BuckeyeFishing

I also pour in a garage, temps right now are 20s-30s here too. I just use a space heater to heat the garage, open a window and the garage door. I use a toaster oven to heat my molds and injector but thats because I already had one for curing powder paint.

Like @Canga~, I prefer glitter in a .015 size but I have .035 also. I pour a lot of baits 3" and under, and anything over .035 seems really big. Nothing wrong with having a nice mix though. I use heat stabilizer a good bit because I do a lot of reheats. Most of my molds make 4 baits or less at a time so thats the nature of the beast. I also pour a lot of lighter colors(white, light gray, light green) so it helps keep the bait from yellowing and keeps the color correct. I think I bought 8 oz. of heat stabilizer and because I pour small batches (4-8 oz of plastic) it will last me a pretty long time. You only need a little bit when you reheat. I pour medium plastisol because I mainly pour swim baits, grubs, paddle tails and jerk baits. I do pour some stick baits and I think a lot of people like a softer formula for those but I like the action I get from medium, plus I don't add salt either. You can get hardener and softener but if your starting out you probably don't need it right away. It really depends on what you are pouring and what action you want. I am with @Bass-Boys, definitely get a thermometer. I got a cheap IR thermometer from Walmart and it has allowed me to get much more consistent pours.

I love free lead, but it's becoming harder and harder to come across. It used to be easy to get lead when I first started pouring about 20 years ago. Seemed like every recycling center and scrap yard had lead, and they were practically giving it away. Paying 10-20 cents a pound was very common. I always used to pick through and get the flashing material used on roofs. It was easy to cut, easy to clean, and easy to store. Would buy 50+ pounds at a time. Now, I can't seem to find lead anywhere for sale locally, only on the internet.

I have a couple stone molds that are 2.8" swim baits. They inject just fine for me. Like others have said, if you don't treat the mold, they will not be shiny baits like baits that come out of aluminum molds. I brush in some worm oil every few pours to keep them from sticking and sometimes this will make them shiny. I don't pour them very often anymore, just when I need to replenish a couple baits.

Ok cool, we are all talking about the same thing. I was hoping that I was using the right terminology. I tried reducing clamp pressure, I got it to inject completely but still got dents. I shot it 3 times today at 340, 330, and 320 and got dents at all those temps. Apdriver, thanks for linking the stone. I probably have that in my box full of Dremel bits. If not, Lowes is a mile away and I will go pick one up. Thanks for the help everyone. I find it slightly annoying that I have to modify this mold to get it to pour correctly but its the only mold I have found that is a fat 3" grub like a Kalin grub.

What temp are you pouring at? I will try lightening up on the clamp near the hinge. The gate seems ridiculously small for the size of the grub body. I pour a 2" paddle tail that has a bigger gate and the body is half the size. I really don't want to modify it but I will if it eliminates my frustration. I have a few rat-tail files and a Dremel. Anyone have a suggestion on a bit for the Dremel if I have to open the gate?

Apdriver, I got the emails. Thanks a ton, thats just what I was looking for!

Thanks cadman and smalljaw, appreciate the feedback. I hadn't poured them without a keep so didn't know if that cavity would fill with lead or not. Thats the route I will go.

Thanks Apdriver, Pm sent

Its pretty close. I use 3" Kalin grubs all the time, thats why I bought this mold. Been kind of a hassle though with the denting and incomplete tails.

Anyone tie jigs with a wire keeper. I got the Diner Shiner #3520 and the Minnow Head #3500. I don't really like tying on a collar but the wire gives me a little extra width to tie with versus just a hook. My issue is the bend tends to stick out of the buck tail. I have been clipping the keeper bend off but I hate wasting the wire keepers. Anyone know the thickness of the WB400? I was thinking I could just cut some wire and put a bend for the head and leave it straight at the hook. Or is it just best to pour without it? Thanks!

I am currently using M-F brand heat stabilizer and have used it with Do-It brand plastisol and Bait Plastics brands plastisol and have had zero issues.

Anyone have the PDF file from Lonestar baits with all the recipes, that they would be willing to email me? I swore I downloaded it a few months back but I can't find it on my computer and my Mac won't let me go to the sight because the certificate has expired and thinks its a hacked sight. If you got it and can send it to me, shoot me a PM and will send you my email address. Thanks for the help! Jake

Whats up? I am having some issues with a Do-It 3" K-Chub mold. When I pour at 330 degrees and lower, I am getting incomplete pours (one of the tails isn't filling in) but no denting. When I pour at a higher temp than that, I am getting denting on most of the grubs (I am keeping the sprue topped off) but they are all pouring completely. I am preheating my mold slightly because its cold in my garage but they are only warm to the touch. Is this a venting issue, design issue, or something I am doing? Or is this just something I need to live with and pour at a cooler temp and just deal with one never pouring correctly? Thanks for any advice.

Lurepartsonline ships internationally, not sure what the shipping would be though. I bought some of their 2 mil poly bags in 4"x4" and 6"x4" and have been happy with them. Estimated shipping to Germany would be $15. Not sure if this helps, but its something to check out.

Are they exact copies of the companies molds? Are you getting them from Baitmold.com? I have heard that their molds are not exact copies, very similar, but not exact. I could be totally wrong about that though, thats just what I have heard. That may not mean a damn thing though if its close enough. Like Vanilla Ice stealing the riff from Under Pressure, he said it was slightly different but it wasn't and he lost. There are tons of jerk bait molds and ripper style molds out there. I would be careful of straying too close to a big manufactures design. Its probably not worth the headache in the end. Thats just my .02 though.

I use Pyrex and Anchor measuring cups and also pour in a garage with poor heat. I bought some cheap pot holders from Walmart to set my cups on. Think I got 2 or 4 for like a $1 and cooled plastic peels off of them pretty easy. That way I don't have to set my glass cups on a cold table. I also have a cheap toaster oven I use for curing powder painted jigheads that I use to heat up my molds and injector. I pop the molds in about 5 minutes before i start heating plastic in the microwave, I set the toaster oven at like 250. I throw the injector in a couple minutes before its time to shoot. I only want the molds to heat up to about 80-90 degrees, same with the injector. This helps keep the plastic from freezing almost instantly in cold molds.

I ordered it Tuesday or Wednesday and I received it in Ohio on Friday, can't complain about that. I shot the mold yesterday and I am very happy with it. I shot a watermelon red pattern and a bluegill pattern and they came out flawless, no dents or air bubbles or anything. I will definitely be ordering their 3" mold for smallmouth bass fishing some of the smaller local creeks.

Thanks for the input, I decided to order the 4" mold from basstackle. I have a couple of their molds and am pretty happy with them. The mold should be here early next week.

Whats up all? I am looking at getting a 4" and possibly 3" Senko style style mold. I have looked at number of places at their Senko/Stick molds (Do-It, Enforcer, BTS, Basstackle) and I am not sure which I should go with. I guess I am looking for some recommendations from people who are already using these molds or maybe a mold from a company I didn't look at yet. Thanks!

Didn't get a chance to mess with it today, but i appreciate all the input! Thanks, Jake

Thanks everyone, I will try a new batch and add the colorant first. I don't dislike the color that came out and might be good for a crappie bait but I was just looking for a more true florescent pink color for walleye/sauger baits. If people have more success adding before heating, why do all the florescent colors tell you to add after heat? I am pretty new at this, so I am not doubting anyone, I am just wondering for my own learning purposes. Thanks again!

Last night I was making a florescent pink plastic to use for 2 tone baits and to use as a tail color for grubs and swim baits. I have the florescent pink from Netcraft and after I made some test baits, it came out looking more like a watermelon Jolly Rancher color. Do I need to add more colorant or should I just get a different florescent/hot pink from Lureworks or Lurecraft? I only made a 4 oz batch and put 20 drops in. Thanks, Jake

I was originally covering my eyes with clear coat jig paint, but that was taking way too long to dry. I have since gone to clear nail polish, like cadman said, and haven't looked back. I haven't had any problems with eyes popping out or anything and its dry in a handful of minutes.

This is pretty much what I do for epoxies I use for rod making. I get the cheap plastic craft brushes from Wal-Mart or a big box craft store (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Pat Catan's), get like 30 for a $1. Often, I will clip off the brush end after using it and use the handle end as a stir stick later on. I buy popsicle stick and sucker sticks for stir sticks usually, a $1 or $2 a pack. I use "to-go" ramekins (like what you get salad dressing or condiments in for delivery orders) to mix my epoxy in. There is a restaurant supply store about 10 minutes away where I can get a sleeve of 250 for dirt cheap. I also use them to put rubbing alcohol in for clean up. This is all disposable stuff so I want to get it as cheap as possible but still do what I need it to do.