CrabbyBass

Thanks for the warning. I can see how they can be dangerous.

My vents are usually 1/16" as well. Are you hand pouring or injecting? With my pop molds, I use those cheap plastic injectors from Jann's and they work well for me. I think that might work out for you. I would buy a few because they do not last long.

You definitely have to make sure the plastisol is fully mixed in the container before pouring into the pyrex. When you think it is mixed enough, shake it up some more. It also sounds like it was not heated enough. Three minutes is a good time, but every microwave is different and it also depends on how much plastisol you are using. I accidentally scorched 1/2 C of plastisol and it was in the microwave for 3 minutes. I would start off by going a minute and a half stop, stir and then go in 30 second increments. As powerworm stated, it will gel up and then thin out again. As far as cleaning out your mold, I don't know what to tell you as I have never had to do that. Maybe someone else will chime in on that. Don't give up and have fun.

You can do a google search for aluminum molds and check out the different companies for what you are looking for. This is the one Bears Baits has to offer. http://www.bearsbaits.com/525-SUPER-MINNOW_p_289.html

Thanks Mark! I made quite a few helgies last night with minimal issues. They are looking better and better with each shot. Thanks again guys!

Welcome Jake! Just a bit of a warning, pouring plastics is very addicting and gets very costly. Some of the tackle supply companies offer starter kits. A fairly cheap kit to get started with is from Jann's Netcraft. Do a google search and you should be able to find it. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks guys! I was actually debating if I wanted to show my results on here. I am very critical about my stuff. I am also kind of intimidated by the "professionals" on this board. To answer your question, I just took my time with the mold. I ruined the first one by rushing it and didn't want to ruin this one. Thanks again guys! You just boosted my ego!

I do think the first one was a little thin too. Here is my second attempt. This one came out better, but it had a bunch of air bubble in the top half. I shook the container from side to side and also kept banging it on the counter top to try to get all of the air bubbles to surface, but apparently, it didn't work. I baked the mold in a toaster over at 150 for about an hour and a half. I then set the mold outside to dry out in the sun for 4-5 hours. I coated the cavities with the 50/50 Elmers glue and water mix. I let that dry for about 2 hours. My first shot did not come out so well as I had a lot of huge air bubbles. Plus the Elmers seemed to peel off. After a couple of shots, I started getting some decent baits. The one of the bottom is the original and the one on top is the one I made. It is not a 100% exact replica, but I am happy enough with them. Thanks for the above advice and thanks for looking!

Well the first attempt was a bust, literally. I got a little anxious and started messing with it and the mold cracked and fell apart because it was not completely set. DOH! I have to go buy some more POP and attempt again tonight. The mold looked great before it cracked though. Haha!

Great! Thanks Mark! I keep going back and forth between injecting and hand pouring. I will let you guys know how it goes. Thanks again!

I am going to be making a 2-part POP mold to make helgies. This particular helgie I am molding has a bunch of little appendages on it. My question is, do I need to make vents for every appendage for them to pour correctly? I guess I can do a trial and error type thing to see what happens and go from there. I just wanted to check with the experts to see what you guys recommend. Thank you very much in advance!

I had a pretty crummy day at work yesterday, so I figured what better way to boost my spirits then to go out in the garage and make some swimbaits. I was reading posts on here about people scorching their plastic and was thinking how I have never had that happened to me. Well, guess what? It happened last night. I had a ½ C of Bear’s Baits medium and put it in the microwave. I was busy doing other stuff to set up and I stopped the microwave after 3 minutes and the plastic was orange. I know it was not orange due to left over plastic residue as the last color I made was white. I figured I would try to use it anyway, but the color looked funky as I was trying to make green pumpkin. That batch got set to the side. I poured another ½ C and kept an eye on this one, so it didn’t scorch. When it was ready to go, I went to add the colorant and instead of drops coming out of the bottle, the colorant came out in a stream. I was swearing to myself and should have quit right then and there. I proceeded and mixed it up and the color was darker than I wanted, but still usable. I added the green glitter and the coffee scent and went on my way. For some reason, I just could not get a good injection. I was getting a ton of huge air bubbles in the lures. I must have injected 4-5 and not a single one turned out. I called my buddy to vent and he said to just quit and call it a night before I get mad and break something. I was determined though. I kept at it and was finally able to get 4 lures to turn out before stopping. It was almost 11:00 PM and I had to be up at 6:40 for work. The point of my whole story is when you are having a bad day, you are having a really bad day. What I was hoping would calm me down only made me madder. Nothing went my way at all. I kept at it and finally got it right. Thanks for looking!

When I make up a batch I make about 3/4 C. As I am injecting I use a separate pyrex to put in my "waste." I keep using the liquid plastic in the one pyrex cup. You can inject, de-mold, stir, draw up more liquid plastic, inject, while de-molding throw cup into microwave for 15-30 seconds to heat it up again and do it all over again. When the liquid gets low, it is time to throw in sprues and other trimmings back into the main cup to melt down again. This method works out well for me.

I pour in my garage. I had assumed it did not look right because it was darker in the garage. The next morning I took a look at them outside and that is when I decided to post on here.

Thanks guys! I did shake the bottle really well. I noticed the settling, so I shook some more before adding to the liquid plastic. It did look pearly in the Pyrex, but just not in the bait. I will definitely try adding even more drops of the pearlescent. I added about 15-20 drops to 6 oz of plastic. Sounds like I am going to have to add quite a bit more. I will buy the powder instead from now on. Thanks again guys!

Hello all! I ordered a bottle of pearlescent from Jann's. I was thinking that I would use this in conjunction with any color to give the bait a pearly finish. I tried it for the first time last night. I tried making a bait with 12 drops of the pearlescent in the plastic to see how it would turn out. It didn't really look any different than just a plain old clear bait. I then added about 3 drops of white to the plastic to see what happened and the bait just looked like a pale white. I then added more white and more pearlescent and I really did not notice a difference. I could tell in the Pyrex container that it looked pearly, but when the lure cured, it did not look all that pearly to me. I compared them to some regular white baits I made and really didn't notice a difference. Is the pearlescent supposed to be used in this manner? Maybe I should have picked a darker color instead of white. Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you in advance! Chuck

Hello everyone! My name is Chuck and I just joined this forum. I started pouring plastics back in January and am totally addicted. I found some cabinets out in the garbage one night and now I have a little worshop out in my garage. I spend a lot of my non-fishing free time in the garage making plastics. My wife knows that once the kids are in bed where she can find me. LOL! There is nothing like catching fish on something you have made yourself. I have been reading the posts on here for a couple of days and have learned quite a bit and had a bunch of my own questions answered by trying out things myself. One of my main questions was when injecting why do people draw up the plastic as opposed to pouring the plastic in the injector, inserting the tip and then injecting their molds. Last night I tried the draw up method and I think I like it a lot better. So anyway, here I am and I look forward to learning from everyone on here and will chime in when I have answers to people's questions. Thanks for looking!