Painter1

I have this mold but don't know who makes it. It says SSB 500 stamped inside near the hinge. It makes a 5 inch bait.

Mike, I think you (or someone else on here) need to get into the plastic heating pot modification business. I imagine there would be a great market for a small heating pot that actually worked well right out of the box. I know I would be happy to buy a few

This thread gives me renewed hope in the Lee Pot. I only have the one small pot and have cursed it every time I have tried it. My hands are also way too big to get inside and clean it. I'm willing to try again with the tips learned here. So who sells the bigger Lee Pot? Lurecraft only shows the small one.

Thanks, Mike, for that explanation. Sorry for being dense but where does the light bulb fit into this circuit? between the dimmer and the pot?

I would love to find a solution to my unusable Lee pot. It either under cools or burns my plastic. I would buy more of them and use for small multi-color hand pours if I had confidence in them. Any specific advice on wiring a dimmer switch? How did you wire a light?

After they cool, I put them in a tupperware container, generously squirt in the worm oil scent and shake to coat. Let it set at least overnight, but usually I squirt in another dose, shake again and let it cure. It is then jusdt slick enough to bag without being oily. I got this tip from one of you veterans - thank you.

I have a some of the older paint. It is a vinyl resin material. Vinyls have a low solids-by-volume (SBV) and require a LOT of hot solvent to keep usable. I dipped a 12" worms in a can of it and the worm dissolved, LOL

Good thread. Have been playing with this color myself

Thanks, guys. It is a pain to chage browsers

I wonder why I can only get around on this site using IE? Chrome does not load the site.

I was asking specifically about hi-lites. I don't get the same effect from pearls as I do from hi-lites but maybe I need to try some different paerl colors. I do appreciate the help. Mike K.

Congratulations on creating baits that are increasingly popular. It sounds like you will be a busy guy. I am in a similar position but have been a business owner and investor most of my life and need to make quarterly tax payments anyway. I never expect to make a profit because all proceeds are donated but the tax records still need to be kept. Don't let the taxes scare you. Tax payments are deductible like other business expenses and it is not difficult. It is not like every quarter you have to do all the paperwork that you do for April 15th. I would never advise you to evade taxes, even though it seems to be a popular temptation. Of course that is a moral and legal decision you need to make for yourself and I won't get on my soap-box. However you proceed, there is no reason to make your small business more complicated than it needs to be. You already have a Tax ID number; it's your Social Security number. There is rarely a reason to create a business entity that requires a new federal ID assuming you will not have any employees or outside partners/investors Some equipment investments will need to be capitalized, meaning they will be subject to depreciation rules. That is not as complicated as it may seem. You just may not be able to deduct every expense in the first year you buy it but you will get the deduction over time. My guess is that you will not show a cash profit after deductions. Of course, keep good records of all incoming and outgoing money. A simple spreadsheet works, but if you use a program like Quicken it is easy at tax time. I reccomend speaking to your usual tax preparer and let them know you will have a small home based business. Mike

Thank you. I will try that.

I really like my SS system and am excited to see a new and different approach with the HRDB system. I spend my life around people who make or fix things with thier hands. I have learned, usually the hard way, no matter what kind of tools are involved skill and level of interest is what drives the final result. A highly skilled and motivated mechanic seems to be able to tear down and rebuild something with a wiffle ball bat and a coat hanger, where a half-interested novice may not know what to do with a shop full of first-class equipment. Some stuff that clearly works well for other bait pourers just doesn't work well for me (Lee pots as an example). I guess each of us need to decide what tools fit our needs and our style best. The great thing is that there is plenty of information about exactly how each of these tools work and what to consider. Thanks to all of you guys that have helped me get a bit better at this through your generous sharing of tips ands potential pitfalls.

Am I the only one who has this issue with colorants?

Well that is interesting. I wonder what they do next?

Any idea who makes the Junky's plastic?

I saw Franks video on the Twinjector Cradle & Heater system that uses the BT mixing block. It heats the cradle to keep the injectors hot. It looks like a good system at a decent price. Any one else tried it yet? I need to know what kind of gloves Frank is using to handle those 350 degree twinjectors. LOL. I need to use an oven mitt for my Shooting Star injector. Frank is probably just tougher than I am.

I guess what I am asking is what method you use to clean them without enlarging the hole?

LC has 7 colors of Hi-Light but not Silver or Purple. Who else sells this stuff?

I have 4 oz bottle of colorant from Caney Creek (MF as I understand it) with the standard screw-on dropper spout and the red snap-on cap. All of the bottles have a steel nut inside to help mix upon shaking. I am having trouble getting the colorant out, even if I squeeze the bottle. I don't want to push something too big through the tip and over-size the hole. Any of you have this problem? What is best solution? Thanks, Mike

We deal with materials in drums, with various viscosity, every day at work (industrial coatings and linings). We have some 5 gal paint shakers but drum shakers are slow, expensive and can be dangerous for a single person to handle. We use air motors to drive mixing paddles at low speeds. You don't need a lot of air to do this. An air motor is cheap and reliable so long as you oil it. Maybe hook an air line from your shop compressor to the air motor with a lamp timer at the electric outlet to turn the compressor on for a bit every day?

Please let us know if/when you figure this out. I was planning to get some of these mold later in the year.

Did you let the baits cure before bagging them? I'm guessing there is a problem outside of the worm oil.