trav

Good morning fellas. I have a question about Alumilite RC-3 resin, for those of you who are familiar with it. If I Mold a bait that Ive carved out of wood, then make a master out of the RC-3 resin, is the resin "carvable" after its cured and hardened up? I searched the forum and couldn't find anything on the subject. Im asking because I have a few older projects that I want to make a mold of and change a few details on. Hope all is well. Thanks for looking

Im going to try with PVC, because its a lot easier to carve, and you can carve detail. Ive tried carving balsa before, and though its pretty soft, its a challenge to carve detail into it. With that said, thank you to everyone who responded. Hopefully sometime soon, Ill get time and be able to post up some of my past work.

Thank you , FrogAddict, that's exactly what I was looking for. Baitjunkys - I thought of going that route, but feel a lot more confident in using a whole piece that's not glued together. My luck, they would split as I would almost be done with my master. Travis - I carve baits from normal wood, but for a master that's going to be molded, possibly multiple times, I want something easier to carve and something that wont need to be sealed. Also, I see that your login is what I was wanting mine to be... hahaha. You beat me to it

Hope this is the right section to ask this question. Im intending to carve a few masters for some larger soft swimbaits, and Im having trouble sourcing bigger pieces of PVC lumber. Ive tried both Lowes and Home Depot, and neither sell and actual 2x4 in any length of this type of wood. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on where I can order some online? Thanks for looking

I can only help you with a few of your questions, but like all replies, its going to be a matter of opinion. Theres a lot of knowledge in this forum. 1. Screw eyes. For bigger swimbaits, from 6 inches and bigger, I use these. I get them in the 0.072 size. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/plug-screweyes-screws/307931.aspx 2. Wood. If you are making a bait that's meant to float, or you want a softer wood to practice on, I would start with basswood or tupelo wood. Tupelo is soft and doesn't spling like basswood does at times. If the bait you are making is meant to sink, Ive found that either soft maple(still pretty hard) or a species of cedar work best, for me. Cedar has a natural ability to repel water, but still needs to be sealed with superglue or epoxy, its not completely waterproof. If you choose cedar, please do yourself a favor and wear a respirator when you are sanding. The natural water repelling traits of this wood will mess up your lungs if breathed in. Never experienced it first hand, but horror stories are enough for me to not wanna find out for myself. 3. Cutting joints. I've found that having you line drawn on the block of wood, while its still square and not rounded yet, helps a lot on cutting joints. Its possible to do with a bandsaw, but my personal bandsaw "drifts" and a few times Ive had to start over after making the first cut. I use a simple, cheap pull saw from Home Depot or Lowes. The blade is super sharp, thin, and flimsy which makes it very easy to control the cut for me. Also, I make a habit of always having a center line drawn on the bait. After every cut, or every time some part is sanded, I take my time making sure that there is a line going the whole length of the bait. Again, this is all from MY personal experiences. Use the search function, seriously. It goes back years and before you know it, you've been reading for hours. One thing I can recommend, is keep this hobby fun. Make sure you take your time and don't get stressed out about a little cut or anything like that, its only wood, and you will learn something new after every project. Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps you.

Not sure if posting links is allowed, forgive me if its not. I use this wire, from Canada. Its very strong and is hard to bend any of the loops I make with it. Shipping is very fast to AZ, I can only imagine it would take a day or two to get to you. https://theringlord.com/cart/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=121

Thanks for the help guys. I was trying to avoid the $80 for the Alumidust kit. The spike it colorant looks like it'll be perfect

Tried the search function, and nothing turned up. My question is, is there any household or common accessible coloring I can use with Spike-It pourasol? Like food coloring or anything like that?

So, since I haven't had time to buy a different brand of silicone, or fiberglass resin, I tried mixing another batch of the GE Silicone. I mixed about 1/4 of the tube and added a few tablespoons of charcoal fluid to thin it out. It thinned out a bit and cured a lot faster when I added some water, but I noticed that the silicone is not quite as tough when its cured. Should be too much of an issue for the 5 inch bluegill and 7 inch shad molds I carved. Im open to other ideas if anyone is willing to share. Im trying to avoid buying more Oomoo 30 or Mold Max RTV, seeing how its more expensive and I have to wait for it to be shipped to me.

So, after reading a bunch of links and a few posts, I've found that specifically GE is not good to use. I found a post that says the Mainstay brand at walmart is a lot better to use, and to use lighter fluid to make it thinner. Ill try that next

Got a wild idea this weekend when I was at Home Depot, and tried to make a mold using 100% GE Silicone in the tubes. I molded half of the swimbait I carved, and the stuff is thick. Has anyone used this to make molds for pouring before? Or would you guys recommend thinning it out with water or alcohol for the second half of the mold?

Thank you everyone for the replies. Looks like I have a lot more reading to do. And I guess I need a microwave to keep in the garage now. How long does it take to get plastisol up to temp, on average? I know every microwave is different

I'm planning on making a 5 inch bluegill and 6 1/2 shad. I only brought up the brushing on part cause I saw it in a YouTube video. I didn't know you can put it on the mold, cause I've never seen how to do it. As far as plastic temp, I have an old thermometer I'll be using.

Thank you for the reply. That helps me a lot. As of now, I don't have a microwave but I have a quart size pan and a electric heating element from Walmart. Can I brush on alumidust on it once it's cured and heat it with a propane touch? I haven't found much on it yet

Just got a gallon of this pourasol in. The only instruction on the label was to not eat the stuff.... Im new to pouring baits, so Im asking if I heat this stuff like any other plastisol? Ive been reading a lot of posts and finding that 325 to 335 is the magic temp, would that still apply to this stuff? Anyone have experience with Spike It pourasol? Thanks for looking

Thanks for the reply. I didn't see the fact that it may expand with heat. I still might try it, since its local and kinda cheap for how much comes in the container. If and when I do try it, Ill report back.

Has anyone tried using the FlexSeal material for a mold alternative? I saw the commercial and got the idea when it showed the guy bend it in half after it had dried.

From the videos Ive seen and the links Ive read, traditionally when making a mold, you would cover half of the master with clay, and then pour the silicone on the other side, and then after its cured you would peel off the clay and pour the other side of the mold. Since I might not have enough clay to cover the entire side of the bait, can I use plaster of paris in place of the clay? Or if not, can someone guide me in the direction of an alternative method?

Thanks for all the help guys. And thanks for taking it easy on me haha. The next obstacle in my path is now.... what steel wire to use for the line tie / bait harness. From what I've been able to find, .024 to .028 is the popular size, and torsion straightened steel is preferred, is that correct? Hope all is well guys. Tight lines

Thank you for the response Frank, that's exactly what I was looking for. Why is all this stuff so expensive? Haha

If I use silicone, will that mean I have to make my 2 part mold out of another material, not Oomoo 30, since its also silicone?

Thanks guys. That's a good starting point

So, forgive me if this is a topic that's been covered many time, Ive spent the last few days searching this forum and haven't found what I think is the answer, or I am not knowledgeable on information in the posts Ive found..... My question is, what kind or brand of liquid plastic (plastisol???) has the softness of a Huddleston Deluxe 8 inch trout? I am not just molding a Hudd to make for my own use, nor am I trying to sell any baits, I am just trying to make a swimbait that no one currently offers, and I like the characteristics of the material the Huddleston Deluxe is made of. I have a master carved from basswood, and have glued on the fins. Im going to be using Oomoo 30 to make both side of the mold, and Ill be making my own harness from Alumifoam and steel wire. Im sure Im missing a lot of steps that are required for this process, Im still reading and watching tons of youtube videos in the free time I get. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. And for the record, if Ive overstep any boundaries or if name dropping a brand of swimbaits is taboo, please forgive me. Its not my intension to stir up drama, Im just starting to get my feet wet in a hobby that is seeming like its going to be a lot of fun. Thanks for looking, and hope all is well Travis