CrabbyBass

Might be too much water. I always start out with a set amount of plaster and then slowly add water to it to get the desired consistency. You don't want it to be too runny. You want it to be thick like pancake batter. Good Luck!

When I make a multi-cavity injection mold, I use straws for my sprue channels. The bendable straws work great. I then use a knife to carve a channel from the straw to the lure. Then I take my injector tip and trace it on the mold and carve out the injection port. This works great for me. I hope this helps! Chuck

I believe they cure faster in the cold. I know a guy that cures lures in the fridge overnight if he needs to bag them up and ship them out fast.

I cannot say for sure as I have never bought from Clear Bags. Sorry!

I buy the 7" x 4 1/4" bags. Bears sells 1000 bags for $82.50, clear bags sells 1000 for $84.00 and Johnson bag sells 1000 for $103.60.

I have priced them out and Bears Baits seemed to be cheaper if you are looking for the plain clear bags. It was not a huge price difference, but every little bit helps.

If you have some, you can make your own molds out of plaster of paris. Do a search for mold making tutorials. You can also check out the below mold manufacturers. They are not exact to what you want, but similar. http://www.caneycreekmolds.com/Flap-Jack--2in-br-10-Cavity_p_148.html http://www.bearsbaits.com/175-CRAPPIE-DROPPER_p_354.html http://www.basstackle.com/product_p/stingermold22.htm

X2. I was going to suggest doing this as well. It will take more time to hand pour than injecting, but you will get your desired results.

I just ordered 1000 myself. I really like the bigger size and it was the best price I had found. I had almost ordered some from another site, but checked Bear's before ordering. The other site was like $5 more. I am always looking for a bargain.

Thanks John! I actually do not pour them, I inject them. I heat them to the normal 350. I bought a huge stock of the Jann's Netcraft plastic injectors and use those. They are flimsy and fall apart, but work great for these. If glue cannot fix them, I toss them and use a new one. Not worth taking the chance of getting hurt.

Michaels or Hobby Lobby is your best bet.

You can do it with no ill effects. It cools the plastic down faster so you can fish with it quicker. Just make sure that it is a good lure before throwing in water. Once you put it in the water, you cannot remelt unless it is completely dry. Water being introduced hot liquid plastic is very dangerous. Be careful!

Any particular brand you like over another or is Durham's the only brand the most readily available?

I have made POP molds as well. Take your time. If you rush it, the mold will not turn out correctly and you will only be mad at yourself. It has happened to me. I have been looking at the Durham's, but have yet to buy and experiment. I read on the Durham's site that the water putty was made to stick to itself. It was a response to the question asking if you can cast an object with water putty in a mold made out of water putty. That made me believe that making a two part mold with it was not possible because the second half would stick to the first half. I am sure there are people on here that have done it. I am interested to hear what they have to say.

I have watched them all. They are very informative. Great job Frank!

How are you reheating your plastic? Normally purple glitter is made from metal so you cannot reheat in a microwave. You have to use a hot plate or something along that line. This is just my guess.

Thanks!

Laminate plates are used in place of handpouring. I think they make the lures come out looking smoother. Then again, I am not great at hand pouring yet. I just bought my first laminate plate from CCM. I was having issues getting the lures to turn out correctly. With this one, as in probably most of them, the belly is injected first and then the top of the lure. When I was injecting the top, the plastic was going underneath the belly of the lure instead of on top. I had written to CCM to tell them about my issue. Jason actually called me and gave me some pointers. Turns out I was injecting too fast. It was my own fault from inexperience. I don't have anymore issues. Now that I know what I am doing, I think they are worth it just because I have not fine tuned my hand pouring. Hope this helps!

I am glad I asked this on here. Thank you for all of the great answers! I will just do what most recommended, dip and throw in water. Toadfrog, I was using superglue to hold the eyes in place, but after a few weeks of sitting in the bags, the eyes were falling off. Sorry to hear about your prosthetic eye, but your comment is pretty darn funny!

Great idea with the box. I will have to give that a try. I thought about throwing it in water, but was not sure if it would work. Thanks for the info!

Yes I am talking soft plastics. I want to dip the head of a swimbait in clear plastic to hold the eyes on. I am looking for a rack to hang them on upside down to cure. I was curious as to what you guys use for this process. Thanks again!

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day so far. I have a quick question. What do you all use as a "drying rack" after you dip your lures? I was trying to come up with something I could make myself, but was not having much success. I figured instead of frustrating myself, I would ask the experts. Thank you in advance for the info! Chuck

Sorry, no. The Jann's netcraft injector does not hold enough plastic to inject an aluminum mold. When they are not falling a part, they work great for the plastic molds Janns sells and I also use them for the POP(plaster of paris) molds that I make. I have an injector from basstackle.com and it works great. I like that is has a locking pin on the nozzle to hold it in place while injecting. The aluminum injectors may be a little pricey, but well worth the cost.

The side vents might be causing your issues. Try filling in the side vents with pop and see if that helps. I only vent the bottom of the mold. You just need a way for the air in the mold to escape while the plastic is being poured in. Too many vents may do more harm that good because as the plastic cools it shrinks and pulls in air and also causes dimpling.

Make sure the plastic is hotter than normal so that it pours thinner. As Nova said, keep topping it off until the air bubbles stop rising to your pour hole and then fill it some more. When pouring frogs I always have molten plastic run down the sides of the mold. It is easy to clean off. Keep the mold vertical and let it set longer as the body is thicker and it takes longer to cure.