JRammit

The general rule is "hard master = soft mold... soft master = hard mold"..... But if you wanna make your own designs, you can't carve plastisol, so your only option is a hard master..... I got tired of paying $30-$60 in RTV silicone for 3 or 4 molds (that doesn't sound too bad until you consider how many of those molds were failed designs)... A $15 bag of pop can make ALOT of molds!.... So I made due out of necessity For those interested, it can be done.... There's just a few "rules" to follow, which I leaned the "hard" way (pun intended

I know I'm not the only one in this predicament... And I'm sure many of you have some funny stories to share... Or maybe some do's and don'ts we can all learn from Here's my situation... I have two 3 year old black lab muts, and one 6 month old black lab mut puppy (my future hunting dog)... They have roughly a half acre fenced off, in the middle of which sits my shop.... So being the nice guy I am, I decide to install a doggy door in my shop... They now have the ultimate dog house... A/C in the summer, heat in the winter, and a dry place on a rainy day Consequently, they also have unlimited and unsupervised access to all my stuff... They taught me a few things real quick.... Like "don't leave your buck tails where we can reach em, cause we WILL eat them"... And "the only thing cooler than a bag of duck feathers, is a bag of duck feathers spread out all over the floor"....... I couldn't even be mad about that, those things are just too tempting to a dog But let me tell you about a few other things dogs like.... Play-do, an easy convenient way to seal a mold box... But it only works if you stand guard, cause soon as you walk away they pick it clean... Might as well use peanut butter Screw driver handles... No big deal, they still work with or without teeth marks Acrylic paint bottles... These are a big turn on for some reason, I swear I find a new color in the yard at least once a week... Ever seen a black lab with red freckles??... Kinda funny Silicone molds... RTV is some pretty tough stuff!!!.. I can still use most of those molds There's more on the list, but those are the big ones So what do you have to put up with?... Cat? Dog? Snake? Hamster?.... And how do you deal with em??..... I'm running out of top shelves

Mark, I keep forgetting to add glue to my plaster... I still wanna try that You always use soft masters right?... I thought about sealing my mold face w epoxy like you do, but I carve my masters from wood or PVC, and I'm afraid of gluing them in...... The Vaseline has worked great though!

Ahhh... Less plastic = less shrinkage I use more plastic on the 2nd color than I do for the 1st, that could be the difference... And I've never tried a 3 color pour, 2 headaches at a time are enough for me!

Maybe even some fire tiger stripes

Mark, you pour that hot in a 1 pc mold?.. Or only 2 pc molds? I like to get that convex top look.. If I pour at or over 320, it shrinks and the top becomes concave

Pam will soak into the dry plaster... I use Vaseline.... First use a paint brush to carefully get it all around the master and the parting line (you don't want any on the master, or you'll have ugly swirls all over the bait)... Then use a paper towel to smear it over every inch of the mold face You can spray the master with Pam if needed, to help with removal.... The type of master you use makes a difference too.. You can get away with more using a soft master, but there are a few more rules to follow if you're carving a hard master Once both halves are dry, place a flat head screw driver on the seam and tap with a hammer... If you applied the Vaseline correctly, the mold should open right up

I remember using fire balls for rainbow trout... I always thought the jar had a hint of vinegar to the smell..... Maybe it's just me, but could be worth a try.... Not sure what vinegar does to plastisol though

A laminate is a 2 color bait oriented top to bottom (or even side to side)... As opposed to a 2 color bait with, say, a different color tail, which would not be a laminate Laminates in a one piece mold are fairly simple, pour one color then pour the other.. Just gotta get timing and temperature right or they won't bond well.... I pour my 2nd color before the 1st color completely hardens, and a little hotter... I get a little bleeding of colors, but don't have to worry about baits pulling apart

Most common is the "float and cover" method (what I call it)..... Basically press your master half way down into the plaster, let dry, cover with more plaster Of course there are plenty of ways to mess this up... What problems are you having??

Dale, you're just nicer than me

That cat would look good with a chartreuse tail

Lure building is about more than catching fish... It's about a higher level of satisfaction... And individual customization.... It's the feeling you get when you open your tackle box and see your work opposed to someone else's....... This sounds cheesy, but when you tie on a bait made by your own hand, you have a relationship with that lure.. You didn't find it hanging on a shelf, you created it..... This boosts confidence, and in turn improves fishing If this interests you, then you should get started... I'd recommend learning to build first, then progress to molding...... You'll have to ride the learning curve, instant gratification is not guaranteed.. But that curve is made shorter by all the knowledge gathered together here If the Rapala is your first project, then you're taking a big bite!.... I've never used balsa, so I can't speak on it.. But I'd consider PVC a viable alternative....... First you'll need some measurements, then you'll make a template to cut out... Shaping can be done by hand or power tool... Best advice I can give, make two.. One for experiments, and one for the final product

I knew what you meant... In the days of autocorrect and multiple abbreviations, one must learn to read past the text sometimes I'm not the steadiest hand in the west myself... But I get by, and I learned to take pictures from the "good angle"

Don't know anything bout saltwater, but I know what a squid looks like..... Would be an easy body to carve, and if you do a plaster mold could carve the tentacles in the plaster... Easier than trying to get em all laying flat..... 2 piece injection mold would be my choice, unless you're better at pouring than me

It's just expensive.. No way around it There are ways to stretch it though.... Use the rice trick to measure before you mix.... Make your mold boxes small as possible... And if you have screw ups, old silicone can be cut up and used as filler

i feel your pain!.. I usually put in my legal max 70 hrs every week (sometimes even more... Shhh!), but we don't have a slow season.. Hard to find time for a hobby, especially one like this! But I do.. Little here, little there..... I might cut a couple bodies out on Monday.. Shape em on Thursday.. Sand em on Friday.. Paint on Sunday.. Top coat the next Tuesday.. Fish it on my Thursday off!....... A 2 day project might take me 2 weeks, but I enjoy doing it so much that I'm not gonna stop just cause I don't have time I've made a couple crank bait molds, hoping to make more of my time.. But the baits themselves were both failed designs... I'll get back to it eventually...... RTV silicone is the right tool for the job.. Other materials could work, and a butter knife could cut a 2x4, if you have the patience

The previous thread was posted in soft plastics (can't seem to find it now).... Heat and warping were the issues with flex seal..... Way less heat with resin than hot plastisol, but I would worry about the stuff holding its shape..... Also wonder about strength in any thin areas.... Might be good for a few baits, but I doubt you'll get a long term mold out of it It's not that expensive tho, so worth a shot.... Let us know

X2... Emerald green in my junebug stuff

I got by for a long time with nothing more than a jigsaw and a dremel... Now I have a band saw and a drill press, that's it... I use a sanding drum on the drill press for shaping, and still use the dremel for the final touches

Thanks!.... I'm cheap, so I find cheap ways

X2... Dealing with water, it only makes sense to use water proof materials....... Now if they only made PVC dowel rods for topwater baits

My PVC trim is 5/8", I thought I was starting too thick... The thinner 3/8" prototype looked better... I was thinking of splitting the difference and going 1/2" on the next one Another question, the "female" end of the joints.. What's an average depth and what do you use to clean it up?.... i used a dremel drum on the 5/8" bait, but learned it's too big for the 3/8" bait, so I used a nail file

Another option is cheap acrylic paint with epoxy as a top coat.... Not near as quick as powder, but much bigger color selection, and at 50 cents a piece, you can load up Don't even need an airbrush, I hand bush mine.. Then mix glitter in the epoxy Think these were royal violet with a drop of black... Then black and emerald glitter

That might fix my roll problem too What's the thickness on your crappie?