DaBehr

I can hear the wife complaining already! What the heck happened to my broom? Are you cutting hair off the dog and cat again for your silly flies? And what happened to my foam flip flops, there are holes in them!

This is a really tough times for small business owners. Bottom line seems to be no one wants to work. My brother owns a landscaping company and he is close to closing down because no one wants to work. He has lots of business, and no way to get it done. Seems counter intuitive that people are out of work, and yet no one wants to take the jobs! I have been buying from MF for 10 years or so and they were always great. I feel bad for them and others in a no win situation!

Just be aware that micro bubbles have a SIGNIFICANT lung health issue! Most thermoplastic molders will not allow their use!

I've been using for my creature baits for a few months now and I think it is A+. I like to use screw locks and this plastic really works well with them. I also made up a bunch of bluegill baits for my Grandson and he has only needed to use 2 ! Another interesting thing if you use the dip dye on tails it doesn't migrate up the bait.

I use a small file. A really fine jig saw blade work well also. Slower, but no "ahhhh shit" when the Dremel goes crazy! I also put a hook in a slowly close the vise. Putting a little bit of black enamel paint on the hook also makes a good mark to follow. Some permanent markers work ok, but you need to close it fast but hand pressure will make a mark to follow. Do one cavity at a time. Remember: You can also take more material out...but you can't put it back in!!!

I have a paint stirrer that goes on my drill. I cut the plastic on the bottom back small enough so it goes in the top of the bottle (took a couple different stirs to find one that would still work after I cut it back!) and it does a pretty good job. This might work! https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/painting-tools-and-supplies/paint-mixers/1499516

I lay mine on a cookie sheet. When I'm done shooting, I take the sheet over to the refrigerator in the garage and put it in, and take a beer out!

Please be VERY careful with the microbubbles. They are a SIGNIFICANT health hazard to your lungs. They can also be harmful if you accidentally get them into your eyes (not that hard to do!). MF has a floating plastic formula that I have been very happy with.

Yep, but a patent is big $$. Make sure you use a good Patent Attorney that knows what they are doing! It's been my experience (I have managed dozens of patents through the process) is it takes $100,000 to get the job done and protect the patent. Cheap Patent Attorneys (and services) are worthless! Ahhh shit? 1st to market and ride it for a year or two may be a better option. Sorry...but that is the way it is... I personally have 4 patents with 3M and 1 with AT&T and managed 6 through the process with a high tech plastic company.

If you really want a "laminate"...shoot the bait in the bottom color (let's say white), then take the bait out of the mold and with a large sharp butcher knife cut the bottom off and reinsert it into the mold, and then inject the top color. The reason you use a large, sharp butcher knife (most long blades would work), is to get a nice long straight cut. Not a method to make a hundred of them, but a dozen should go fairly quickly!

I stopped worrying about little details (except in baits I was painting for show) after anglers started catching bass on Umbrella Rigs !

Aluminum would be a good material to use if you do NOT want the blades to squeak. If you want squeak it would need to be plastic on plastic.

The amount of squeak would be influenced by the type of plastic in the blade. The good news is the cheaper the plastic, the more it would squeak! Plastic on plastic would squeak the most (use a cheap non-lucubrated plastic). In the industry we call these "wear" thermoplastics. To reduce wear or squeaks you would use a "low wear" or lubricated plastic. So, if you could put a plastic tube around your wire (and fit it tight or glue it) and then put the blade over it, you might be able to get the sound to want. Only one way to know! I noticed that the blades I recently purchased have an aluminum shaft insert in them. I suppose that it was to make sure they spin and/or to match wire size to the hole in the blade. The problem would be to get the squeak, the blades would not turn as easily so you would need a bigger blade or faster speed (I suppose). Gee....all those years in the thermoplastics industry finally payed off!

That was brilliant!

That looks like smallmouth candy! Very well done video.

Here is a link to a "plastic 101" post on the Custombaits site. https://custombaits.com/index.php?topic=2518.0 What brands work best? No easy answer here (as you will see in the article). If you don't have strict temperature control, you probably want a brand with lots of heat stabilizer in it...but there are negatives to that too (not the least is hard packing!). Baits that get sticky or cloudy? You didn't get the plastic (regardless of brand) up to 350 so that it completely "changed state". Don't forget to stir it so all the plastic is 350 F. Don't forget to "remix" your plastic between session...or all sorts of problems occur! Don't shake it (and add bubbles!). I rotate it slowly for a minute or so. Any time I walk by my work area I try to remember to rotate the bottle (or box). You can always add stabilizer to you plastic as you reheat. I avoid that by only heating a cup at a time, but if I'm trying to do a light color I squirt in some stabilizer after the 2nd heat. After 3 reheats (no matter what brand I'm using) I put the remainder in the left over bucket. Every once in awhile I cut up all the scrap plastic, add some fresh plastic, and make black or dark green baits with some fresh glitter. I use Essential plastic and MF. Both have been good to me. All of them have their advantages and trade offs! It's all about developing a good repeatable process that works for you.

They look fantastic.

Also remember that you cannot use a trademarked name. You might be able to make a stick bait that looks like a Senko (tm) but you cannot use that name or even refer to it. You do not own the rights to that word.

This video might be helpful : Since they both are a vertical eye.

I tie my jigs "Wisconsin style". I cut a tab in the middle and I end up 2 pieces with tab ends. I wrap the tab ends against the head of the bait with the strands facing forward. The base is facing backwards towards the hook. (see pic below) I usually use 1 tab but you might prefer two. I tie with only strands facing forward 99% of the time. If desired: (I seldom do this) I repeat the process except I tie the tabs over the forward facing but with the strands pointing backwards. This produces a sparse skirt that really flares! If you want a heavier skirt you can on more strands if desired. The lighter skirt gives a good view of the swimbait I use as a trailer. Also, by cutting the tab in half it is really easy to get a good uniform distribution by tying the base on the top and bottom of the jig. Note: If your material has a really large base (the melted part on each end) you may want to trim it to size. I normally trim it to the same size as the distance between the head and the skirt bump. http://www.finsntales.com/all/sink-or-swim-the-wisconsin-swim-jig/#.XtJnd4jYqyI Here is a good pic of front only from : http://www.northwoodsbass.com/swim-jigs-northwoods-style/ Note: If you are tying multiple colors (1/4 band) tie the TOP color on first!

Remember that the hotter the plastic, the better the flow (but don't get it too hot!). 350 is my normal target I use 320 when injecting large body baits like creature baits to help prevent denting. Try a few drops of worm oil in your injector and push it up and down to lubricate before you start. I clean (wipe out) and lubricate my injectors on a regular basis. Also check and make sure the plunger surface is tightly screwed onto the rod or you might be getting some tilt and binding. If the injectors are new, the o-rings are probably pretty tight.

What temperature is the plastic? Are you using a digital thermometer? Do the injector draw up ok, individually?

Have you tried to hand pour one or both of the mold sides before you inject the center? I pour a lot of my tubes with a orange "bottom" and then inject the watermelon green. I end up with a body that is orange on the "bottom" and green on the top and legs are green. If you really want to go crazy you can cut the bait in half (lengthwise), put it back in the mold and shoot the top. Since you have to cut your tails it would be easier to do that with the Do-it molds with the spline. I leave the bait in the "bottom" of the mold and then use a razor blade to cut across using the flat mold to be my guide to keep it even. . If I want the tails to also be the 2nd color I cut the "top" tails out of the spline. Make sure the plastic is hot so that it mends with the lower level! Of course you could use a Dual injector and get the same effect (I know have a Dual Injector so that's how I do it now). Basstackle.com even has a triple injector ! You can make up a much of orange baits. Cut the tail and save then, put them back in the mold and then inject the front color. (The Do-it molds you have to leave them on the spline and use a razor blade to cut above the tail and then pull the head off and re-shoot). You can also use a dye and paint it on a paint and it will leach down the sides. It looks kind of cool but eventually it can leach all the way down. So you have to use them quickly. I live in Minnesota so I have all winter to do wild, time consuming baits! I think the best thing to learn is how to hand pour the bottoms on molds and then inject the rest. I makes really nice looking creature baits!

It seems like 90% of all plastic problems come down to control of the plastic temperature at the time of injection (that is true of all types of plastic injection...not just baits!) Make sure you plastic gets to 350 degrees measure by a digital thermometer (NOT an IR!). A good thermometer to use is a meat thermometer but make sure you get one that reads to over 350 degrees! It should state its maximum temp on the package. If you don't get all of the plastic to 350 degrees it does not completely "change state" causing all sorts of issues! I wonder if the problem is as simple as the head you are using is too big? If you look at the Do-it molds for tubes they are significantly smaller than that bait. I use model #473218 https://barlowstackle.com/Do-It-Tapered-Tube-Skirt-Jig-Molds-P209/ I would suggest you go to the store and buy a pack of standard tube jig heads and see if the problem goes away! If you have a Fleet Farm near you they carry them in a wide assortment. Walmart also has them (at least in my area) https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eagle-Claw-Lazer-Sharp-Tube-Grub-Jig-Head-Bronze-1-4-Oz-BTH14/544205456 The MF tough plastic would also help. Andy

I don't think you asked this yet, but I keep a pile of used baits, that I poured, in a worm proof container and let them dry for a couple days. I cut them up into small pieces and then reuse them by color along with some fresh plastic. Make sure you get the whole mix to 350 so that the fresh plastic has completely changed state. NEVER use wet baits! I only re-use my own baits and never remelt any store bought baits.