reason 1/2 the market is worms and the other 1/2 use thick sections in arms/legs is to not have to deal with bending/deformation in bags - the only real exceptions I see are swimbaits that literally cradle each bait to keep it perfect. J.

Interesting thread.... My mind says having both and attraction / trigger in a lure is best... and maybe the technique or speed you fish determines what your really doing or need... Jig fishing... I fish with an older friend - he's the king of throwing 1 ounce (and larger) jigs into shallow water - like inside weed edge, 2-3 feet or less and catches big fish. I don't know how he does it - but his mindset is big splash, fast fall and a big ball of dirt stirred up when it hits the bottom just makes the big fish angry and they can't resist... total trigger reactions. I don't think he owns a jig or weight less than 3/4 ounce - which he calls his "finesse jigs" LOL. On that same note - how many times have you burned a crank back to the boat in that last 10-15 feet of a retrieve only to have a fish chase and swipe at it? Trigger to me happens with speed.... fast fall, fast horizontal movement, fast whatever.... its' something moving fast enough that the fish has to determine if it's willing to let it go by and lose it - or just hit it. Attraction to me is usually a bit more finessed. It's that damn weightless stick bait fall.... a shakey head sitting on the bottom quivering.... its something where the fish looks at it enough that they want it. As for how I use it.... for soft baits I spend alot of time making little details that shimmy and wave on bait I expect to sit on the bottom without me moving it.... for stuff that's moving - I tend to make details that flap/vibrate like crazy - make a commotion. J.

Good to see your back - I would recommend watching that plastic on the first heat.... I had a bottle sit for a solid 2 years over the course of moving to a new house and then waiting till our renovation was completed.... it must have absorbed a ton of moisture cause it foamed/bubbled so bad I just tossed it... just a watchout. J.

Are you putting the colorant in BEFORE heating the plastic.... usually fluorescents and chartreuse colorants require it.... I have no clue why - but if you don't add color prior to heating - it seems like you can add half the bottle with no change in the color. J.

First - thanks for sharing your knowledge / learnings... super helpful for many. Second - I really like your design.... I bought one of these "hunting baits" years ago: https://www.ichibantackle.com/products/3339-imakatsu-big-bats-waddle-bats-big/ It's "sorta" similar to your idea - having a small blade on the rear hook hanger... but your idea/invention is much more flexible as you can swap a hook without alot of effort compared to buying a boatload of the "big bats" as the blade was fixed/part of the rear hook hanger and not removable/changeable. To be honest - I fished the "big bat" a few times and it's been sitting in my box since... it definitely had a "sweet spot" and it was a very small sweet spot... most annoying part was if you hooked anything (weed/leaf) whatever - you had to roll this thing back to the boat... was super annoying if you missed a cast as you can't burn it back... Anyway - thanks for sharing... looks like a cool idea and I like the simplicity. J.

Exactly - Fee for hire... every idea I hand our clients is "theirs" - not mine... J.

Being a professional in product development field working for many fortune 100 companies - the overwhelming majority of companies (actually - pretty much any company big enough to have an on-staff lawyer) will never look at your design or take a meeting just to avoid lawsuits. Should a company already be working on something similar or have a design they finished but haven't marketed it yet - and then they view your work - whos to say who "owns" it at that point... and now the company who did all their own work is open to legal action if they proceed - even if the did all their own R&D, etc, etc... the fact someone on their R&D team saw your idea can be problematic for them. So big companies typically just avoid any and all outside input to never have to deal with a headache. I've been a part of 2-3 projects over 20 years were our client was issued cease and desist for development work my team performed... so I know as a fact we nor did they "steal someone's idea"... yet in 2 of the cases there were prior patents issued that no reasonable person would look at the patent and our work and say is the same idea we provided the client - but the individual who owned the patent thought somehow it was the same thing and put up enough of a stink to make these companies life miserable for a few months (Both cases were thrown out - no settlement - both were just BS by someone who wanted cash for an idea nobody saw value in). In the other instance - the person claimed they showed the idea to our client years and years ago... had no proof they showed it (and we were never provided someone else work when we tackled the project).... but again - lawyers and miserable stuff followed for a few weeks until it was thrown out. Your best bet is to find someone / a company that is small enough to speak with honestly, that has nothing in their lineup that could even be close to your idea and go from there. Basically - without a patent - you have risk on your end losing the idea to someone shady... that's where finding a person you can trust and connect with on a one-on-one level may be important to get something moving forward. J.

Are you heating your plastic to 350 to "kick" it over... then lower temp to shoot? Could be you aren't fully cooking the plastic... this was an issue I had. J.

I had a similar issue with baits clouding up over time - most notably clear/smoke baits... but even noticed in on opaque baits as well... I THINK I figured it out... in my case there was (2-3) issues. One was the plastic - as there were alot of people which much more skill/experience than me having the same issue.... so there was something chemically going on. This was YEARS ago and that manufacture is no longer in business. My guess is the cloudiness conversations didn't help their sales... and unfortunately some of the issue could very well have been user error - as was the case with me. One was moisture.... I let my finished baits in high humidity for long periods of time (basement).... so that didn't help as it seemed like the baits would look better if I left them out in the sun. I think the plastic I mentioned above was VERY sensitive to moisture over time - causing cloudiness. My second issue was completely my fault. I heat fresh plastic from a bottle to 350 to "kick it over" and then shoot at 300-320 and all is good. But alot of times I cut up leftovers/sprues/old baits etc. to remelt... and add in a little bit of fresh plastic with it. For some stupid reason up to a few years ago - I'd bring this up to 300-320 and shoot it. Never thinking that the few ounces of fresh plastic I added had never been heated to 350 to "kick over". These baits seemed to cloud up faster than anything I made with fresh plastic I brought up to 350. So watch your process.... for me since I've been heating to 350 then bringing temp back down to shoot - even with remelts - I've had much better results. J.

Quick question on Chartreuses/Fluorescents - Why do these need to be added prior to heating? I don't use them a ton and I understand you need to add it prior to heating... but WHY? Anyone know the actual reason those need to be used in this manner compared to nearly every other color/powder.... other than if you don't they don't work? LOL! Also - has anyone added more colorant to a batch (to add more saturation) if your light on the amount of drops to start with with any success? Last time I used a fluorescent color (green) I managed to like what I got right off the bat (drops in prior to heating)... but in the past made the mistake of heating first then trying to add drops - found myself dumping WAY WAY more colorant in than it should have taken and only had minimal change/result, which is sort of why I stay away from using those type colors.... Anyone have a process of adjusting the color once it's heated? Heat another small batch with a ton of color and add/mix it in?? There has to be a way to adjust once it's heated other than trail an error... hopefully!???!!! Thanks. J.

I have to find "center" on a lot of odd shaped items for work.... benefit of doing both sides is you can "eyeball" center with your stack and scribe (don't bother measuring your part/bait to start)... then just see where the two scribes end up. Glue/taping a X-acto blade down on some post-it notes works great... as you can peel a few away or add more super easy to get center. Same technic works to mark something if you wanna shave off material - say you make a make a .0625" stack and scribe if you wanna shave it down 1/16" of an inch... low tech and accurate! J.

Sort of similar to above.... you need to know your thickness first (of bait). Once you have that... you can do any number of things but one easy way is to stack up wood/paper/post-it notes/etc. with a razor blade (or Xacto blade) on top with that stack measuring from the table to blade edge - half the bait thickness dimension. Then push the blank past the blade to scribe a line all around.... and I'd scribe a line with both sides down... this way if your off a hair - you can see it and just drill/etc between the two scribe lines. J.

+ 1 on widening port near the bait - it's all about controlling the dents - last part to cool dents the worst. Luckily that wire will help a little as it will absorb some heat notably cooling the tail first. J.

That's probably the best place to start.... also remember - the bigger you make the injection runner (dia) the better... think about the baits cooling.... in a perfect scenario - the tail cools/solidifies first and it slowly cools moving towards the nose and then your injection runner cools/solidifies last. That "should" allow the bait to keep sucking in "liquid" plastic from the injection runner the whole time.... which eliminated the dents. I've made a bunch of molds where I tried to be "cheap" on how big (diameter) of an injection runner I made to "save" plastic.... usually I end up regretting it and go back and machine it larger in diameter. Now I try to make sure to always have the injection runner wider in diameter then the thickest part of the bait... if you look at most molds being sold - the ports are pretty much the same diameter the whole length - which is usually around .625"-.65" in diameter. J.

All depends on a few variables.... How many cavities are you making / need? Are you planning on using a dual color injector at some point? etc... For example - if just one cavity and your baits are only going to be 1 color... honesty you can pretty much do whatever you want to some degree provided you vent the mold properly.... meaning you can inject from front or back - probably even the belly or top and vent the front/back. 1 bait provides alot of flexibilty... its when you try filling 2/4/6 at same time that sprue location gets trickier to place anywhere other than the "typical" spots after you stack baits up. If multiple cavities - you'll probably have to choose front or back.. and considering your placing a wire in there which will cool the plastic pretty quickly - I'd lean towards the front to avoid the bait "shutting off" too quick (due to cooling fast) and then you'll be fighting dents in the thicker part. Personally - if I was just making for myself, only worried about a single color and not worried about efficiency / time... I'll be temped to make a 1 cavity - inject in the belly or between belly/front hook hanger. If you plan to use a dual injector at some point - you'll need to try and get that injection point closer to "middle" so I'd inject right under the front hook hanger close to the nose so you can get a top/bottom color scheme going. I'd stay away from the rear hanger - I think you'll fight the wire cooling the plastic at that point too quick and your thick section/belly upfront will dent. I always try to (when possible) place the injection sprue as close to the widest part of the bait as you can get it... as its last part of bait to cool and as it does - it can still pull plastic from the injection runner. Hope that makes sense. J.