Tiderunner

and if you decide to split up Id be interested in the Senko and 5" double tail grub molds, and possibly the single injector.

I have laminate plates for my molds, so I/ll use the leftovers that won't fill an entire mold to male laminated baits. I can only make a few at a time because the mold, injector get too hot, and make the colors run together. Sometimes I'll add my experiments together, and just get a non nondescript color, or a color sometimes close to the original. I'll use these myself when supplies run low, or if the color comes out pretty ok, I share them with friends. There's always something you can do with left over plastic. Also, I pour my hot plastic into the injector, not suck it up, then I bleed off air. Much like preparing a syringe for an injection. Keep your stirring to a minimum. This should help with bubbles.

Right to left. No additives, then with 320 grit glass beads. then with salt and glass beads, then trying to duplicate GY 197 Plastic is Baitjunkys medium.

I found and maybe its my imagination that I need to heat the plastic higher when using glass beads. I've scorched it a few times Call it careless. I'll try going sans stabilizer and see what happens I think the lack of clarity in my bait when using the extra fine media is that you have to use a lot of it, Same weight, but more volume due to the size of the beads. That puts a whole lot of those tiny beads in a bait, when a larger bead would have the same weight as a number of the little ones. For the darker baits I made, that extra fine stuff made a great bait. heavy in weight. Lots of wiggle yet durable.

Nope , using glass beads. But even finer than what you're using MIL 13 down to 320 grit. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-LBS-Glass-Bead-MIL-No-13-170-320-grit-VERY-FINE-Sand-Blasting-media/122024856622?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 I'm going back to the 80 grit for clearer baits, already ordered them . and I'll use the extra fine stuff for dark colors. And I'll experiment with a combo of the two.

OK... The experiment begins The photo shows 4 , let's call them Bobbos, I poured from CNC cut mold. The plastic is Baitjunky soft. To that I added 2 tsp. of stabilizer, 2oz. by volume of extra fine glass media to 4 ozs of plastic. The result if the first two Bobbos without tips cut off. Weight on these was 10.5 grams The other two with the tips cut off were the same plastic mixture but with 1oz of fine salt added. That bought me up to 11.6 grams. with only a negligible difference in transparency. I had cut the tips off so I remember which was which. The scraping inside the injector which is a do it large size was almost non existent. However I'm still not sold on the transparency. My go to bait depends on being almost clear with red glitter. See the GY #197 For any other color this would be fine. This is also my first attempt with BJ plastisol. I bought the sample pack and tried the soft first. Too soft. I've been using MF soft sinking for sometime now, and had been looking for other options, Next up, medium and hard, same recipe.The experiment continues.

I've used the 70-100, and using a Do -It large injector i find is does scratch the innner tube- a lot. I have also found it's just that...scratching. In a year of use my injector is still going strong, with no damage to the O rings. I am however not getting the clarity I see others getting, and I have gone back to a 2:1 ratio of salt to glass with pretty ok results. I was going to order more of the #70 grit, and I saw there were smaller grits. So I am going to try 10 lbs of the smaller stuff, say 200-320, and see for myself, and I will post my results. I use the glass and salt for stick baits, and worms as well. Next up, some big grubs for saltwater, and maybe some smaller 4"-5" grubs. I think the glass beads will work great in both the saltwater and smaller grubs. As far as abrasiveness, maybe each successive drop in grit size smooths out the scratches fro the larger sizes. Kind of like compounding out scratches, or wet sanding. One last note, the Do-It large injector tube seems to be very soft. I imagine a stainless steel injector would be tougher. Like the marinade injectors for meat and poultry.

Started using #80 grit sandblast media in my soft plastics with some success. As I was getting ready to order more I began to think about this... Is there any advantage to using a finer grit media? Something as far down as a #320 grit? Opinions anyone?

Many years ago I began dyeing my own bucktails. Living in CT. we get a generous harvest limit. 13 if you have all your tags. I only got 9 this season, but archery season is still open. Having problems getting quality bucktails or the colors I needed I decided to go back to dyeing my own again after all these years, I remember brushing them out, scrubbing them, bleaching them. Then either salting the the tail or using borax to dry them. What I don't remember is, if I skinned them out or not before dyeing. Can anyone here help me out with this? Skinning is not an issue for me, I can skin one out in minutes. But I don't remember if I have to do so. Also, couple of color questions. I'm looking for a deep wine color dye, any suggestions where I can get the dye? Or buy a quality bucktail in wine color if I need to? Where can I find a color chart for Fly Dye? They offer lots of colors, but I can't find a color chart. Where do you guys buy your dyes, and what if any other than Fly Dye do you use? It's been so long the last brand I used was Herters. And finally what color is cerise? It means cherry in french, but what color does it come out to be?

So we got the Do it ribbon tail worm mold, and I also bought the mold to make tails so I can make a worm with a contrasting tail color. Both molds make great worms and tails, but there is one problem. When I pour separate tails, and try to get them into the worm mold mold, they don't fit perfectly. They're a bit oversized, leaving gaps which cause some flashing when pouring the new worm And the tails are a pain in the butt to get into the mold. I use toothpicks so I can maneuver the tail into place. Nothing seems to work to get a perfect pour. I've tried making super soft tails, extra hard tails. And everything in between. Any cures or suggestions out there? I almost feel that the separate tail mold while a great idea, it was a waste of $$

Thanks Guys. I ordered the Do It mold. I'll Post pics after Christmas. It's a gift for my son who shares the luremaking bench with me, Then I'll need to fond the best 5in twin tail grub mold for me.

I've been pouring over all the manufacturers pages, and can't seem to find which makes the best 7 in ribbontail worm mold. I'm looking for something close to the 7 in power worm Suggestions?

These are my 5" glow Senkos. The chartreuse was made using a whole lot of brand X powder I bought as a sample kit from amazom. The blue was just a tiny bit of powder from Lurecraft. When I mix the lurecraft powder with clear vinyl paint it makes a powerful glow but comes out lumpy. I'm going to try Marcs way by mxing it with clear nailpolish.

To make chartreuse glow in the dark baits just use a chartreuse phosphorescent powder added to clear plastic. I used one from Lurecraft, and the glow is unreal. I added it to vinyl paint to cot jigheads, and added it to some cheaper lower quaiity powder to achieve different colors. When I turn off the lights at night in my work area it's creepy. the entire area is glowing. The floor,where I spill, the air because baits are hanging on racks . my benchtop, my clothes. The stuff really glows brightly .I've made glow in the dark sengos with the stuff and the glow is superbright. One thing, phosphorescent powders are heavy so it may change the action and certainly the weight of your baits. Not an issue for me as I use it mainly for saltwater or deep smallmouth fishing. As an aside, I recently tried using the Krylon glow in the dark spray paints... Dont bother. They hardly glow

Made my first Bobbos ( Senkos ) Using this plastic I still had to a lot of salt to achieve the weights I needed. With 4 oz of plastic I added 1/4 cup of salt And 2 tablespoons of glass media. 2 tablespoons of stabilizer. and 2 tablespoons of softener. I ended up with a bait weighing 10.7 grams which is right around my target weight, I fish deep water so I need to weight for casting and sink rate. (40-60ft depths ) Clarity of my baits were fair to good. Maybe using only glass media, or more glass and less salt it would be even better. What I did get that seemed to be what I prefer in my baits is a very soft, flexible wiggly bait. I can now fish these wacky rigged or Texas rigged. I can cast them like a rocket, and get action all the way down just by dead sticking. I think this plastic would also make good worm and larger grubs for me using only minimal salt and no glass media. I'll probably stick to this plastisol for future use.

Mark...I'm pretty much doing everything you're doing. My glitter is MF brand as is my Plastisol..I'm heating to around 340* adding glitter and coloring. Sometimes I add the color before heating, but never the glitter.I don;t reheat unless my thermometer tells me to. I do stir during the heating process as I find the mixture clumps. I also use a microwave so the plastic probably isn't heating evenly. Another reason I stir. CNC I also do a lot like you. I only worry about coming close to real Senkos because that's what I had success with. I fish a lot of smallmouth waters where I might be fishing anywhere from 30-60ft deep. I need my Senko to get down. I fish them with a Carolina rig when going really deep. I like lots and lots of wiggle so I go soft. I go for casting distance, fall rate and wiggle on the trip down. UPS notified me my gallon will be here Thursday. I'll do some experimenting. I'll still use the glass beads but not as high an amountso I can still drop back on salt giving me a clearer bait. Friday or Saturday I head up north where I will be fishing deep deep clear water. I'll also be trying my Bismuth Tin jigheads I've been pouring all winter. ( most New England states no longer allow lead under 1 ounce inland ) Next mold is a 4 or 5 inch twin tail grub to match the jigheads. I'll let you know if my Senkos work. BTW I call mine Bobbos

I'm using the Do It CNC cut 5" Senko Mold. And using the MF Medium Plastic. I was using tons of salt to achieve the weights I wanted, so I switched to glass bead salt combos. While the beads game me the mass I wanted, and the sink rate. there is two things I didn't like. One is I find it takes much higher temps to heat the platic than just salt by itself. Maybe that's just my imagnation, I found the repeat heatings discolored the plastic more with each reheat. I also found that my glitter melted and further discolored the the plastc. Especially the black glitter. I also add the heat stabilizer. However that has a yellowish tone to it, maybe thats what causing the yellowish discoloring in my clear baits? Yes I use a thermometer. I had temps around 340* where without the glass beads I could pour with temps as lows as 300* without any change in the baits, And the second issue I had with the glass beads, I us an 8 oz. hand inject from Do-It Even though I am always using pure silicone lubricant to lube the tube, it is badly scored from the beads. When injecting you can hear the glass scraping against the tube. It has made it a little harder each use to push the knob down because all internal parts are scored. What I've done is instead of using a higher amout of glass beads, and a smaller amount of salt I reversed the recipe. I use less glass beads, more salt, which is still a lot less salt than using salt alone. My original recipe was 4 oz plastic. 2 oz beads. Tablespoon salt, couple drops of stabilizer. Couple drops of softener. I've reversed the salt and glass now. Approx 2 oz salt to a table spoon of beads. Seems to be working better. But still seems I need to get the plastic hotter when using glass beads. I did try something one day. I was playing around with some glow in the dark pigments, and when I weighed the Senkos made with phosphorescent pigments. The weight was over 13 grams. To say that the pigment is heavy is an understatement. It's only a powder, dust, yet the density adds weight quickly. Bit of advice though. If you're making glow in the dark baits. when you shut off all the lights in your work area, there is an eerie glow everywhere you put the baits. paint, powders etc. Creepy with all the glow in the dark floating in mid air.

I probably should have asked some questions beforehand, but I just ordered a gallon of M-F Manufacturing Soft Sinking Plastic. Has anyone tried this product yet? Is it soft, say soft enough to feel like Yamo Senkos? If it's not that soft, if I add softener to it does that affect its sinking properties? And does it actually sink better than other plastics. Most of my stickbaits weigh between 10.0 -11.5 grams. Can I expect the same weights from this plastic? I was using glass beads, and salt combo to achieve sink rates. I decided to use the soft sinking plastic to eliminate using glass beads ( not impressed with them ) and to minimize salt to keep my baits more transperant

Because of this thread, I just ordered a "trial size" of the glass media. 3lbs to start. When do you add it to the plastic? Before you heat it? Before you pour? Any time in between whenever you feel like it?

Ok...So I tried all of the suggestions here. Checked temps, cut sprues at 45*, I had never molded one side then removed and added back and repoured the other half. My success rate was about 50%. Not much better than before. The cutting to 45* helped increase success. But- I decided to try pouring halves removing them and replacing to pour the other half. Strangely, that actually worked pretty good. Would I make a habit of doing that? No. But it worked- better than I thought it would. For a laminate I've only tried to make a red shad. The nice thing about that color combo is you can take all your boo boos, and remelt them, and you still get black.

Thanks everyone I will try these suggestions later today and post the results. I will say. The laminate plate method is S-L-O-W. I think the double injector may be a future investment.

my first attempt at making a laminated senko (red shad) started out ok. The first pour came out perfect. After that something changed. In the first photo you see the red absorbed the black, or so it seems. Second photo is beyond all explanation. The rings around the black side of the senko don't exist. Bait is completely flat on one side Third photo shows once again the red seems to have absorbed the black and the red is missing at the tails. Only the black part partially exists. you can also see some flashing around the edge of the bait as I loosened the clamps up a bit on the mold thinking that may be the problem, Just made it worse. Recipe is for both colors 4 oz med plastic maroon lurecraft color for the red. LPO for black 3tablesppons extra fine salt per color. teaspoon of softener and a couple drops of stabilizer. I heat my molds and injector first. Microwave my plastic. Mold is Do-It CNC 5" senko mold with a laminate plate. plate and mold are held steady in a small vise while injecting. Seems the more I pour the worse my baits get. Seems the problems began when I added enough salt to close in on the 10.2g that I measure in a senko. Weight of the completed baits was 9.7g Any insight? Advice?

In the video he masks off the mold area. I couldn't be bothered. We're talking a layer of paint a couple of microns thick. I also used clear engine paint. Makes it hard to see where you painted. Using color might be better. There are also other auto paints that can handle higher temps. After about 4 coats, I scuff the flat areas lightly with sandpaper to remove those couple of excess microns. I've made a couple hundred without having to recoat. My senkos come out super shiny. I also have the CNC mold, and I hate to say it, but at times it seems the essential mold works better. But what a difference in quality of the molds.

Has anyone tried keeping their poured soft plastics in the Berkley Gulp Recharge juice? Most of my soft plastic homenade stuff is saltwater, and I have the Plano Bait containsers around and use the liquid. The bottle states your other soft plastics can stay in the liquid. Can our home brewed plastics be stored in the Berkley Recharge Liquids? I may have to try it. Its a $25.00 experiment. If nobody here has an answer I'll try it and let y'all know how it goes.

New member her as well, but long time bait maker. I just got into the injection molding stuff though, but been doing hand pours for years, as well as lead, lead. plastics, and blades. This past month when I decided not to attach a vise to our kitchen counters I stopped using the kitchen micro as well. Went to Target, hoping to find a lower priced micro and found one there on sale for $39.00 700 watts. Fits a 16oz pyrex no problem. May take a few seconds more to heat the plastic. Shop around you'll find a cheap micro.