Injector Blues

[GDille]

Hey All,

I've been getting into soft plastics, about the time I really get going good, my injector breaks off at the base of the plunger. I fixed it (so I thought) and It worked for about a week. It has broken again and I am going to get another injector. The molds and injector came from jann's (mistake), I really just want an injector right now that wont crap out again. Will the injector from Jacob's baits fit, and when I buy better molds with more cavities, will it fill them? Or will an injector from Bears be better, if it fits the molds. I'm kinda tight on money, but I have people wanting some soft plastic baits. If anyone have a used 2" grub mold and injector they could part with reasonably, I might look into that also.

Thanks,

George

[Saugerman]

Hey All,

I've been getting into soft plastics, about the time I really get going good, my injector breaks off at the base of the plunger. I fixed it (so I thought) and It worked for about a week. It has broken again and I am going to get another injector. The molds and injector came from jann's (mistake), I really just want an injector right now that wont crap out again. Will the injector from Jacob's baits fit, and when I buy better molds with more cavities, will it fill them? Or will an injector from Bears be better, if it fits the molds. I'm kinda tight on money, but I have people wanting some soft plastic baits. If anyone have a used 2" grub mold and injector they could part with reasonably, I might look into that also.

Thanks,

George

I have not used an injector from Jacob baits,but I do have one I bought from Bears baits,and its a very good injector,also he is great to deal with.

[powerworm]

the injector from www.bearsbaits.com has a 5/8ths tip. if your molds are those plastic ones from janns i am not sure you want to use them. if you can at all swing it do yourself and your customers a huge service by incesting in the tools bear sells to us all. and besides the guy cooks a mean pastalaya and t-bone and his customer service is second to none!!

[nova]

Stay away from those cheap injectors. It's just pain in the butt and a nasty burn waiting to happen.

www.novalures.com

Edited April 7, 2010 by nova

[GDille]

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I should have just bought one good mold, made money, and stepped up. I had no idea that the injector was that poor. but the molds work well enough for me. i have modified some of them so they cam be hand poured, it works about as well as with the injector, just a bit slower. Has anyone tried the injector from Del's? I know he is on here, but I also sell stuff and know how that all goes, not that he isn't a good guy.

[t-billy]

I bought a good quality stainless steel baster/injector with a high temp silicone bulb on ebay for $18.00. It works just fine for me. I added a hose clamp around the bulb to make sure it can't pop off. I also taped a sock around the upper 2/3 to help retain heat and make it easier to handle. It's as hillbilly as it gets but I've had no issues so far. That being said...I ALWAYS wear long sleeves,heavy leather gloves and safety glasses. Ya never know when murphy's gonna lay down the law!!!

[Frank]

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I should have just bought one good mold, made money, and stepped up. I had no idea that the injector was that poor. but the molds work well enough for me. i have modified some of them so they cam be hand poured, it works about as well as with the injector, just a bit slower. Has anyone tried the injector from Del's? I know he is on here, but I also sell stuff and know how that all goes, not that he isn't a good guy.

This is a loaded question but I will give you MY opinions on the ones that I have actually used and have not from what some one said about it.

The Dels unit is thick wall construction with a threaded nozzle. It is made for years of use and for the price it is the lowest. With this unit does NOT follow the slogan you get what you pay for, it is a very nicely made unit. The nozzle is 5/8"

The Bass tackle unit is also a thick wall construction with a nozzle that has a pin to lock the tip on. This unit is one of the smoothest ones available and will last for years also. It is available in a two color version. The nozzle is 5/8"

The Bears unit is a thinner wall construction with a slip on nozzle. This is the other one that is smooth to use and will last for years. Now here is the thing about this one if you get the small one you can get a nozzle for the two color and end up with a small end. This is also available in a two color version. The standard nozzle is 5/8.

The Jacobs unit is a little differant. also thin wall construction and a threaded nozzle. It is a taper nozzle that will fit many molds. But with the small intake it is a bit of a challenge to fill. It needs a support for the top of the tube. The threads are to fine for aluminium and could get galled real easy.The standard nozzle is tapered.

In the end you will want to buy a unit that will give you the most as far as value, quality and versatility. I have or have had all of these units and really enjoyed using them all. Hope this help you in your decision. Frank

[Fish On!]

Hello Guys, I'm fairly new to pouring and also wish to purchase a set on injectors. I want to make an educated decision. I don't feel I know enough, so I'm relying on your responses. My experiences have been making due with what I have. But, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Believe it or not, I have produced good quality prototypes of different small baits using an antique glass syringe that I soldered to the end a short piece of a air pump needle for basketballs. I injected one sided POP molds, that I pored, carved and sealed, then using a clamped down cover plate with a central larger injector hole per cavity and smaller air vents on all extremities of the bait. I had to preheat the syringe and work swiftly to get six injections. I left a little extra plastisol over the main injection holes for the shrinkage draw-in. My baits came out clean and crisp, no trimming! You have to have good dexterity with gloves and the cleanup of the syringe was a bit tedious. Any who, I broke it after a month's use. Then, I moved up to my large stainless steel meat injector with less favorable results.

How do you get the finer details of small creature baits using POP molds and injectors?

Why small, medium and large injectors, other than just for producing large baits and/or large volume of baits?

I want a two color system, what is the best size, style and quality? I would rather wait and save up my money to buy the right stuff the first time.

Are all nozzles the same and are they universal to most molds?

Wouldn't a slip-in-nozzle slip out with higher pressure from cooling plastisol?

Why would you buy replacement nozzles: are they easily damaged?

Do nozzles come with a fine tip to do the style of injection I described above using a cover plate?

[Frank]

I will explain my way of doing this from one point of view. I do not inject pop molds so that is out.

The size of injector is for volume of use. I have a 2,3 and 6 oz ones. By far the 2 and 3 are used more often. I have a big swim bait mold coming this week so we will see if I need to bring out the big boy.

On the two color systems I have the bass tackle unit. It is designed to load both injectors at the same time and with the blending block on the mold lets you achieve a real consistant bait. While not made for high production, the results are real satisfying and pleasing to the eye.

The nozzles are real close to the same but are not a standard. Most of mine are 5/8". I have tapered some of mine to suit my needs but not so much as to make it a one mold use.

Slip in nozzles are not a bad thing and the pressuers are not that high. Though it may seem like it. My problem with them came from expelling the unused plastic back into the container( it falls into the cup). Now you can hold the tip on with your hand but you and up putting your hand on hot plastic. I took it upon myself to modify the bass tackle one with a pin that holds it on till you want it to come off. I showed the pic to them and they adopted it into there new ones now. As with all conveniance type things if you dont like it just pull the pin out and it is like it used to be.

That is a good question on nozzles and the only thing I can see if you buy a bears model you can buy the two color tip and you get a small nose. Mine have fallen off before but did not damage it beyond repair.

As for the tip size the above statement is the answer. Jacobs baits has one that is smaller but not real smooth to use.

I know it is hard to know if I am blowing smoke about these product but I have used them. You might here a few differant versions of what I have stated, hopefully it is from someone who actually has one of these units and not some one who just talks about it. Frank

[Pitbull Baits]

The reason for having two nozzels is if you pouring a ton of plastics you can pop out the used one put in the other one and back to work you go. Then that gives the first nozzel time to cool a little to clean it off easy. It just cuts down time some. The nozzels dont come out that easy on the one I got from bear. If you push hard then yes it will come off easy. Pushing slow it won't because you would have coooled plastic around the injector and nozzel. The reason for different size injectors is how much one person whats t make and also can be for bigger number of cavitys.

[jacobsbaits]

Frank, your the only person who has had any problems with my injectors , Maybe its you that has problems

I will explain my way of doing this from one point of view. I do not inject pop molds so that is out.

The size of injector is for volume of use. I have a 2,3 and 6 oz ones. By far the 2 and 3 are used more often. I have a big swim bait mold coming this week so we will see if I need to bring out the big boy.

On the two color systems I have the bass tackle unit. It is designed to load both injectors at the same time and with the blending block on the mold lets you achieve a real consistant bait. While not made for high production, the results are real satisfying and pleasing to the eye.

The nozzles are real close to the same but are not a standard. Most of mine are 5/8". I have tapered some of mine to suit my needs but not so much as to make it a one mold use.

Slip in nozzles are not a bad thing and the pressuers are not that high. Though it may seem like it. My problem with them came from expelling the unused plastic back into the container( it falls into the cup). Now you can hold the tip on with your hand but you and up putting your hand on hot plastic. I took it upon myself to modify the bass tackle one with a pin that holds it on till you want it to come off. I showed the pic to them and they adopted it into there new ones now. As with all conveniance type things if you dont like it just pull the pin out and it is like it used to be.

That is a good question on nozzles and the only thing I can see if you buy a bears model you can buy the two color tip and you get a small nose. Mine have fallen off before but did not damage it beyond repair.

As for the tip size the above statement is the answer. Jacobs baits has one that is smaller but not real smooth to use.

I know it is hard to know if I am blowing smoke about these product but I have used them. You might here a few differant versions of what I have stated, hopefully it is from someone who actually has one of these units and not some one who just talks about it. Frank

[Fish On!]

Frank, your the only person who has had any problems with my injectors , Maybe its you that has problems

Frank, thanks for your experiences. Your descriptions of the different injectors appear to be factual and to the point. No pun intended. And for the other readers and replies, its not that I want to inject POP molds, but my drive is to create my idea of and ideal bait. POP has been interesting to work with, cheap and quick enough that I feel I can try any design I want. It does present a problem not being able to inject with the smaller baits, mainly because I can not get the extra details, fine expendiges, and fully bodies. As I described earlier, I was able to get crisp clean baits injecting using a cover plate on a POP mold. The mold was cast on a glass pane or slick metal sheet giving the mold a super flat surface for the cover plate to seal off the cavities. With larger baits this will probably work good using a standard injector with a small tip. I haven't tried a two part POP mold yet. And I don't understand air escape design aspects. (I welcome any and all replies.) So far, I have had a lot of flat sided ideas to experiment with before I move on. Most of which are the ways not to make a great lure. Once I finally get a great working prototype, then maybe, I can get a professional mold made. (Who do you go to? How much does it cost?) For now I still learning as much as I can. I find it frustrating not being able to spend more days and nights creating my designs. I have had many bad days, where it seems I'm getting nothing new accomplished and then there is the few days I get a break through. The excitement overshads all, but the gitters from waiting try out the new design and being able to pass the ultimate test - Fish On!

Any thoughts?

[GB GONE]

Del also makes a very high quality injector. I have used mine many times without issue.

As far as taking your molds to the next step, consider the sponsors on the site that are in that business.

On a custom design mold, I can only speak to the comapny I have used for several. Bob at www.bobstackleshack.com is right on with design, cost and final product. You can provide a sketch or prototype bait and he can take it from there.

Good luck!!!

Jim

[Patrick]

Frank, your the only person who has had any problems with my injectors , Maybe its you that has problems

Amazing response

You just made my list of people NEVER to buy from....

[Frank]

Hey no hard feelings we worked it out like humans. Sometimes things get out of hand with words. This is a learning board and every day I learn something new. Sometimes it works for me and some times it does not. The day I stop wanting to learn, they will be putting me in the ground. This Injection thing is just beginning aren't we lucky. And again No hard feelings. Frank