DDSBYDAY

I'll try again with the pic.

If you use a cheap electrostatic gun with CC candy red over chrome(silver) hooks you will be happy with the results. Bronze gives too dark of a red for my liking. With the electrostatic painting and curing you will have hooks that stay red. This isn't a great pic. I did however get the exact color I was looking for.

All good answers. I'm in the same boat. Buisness owner and an innovator. Each improvement brings new ideas. Glad to know I am not the only crazy out there. Thanks. I have talked with patent attorneys and researched copyrites and intellectual property. All I hear and read is BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! $$$$ How about a TU merit badge? You would have to prove it. Not in a court , just in front of your peers. " My design was stolen at no expense to myself. "

With all the expertise on this site have any of you organized and tossed out a product that would compete with the big boys. The talent and baits are amazing. I hope this is not taken wrong but I see enough talent here to start a corporation. We all have connections. I don't mean to offend anyone. I just think that TU could be a player in the tackle industry. I keep upgrading my lures and don't want to look back. I come to this site and have nothing but new ideas. Not enough time. Corporations are set up in divisions just like the forums. Anyone ever thought about working together? (not on the side but as a new player in the tackle industry) ??????

One other thing that needs to be mentioned is help. Once you cross over to the buisness world you have employees to protect. In my case heavy metals (hazardous), pointy hooks and and potential law suits for years. I am a company of 1. I only do the plastics as a side note. I have people that are jobless and willing to help but with the small profit margin (10% excise tax-retailer 40%--That leaves 50% minus supplies and time) I have to do it myself. Add 1 employee and the buisness taxes shut you down. I am sure that molten plastic would require strict ventilation, hazard gear and more goverment inspections and reviews and fees than you can imagine. Like I said, I am a company of 1. I won't quit my day job but I love the other one.

Thats a lot of plastic for a slow day. You might want to invest in an injection molding machine and then go fishing or golfing in the afternoon. For me, hand injection is to pour quality,clean baits on a small scale. I make custom jigs but some of them need a trailer. The plastic part is secondary and I don't want to have to try to purchase something that is in my mind. Large quantity is not the issue. The injector is a tool. If I change tires all day I would have an impact wrench. If I get a flat once in a while I need a jack and a tire iron. However, I do want them to work when I need them.

Welcome to TU. I have seen your injectors. The insulation is a nice addition. The perfect injector-Safe, durable, holds heat, easy to load and clean, with interchangeable sized tips. (Priced right doesn't hurt either) Good luck. I think you will get good advice here.

Some of the answers will depend on if it is a polyurthane or polyester casting resin. No baby powder with the polyester casting resin. If you are using polyurthane your job will be easier. The polyester would be do-able but you would have to do it in a couple of pours. You would have to pour 1/2 let it gel and then lay in your wire harness put the mold halves together and finish with the next pour. This stuff if fun to work with but does not handle heat well. I think polyurthane is what you want. Your last post said polyurthane so I am sure you are on the right track.

I like that process.. Where would you find the water slide decal paper? I assume you would be able to get the ink fixing film at the same place. Very clever procedure. Thumbs up!!

Your opinion and helpful input is very much appreciated. Thanks for all your time. Next!!!!

polystyrene-(expandable beads) This is the stuff commonly called styrofoam. Can be purchased at Barlows. Use the same hooks and any molds you want. This thread will give you more info. http://www.tackleund...__fromsearch__1 I'm sure there are some floating foams that could be used also but I can't help you with that.

Just hold a candle underneath it close to the mold. It covers easily. I pour hundreds of jigs and see no reason to do this. There is mold release available if you are having trouble removing the jigs from your molds. I use soft lead for easy casting.

Don't drill out the sprue hole. I think you meant 1/16oz and 1/32 altered to 1/24oz. It should be very easy to spin the sprue off that size jig. No cutting . Use soft lead and flux with wax. You should not have to do anything other than close the mold by hand. If you have access to stick on wheel weights they are soft and will cast well. Clip on wheel weights on the other hand are hard lead. You can not alter the hardness of lead by fluxing or cooking. Fluxing removes the oxides and junk (dross) from your metal. Pre melt the lead and flux it to remove the dross before you cast it(clean the lead). Then you will be able to cast without problems.

You can use that for lines too'

I would go bottom pour. I have tried them all. My thoughts are quality of lead is the key. For difficult shapes I like as pure as possible. Always pre cleaned. The dripping is no problem once you get hit by a few drops of hot lead. You learn quickly that you pour, look to the nozzle.Then look to the catch basin(which is strategically angled back to the body of the heater). If you see a drip you spin the rod. Once the dripping is secure you can open your mold and check your casting. If you see the lead stacked in the catch basin(I use an ingot mold) you toss it back into the pot. I pour lead heads up to 12oz. with no problems.

Those look great. Certainly a quicker process. These are cheep to buy so I don't bother unless I need something custom.

I know this response is a little late for this season but to answer your question- Yes there are ways to improve your success rate to nearly 100%. I hope this pic works.

Most of the stuff can be purchased at Micheals craft store. You may want to watch a few turorials on youtube before you do the actual procedure.. Search polyester resin casting and jemstone making with polyester casting resin. If you can find a few disposable eye droppers you should be good to go. Last thing , the thinner your eyes the more catalyst needed. This cuts you working time so I would do small runs at first untill you get the system down. This stuff isn't cheap.

I did read the post above and think there is a much better way. Make a silicone mold of the shape you want flat size up. Mix up a batch of polyester casting resin. fill the eye 1/2 full. When the resin reaches the gel stage either place a colored paper dot as the pupil. You can make these 2tone if you want. Mix another batch of resin and fill the rest of the mold. Polyester takes along time to cure so I would leave these in the mold for 2 days otherwise can be tacky and pick up fingerprints. The last step is to remove the eyes and epoxy them to the foil of your choice. After the epoxy is set trim around eye and you will have crystal clear- non yellowing eyes. This stuff is hard as rock so durability will not be an issue. It is best to work outside or have good ventilation when working with polyester resin. If any of you have seen the fake jemstones in costume jewelry you now know how they are made. If you want to get fancy you can use dyes in the polyester resin for different results. You can do this with epoxy as well but they will yellow with time. Hope this helps. I use it to cover my oversized movable doll eyes on some of my big saltwater lures.

4% for your transaction but you have some protection. Most of the credit card companies get 2+ percent. It is easier to build in the cost to your price then trying to track down bounced checks and the delay from a check being mailed and deposited then shipping the item. Don't get me wrong-I hate it but I have not found a better way. Build the cost into your price. It is definately a racket. At least with the credit card companies the money is in your bank. Paypal can hold it and many times just sits on it. The money in your paypal account collects no interest for you. Guess who gets it.

The jigs need to be tight if you cure them hook down. If not they will tip over and you will have twins. There are aluminum clamps made by CS inc. that work well for this. I prefer to go to wall mart right after christmas and buy a bunch of metal christmas ornament hangers on clearance. I think the last time I purchased them they cost 25 cents a box. Great for electrostatic hangers also. Then just hang the jig from the line attachment with the hook. Any drips run down and can easily be snapped off. After you do it a few times you will see the best angle to hang them so the excess can be removed the easiest. Some of those ornament hangers have a coating on them. Don't use those unless you peel the coating off.

I think that is an excellent idea. Handling and seating the eye was a problem Once the super glue got on the fingers it went down hill. I use some soft wax tips in my office for different things. I am going to see how the stick to the eyes. With those you do the same thing-rolling it off. Great advice here on this site-I came to the right place-thanks all for the input.

You could make a 2 piece RTV mold. Route out a slot in your mold board for the tail to drop into. Make your parting line where the lateral line would run. ( There are good utube vids on 2peice mold making). Pour the top half. Let it set. Remove your clay or whatever you sealed it to the mold board with. and pour the other half. This way you can add layers as you pour, there will be minimal trimming and it will last for years.

I had problems with this. Just as you stated if it gets on the lens it makes it cloudy. I should have tried putting the super glue on with a tooth pic or something. I ended up wrecking some jigs at the final stage. I like the 3m tape idea. I am going to get some and use a paper punch and see if it will cut the tape. If so that might be the ticket. Top it off with epoxy and should be on there for good. Thanks for the tips guys.

Yes, I am kidding you. I have made my own 3d eyes directly. The only way to dislodge them was to heat the head(they would pop out). I had requests for these and am just wondering if it's worth the trouble. To go to the 3ds it is an extra step. If I modify molds to make this work I want the eyes to stay. If someone finds one of my lures in their dads tackle box I want it to look like new. If they happen to find one stuck on a submerged tree stump 10 years later I would like to know the eyes are there.-----------These are not for me and I want to stand behind them provided I do it. Thanks for your replies. You have been very helpful.