claye75 Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Looking for some Information of the type of plastic/resin that could be used for molding hard swimbaits. I been molding foam crankbaits for myself a couple years, just looking to try to make a swimbait without speading alot of money on trail and error in material. Thanks. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrophius Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 There has been some talk about alumilite. I dont mold/cast personally, but that should give yaa head start. I actually saw some of the stuff in Hobby Lobby today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coley Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I use Alumilite RC-3, makes a great crankbait. Microballoons must be added to make it float. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I have used polyester resin (fibleglass resin) with microspheres in the past. Cheap and readily available are the advantages. Very brittle is the main disadvantage, also, I suspect not totally waterproof, but never tested this fact. The main problem you will find after using foam, is the density. But you are talking about swimbaits, so this is not really an issue. For cranks, the resin killed much of the action when I tried it, reducing a wide 'X'ing to a tight wiggle. Smooth-on feather lite would be my choice (if it was available here), as it already has the microspheres mixed in the product. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I have used polyester resin (fibleglass resin) with microspheres in the past. Cheap and readily available are the advantages. Very brittle is the main disadvantage, also, I suspect not totally waterproof, but never tested this fact.The main problem you will find after using foam, is the density. But you are talking about swimbaits, so this is not really an issue. For cranks, the resin killed much of the action when I tried it, reducing a wide 'X'ing to a tight wiggle. Smooth-on feather lite would be my choice (if it was available here), as it already has the microspheres mixed in the product. Dave One way to lighten up urethane resin lures is to cast super lightened pieces (2-1 MB's to resin) into little ingots. You can also use 16 lb foam for that. When you're ready to cast your lure, fill the cavity with ingots. place your harness and pour a 1-1 MB resin mix to fill the cavity completely. The liquid resin will seamlessly encapsulate the light weight material and you won't be able to tell the difference between the ingot filled casting from one made from 100% poured resin/MB's. You can make a cheap ingot mold by using silicone from Walmart. $2.97 for 10 oz. Just squeeze out some, mix in some water and place some dowel pieces into it. It will set in under and hour and will be a non stick mold. Google Dascar. I've got their 2 gal kit for $69 plus shipping. That translates to 14 lb's of resin. The product is outstanding and I believe the price is also great. Service is very good. Another thing you can do is make your pouring spew go into the lures side. I've made some 3/8" to make pouring the thicker resin/MB mix easier and faster. Once the lure hardens, I snip it with diagonals and finish cleanining it up with a "sanding stick". I make a silicone spline on one side of the mold to prevent leaking while the resin cures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Good ideas Husky. Always on point duty. I find that using a cake icing syringe, I can mix the resin/microspheres to a non-pourable consistency, like thick mustard and inject into the mold. Bubbles are a problem with this method, but a little filler takes care of that. A vacuum would be useful, it is on my list of future acquisitions. The icing injector is very easy to clean, simply pour some acetone in a cup and pump in and out about 20 times (wear a mask). Then dismantle and wipe the piston head. Any excess left inside the syringe, simply fills any voids and makes the syringe more efficient when next used. I bought several syringes for this purpose, but I am still on my first, after around a hundred pours. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonkabass Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I use Smooth-On's 2-part SmoothCast 300 (10 minute cure) with the microballoons to increase buoyancy as well as decrease density in the 2-part plastic. Total ratio to mix plastic and microballoons is 1:1:1. Simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I use Smooth-On's 2-part SmoothCast 300 (10 minute cure) with the microballoons to increase buoyancy as well as decrease density in the 2-part plastic. Total ratio to mixplastic and microballoons is 1:1:1. Simple. Understood, but Some builders here make lures which require more buoyancy than is afforded by the ratio you suggest. I, for one, find the equal parts of MB's to Resin just fine, for my needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny.Barile Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 Boat builders encapsulate foam in resin. Has anyone tried putting a foam slug in the mold to make it more bouyant? At first I thought maybe using wood, but the diferent thermal expansion properties would probably make it crack..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrophius Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 I had thought about this at one point. With a proven bait, I wonder if a weighted wooden plug or something could serve as a base for a resin casting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
