Delw Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Making Plaster Molds for Soft Baits Article Contributed by: Pole Pimp When making soft plastic fishing lures, the first thing you need to do is make a good mold. I have been using Plaster of Paris. It works okay for the hobbyist, but is not a good solution for large volume or production manufacturing. (I will be doing research on better alternatives for an upcoming article). I use aluminum pie pans for my molds because they are relatively cheap and the plaster doesn't stick to them at all. After the mold dries, you'll want to coat the plaster with a sealant like Mod Podge. This makes the mold harder and fills in the tiny pores in the plaster to prevent imperfections in your lure. If you don't apply the sealant, the plaster will tear apart and break and the worm will stick to it. The sealant can be applied using a kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted November 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 I hope no one minds, this was an article That I had saved that was on a forum that is non existent now and hasn't been in existence in 4 years. Jerry if its a problem delete it if not maybe put it in the tutorial section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Great post Del. Ironic, an aluminium mould manufacturer selling everyone on home made PoP moulds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubinator Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Has anyone tried to use investment instead of POP? I believe the particle size would be much finer than pop, u can also buy it with fiberglass premixed in which would greatly strengthen the mold and not effect the detail. Also, by mixing at a 38/100 water to powder ratio would also strengthen the mold, and mixing at a water temperature plus investment temperature that equals 156 degrees you would get a mold to gloss off (Harden) in 11 minutes. Maximum green strength would be obtained in 2 hours, then the mold could be dried at 300 degrees for about a hour per inch thickness, cooled, sealed, and then used. A 100lb. box costs about $60 versus around $40 for pop. I have never made a pop mold before, but I do use about 200 lbs of investment per week. Would it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
