Anglinarcher

Yes, I have done it, and will be making a video of it in the somewhat near future. But......I am so far behind on commitments right now I could not even come close to helping you. I am sure you can do a great job at it. Here is a good video of how to do it already. http://www.makelure.com/store/pg/54-How-To-Videos.aspx#prettyPhoto/23/

Sometimes it is tough to be sure of the problem. I have never had your problem so I don't know if it is a problem with a specific product, a technique, etc. If you can send me a close up picture of the issue I might be able to answer your question. Maybe. Your description of what you are doing seems excellent. I would not even bother to degas first if using pressure casting so you are doing more then I would. Sometimes the devil is in the details so the solution could take some time. Please include a picture of the black spots or PM me and I will help the best I can.

The problem is that silicone baby dolls, etc., don't suffer wear like a fishing lure does. Paint it on and it stays as long as it does not get used much. I can see how the silicone based paint would adhere to silicone so that should work. I am not sure why a platinum based silicone is advertised for platinum based silicone; all silicones adhere to all silicones in my experience. I still have lots of questions, but now I see a possible solution for the future.

Thanks Bob. I will need to get more wire soon and I will be trying it as well.

BobP, is this what you use? https://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-wire/=18vc5z4 If we can find a source, I think the soft temper stainless steel is a great idea. Yes, it is slightly harder then the brass, but will not discolor over time. Personally, I have not had objectionable results from Brass, but I would use the soft temper stainless if it was readily available.

Interesting idea, and airbrush application available. Let us know how it works, I can see potential.

I would suggest you contact Smooth-On about that. I believe that they are the makers of the products you are talking about. I have never found any paint that would stick to silicone, but found dyes and pigments that would work on the un-cured silicone. If you have found one, then forward to hearing about it. I sure would not want to try to melt silicone to "dip" it with, but ask them about this as well.

Mark, I think you are trying to copy me. I think you are mixing this thread with another one, like I have done.

Of course I use AlumiUV because it is what I have, thin, strong, light, but ...... I have been known to use the rattle can of Auto Clear as well. Does pretty well.

Two excellent responses. Personally I would lean toward rounding the edges a bit more and give that a try. You can do that before painting it up and see if that works for you before you go to the effort of finding a different clear or modifying the mold.

No issues, it does not use wax. the clarity is excellent. My biggest issue is that I sometimes use foil or decals and if the UV gets under the foil or decals it does not cure. UV cures must have UV light to cure and once under a cover there is no way for the UV light to get there. Normally I now hit the suspect areas with a clear coat and then do a final total coat with the AlumiUV.

Pretty close, only jayk3lly can know for sure. I don't remember the Rattlesnake as being a floating worm, but it has been a while for me. Good eye.

Not sure where I got that from. My Bad.

I feel your pain. I have a hard bait that has done the same to me. Finally got it to work right just a couple of days ago, sooooooooooo sikpping a trip to Alaska to start a redesign. I think that making lure can be an addiction. Look forward to seeing your lure. Glad you got it the way you need it.

Funny you ask that question. I was responding on using Silicone to make fins for fish lures recently. LOL First thing to understand is that silicone only sticks to silicone, so ANY MOLD material will work. And because you are looking at soft swimbaits, you won't even need to worry about undercuts. If you choose to use a silicone mold, you will need to spray the mold each time with a good mold release, or coat it with petroleum jelly. For my own use, that is ok, but for production, probably too slow. ANY other mold material will work without release. CNC aluminums, urethane plastic, POP, you name it. Good luck, have fun, and remember the cure time of silicone before removing the objects.

It would probably be more useful for us to see details of the top coat failure. Love your artwork and lure design, they WILL CATCH FISH. I use Alumilite UV for most of my lures. It takes some setting up with UV lights but it is fast, just flexible enough, tough as nails, and handles Muskie very well. It is not for every use, and care must be taken in some cases, but it is awesome for my uses. Others use moisture cures. They feel it is best, and for them it is. If you are going to a large scale production, then this is potentially a viable option. Etex and D2T have their supporters, and detractors. I use the automotive clear coat in the rattle can on occasion when I am in a hurry. I am not convinced that the topcoat is your problem, at least not until I get a close up photo of the lures that failed. Give us those photos and I bet the combined experience and knowledge on this site can work it out for you.

I hope that my answer will get others to chime in on what they use. Personally my answer will seem non-committal. First, I don't use steel, stainless or otherwise, unless I am making spinners. I use brass. I find that most lures don't have issues with line tie or hook eye deformation and I like the fact brass is so much easier to tune/bend when you need to. Second, it depends on the fish and lure size I am designing the lure for. Obviously I might use much tougher wire for Redfish then for Rainbow Trout. I might use much different wire for Yellowfin Tuna then for Silver Salmon. Sometimes the wire I choose is for looks/balance, not just for strength. Still, I can tell you the "brass" wire that I use for most of my work. For most of my lures I use .035" brass wire in a coil. For my larger lures I use .065" brass rods. I have a Boggs tackle maker, and round nose pliers, and the Boggs handles the .035" fine, but I usually use the round nose pliers unless I am making a lot of pieces. The .065" is too big for my Boggs and is tough on the round nose pliers. Hope this gets answers coming in.

Ya, by that definition, I could call any worm from the old Jelly Worm to Sinkos to Rattlesnakes a trick worm. I am not putting down the definition, I am not sure I can do any better. I see any worm that has standard density (only slightly buoyant to neutral density without hook) and is straight, as a regular worm, and anything else as a "trick" worm. And, quite frankly, my definition is too broad. I guess I don't see the Rattlesnake as a trick worm, and yes, I have fished them. I also know, from my own experience, that they do fish different then the ones that are shown from Del's Diamond mold, but that is not necessarily better or worse. I also think, that for the most part, they don't catch fish any better, because, for the most part, it is the fisherman and he/she uses the worm that makes all the difference. But, the Sinking worms were a game changer, the high floating worms were a game changer for me, ......... The thread was about getting a mold that was less expensive then a custom CNC and would be as close to an exact duplicate. I provided options that will work well for a hobbyist. If they are trying to produce enough to sell, well there are some options above that will work, but a custom CNC is finally going to be the way to go.

Fortunately you did not need to read the results. Additionally, I question that the cost of doing the above is more then a custom CNC mold. As for Travis's comment about the trick worm molds available, yes, lots of them. I am not sure the Rattlesnake fits the "trick" mold worm but that term has never been defined to the best of my knowledge. I am glad that we have the freedom to disagree on this site. I guess the summer heat has some people a little hot under the color. LOL

Agreed. Most of us sure don't do it to make or save money. ROFLOL I think I need to start another project.

Ya, fluorocarbon seems to slice pretty easy. I use 130 to 150 pound hard mono instead of wire. I use the Larry Dahlberg Knot-Again knot to tie a loop knot for the lure that can be untied and retied. I also double check the leader after every toothy fish to see how much damage is done. I remember when fluoro was said to be tougher then mono, but I keep going back to the Hard mono for this. Besides, by quoting you, we get to see the fish again. LOL

Epoxies actually don't need to outgas any solvent. It is a chemical reaction that takes place once the two sides are combined and it will happen no matter what you do once they are combined. So................. don't worry about outgassing. Curing can be slowed some by thinning with alcohol but not stopped. Most of what we smell is additives to control the speed of the reaction or to enhance properties, but they do not need to be outgassed before full cure. As for curing, yes, a week is pretty normal for full cure. Fast cure epoxies cure a lot faster for sure, but will yellow and get brittle in about a year. The best epoxies, like the bar top pour-on epoxies, take longer to cure. The slower the better for long term life and quality. Back in the late 90's this was a problem with Archery, specifically putting inserts into carbon arrows. Most of us were using 5 min. epoxy and a year later the inserts would come out. Those using the "24" hour epoxies did not have that problem. Several of us put a spot of the 5 minute and a spot of the 24 hour in an out of the way spot in our shops and watched it and flexed it over the course of a year. Sure enough, even out of the light, the 5 min. would yellow and get brittle while the 24 hour stayed colorless and clear and flexible. I lost my samples after about 3 years, but the 24 hour version was still great.

Lots of ways to do it, and I bet Travis can even offer constructive suggestions. Little disappointed in your response Travis, but perhaps I am reading it wrong. Personally I would use a little contact adhesive like rubber cement and glue the baits to a glass plate. The baits can easily be removed and saved because the rubber cement will peel off. I would make a box around the baits, then I would seal the box with hot cement at the bottom. I would pour Alumilite HS3 over the worms. 12 to 18 hours later I would remove the box, peel the silicone mold from the glass, peel the worms from the mold, and I now have an almost perfectly formed open pour mold. I believe this shows that best. http://www.makelure.com/store/pg/54-How-To-Videos.aspx#prettyPhoto/123/ For a better mold but harder to do, I could also embed the worms half way into synthetic clay, build the box, pour the top half. 12 to 18 hours later I would then remove the mold half, leaving the worms in the Silicone and remove the clay. I would turn it over in the box, coat the silicone with a good mold release, like either UMR or Petroleum jelly, then pour the top half. 12 to 18 hours later I would remove the mold, separate the two halves, cut some pour groves and some vent groves and you now have a perfect mold. I believe this shows that best, starting about 2:10 into the video. http://www.makelure.com/store/pg/54-How-To-Videos.aspx#prettyPhoto/39/ Or, you could take the last option and cut an injection grove in the head end and a vent grove in the tail end and inject them. Or, you could make a one piece mold of Alumilite Trans 40. You would suspend the worms in the middle when you pour them. Then you could cut with a razor knife to remove the worms. Because you can see through the transparent Trans 40 you can cut just short of the worms and surgically remove the worms undamaged. I believe this shows that best. Just use the Trans 40. http://www.makelure.com/store/pg/54-How-To-Videos.aspx is the main tutorial link and there are a lot of good techniques shown. Take the time to go from bottom to top and you will find that it is not that hard to come up with easy and great options. All of these videos are also on YouTube, and there are tons of good videos on YouTube as well. It is just so easy to do this. If there are videos you specifically need, I am trying to do some now. I am not that great of a TV or MOVIE personality, so don't expect perfection, but let me know if there is something you specifically need to see and I will see what I can do.

Hard to complain when you catch a fish like that. Lots and lots of teeth. LOL

Just a follow up. I have now tried some very old Flex 30 and it looks great, and is almost as soft as HS3. As a flexible urethane, it might have some other colorant options. I have also talked to my sources and there are new silicone dyes that will be coming out, probably last this year. Note that I have used the Alumilite dyes to color the HS3 when I mixed it up and it worked just fine. I will be excited to see the new dyes when they are out.