Pop Mold Question

[macbor]

Hey,

I have read the tutorial on making a one and two part mold,

I am interested in making a one part mold to get my feet wet,

My question is..

It says you can glue your bait to the pan and pour the pop into it or you can press your bait into the pan of pop, do you wait till the pop starts to set a little or how does that work??

And which ways better or make's better baits

Thanks

Rich

[nova]

For me it's better to glue it down. I find that if you push it into the pop the bait, being soft, tends to cause a mishaping in the mold. Gluing it down gives you nice clean lines.

The only thing I push down into POP is a wooden master.

www.novalures.com

[Cthulhu]

If your plaster's mixed right, it should be about like pancake batter, so bubbles will be minimal and it's still soft enough to fully take on all details. No need to wait for it to set. If you place the lures in on the top surface, just make sure they're flush, otherwise they'll be deformed like nova describes. Easiest way to do that is with a flat piece of plastic like a Rapala box top or even a coffee can lid.

[longhorn]

Here's something I posted a while back...hope there's some more clues in there for you.

not easy to explain in a few words...this method is for making pop molds using a plastic bait as the original. I use a plastic container with the bottom cut out....trace the outline of the container on a serving tray or other flat clean surface (your plaster will be poured on this so a tray is handy). the outline is the size of the mold so pick your containers according to what you're making the mold for. take permanent double-sided scotch tape and tape the entire area inside the outline with very little overlap. wash plastic originals in detergent to remove all oil. arrange originals on the tape to your liking...press firmly on entire length to make sure they stick to tape...then put the container you traced back over your taped originals and tape it down to the tray using masking tape....mix pop to the consistency of pancake batter...make sure you have enough for a thick mold so it wont break easily....pour pop over originals and then gently work the tray back and forth to level the plaster...then gently tap the tray on a counter or table to release any big air bubbles from around the lures...not too hard because you want the tape to hold...let it cure through the heating cycle and starts to cool...then carefully remove the container and then the mold from the tray....trim excess plaster around edges of mold and make smooth rounded edges...look at the cavities and trim excess plaster there if needed...don't trim too much...now bake in the oven for an hour at 350 to dry....after that flood the cavities with a mix of water and elmer's white glue-all...start with 1 part water and 4 parts glue...milky constistency...spread the glue over all mold surfaces to seal... drain excess by shaking the mold...after the glue dries it's ready for a test pour...sometimes a second coat is needed...if you have bubbles in your pours you can apply more glue in only those cavities by flooding or with an artists brush.

[Hookfin]

I go a little thinner with the POP...I glue down, no tape...I strip perimeter form after POP is firm not runny, this helps it breath and set up better...I let it set 15- 20 minutes..Grasp mold and very gently rock side to side to break contact of mold to surface it was poured on, do not do this too hard..very gental..take a piece of mono line and run it under mold and surface it is on it will cut mold and pattern lure free...once this is done wait another 5min..then use a dental tool carefully excavate pattern lure free from mold...mix 60/40 elmers to water fill mold while still curring this will cause the elmers to be pulled into the mold getting a very good seal...repeat sealing 3 times...dry very well.

[Senkosam]

One part molds for simple, flat designs are easy. Trailers with flat, thin tails come out nice as long as you keep the form from floating upwards and keep the tail just deep enough for the outline to show. Curl tails on round bodies or Senko style sticks can still come out decent as long as the form stays deep enough in the plaster. The flat side on a round bait pour doesn't seem to bother the fish.

Two part molds require a thick, hard plaster top and bottom before separating, but it's worth it.

Edited June 20, 2008 by Senkosam

[HJS]

macbor - I agree with all that has been said. I've made lots of mistakes before coming here to TU and learning the right way. Definitely start with making a 1-piece mold. 2-piece molds are several times more difficult. I rejected several 2-pieces before I finally got one that worked.

Lure selection: To start with, choose a factory made lure for a master that has at least one flat side, like sluggos. Lures with fully roundish bodies, like Bass Assassin and many others, are more difficult to make a 1-piece mold from. Liquid plaster tends to creep under and almost completely surround a round master thus making it difficult to extract from the mold without delicately cutting it out.

Push in or attach to bottom - I've tried pushing in masters from the top. It works but I now prefer attaching to the base with super glue. Lot less bubbles collect next to the master.

Glue Or tape - Flat surfaced lures tape well to the base. But roundish lures don't tape well and are best glued with superglue. Due to their round form, there's much less of a round-bodied lure that makes contact with the tape (think of a car tire sitting on asphalt, only a small section makes contact with the road). As a result, they tend to break free of the tape after the PoP is poured and agitated to remove bubbles. I use Future Glue (superglue) available at Wal-Mart. The bottles comes with a little brush inside, like fingernail polish, which is very handy.

Mixing PoP (plaster of paris) - Bubbles in the PoP are your enemy! Pouring water into a bowl of dry PoP will result in a lot of trapped bubbles. One of the best hints I got from this site is to FIRST pour cold water into a cold bowl THEN spoon in the powder PoP mixing the entire time until you get the right consistency. I mix with a single beater from my wife's mixed. Consistency of the mixed PoP is ALL IMPORTANT!!! Best thinner than thicker. I stop at "runny pancake batter", like extra heavy cream. It MUST be very pourable. If you have to help it out of the bowl then its too thick. Have all your ducks in a row before mixing PoP. PoP sets up very fast. During hot weather PoP is a done deal in only 3-4 minutes.

Theres more, but you'll learn quickly after a few mistakes.

[Pop]

Very helpful thread. I believe I read on the Durhams site that it is best to sift the powder into the water and not just pour or spoon it in. Pop