atijigs Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 I got my new 4 inch Bears tube mold today. I tried it a couple of times. On the third try I got about 1/2 of the tail poured. (Thats the best one of the 3) I'm using mf soft and got complete shots of the 4.5 frog and complete pours in a 5 inch senko injection mold by hand pouring after shooting the tube just to test the plastic temp. Do I need to heat the mandrels? Title should say injecting tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerworm Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 there is no need to preheatr any aluminum mold unless maybe it has condensation on it they will get plenty hot just using them. as for injecting tubes hotter plastic doesnt make them any easier to work with but as with any new toy there is a learning curve. and each person has their own ways to accomplich each task. it doesnt matter for me but i just usually am slinging plastic so i shoot everything fast so i can get the presto pots run out. you might try just shooting them with slight hand pressure and feel the plunger go in to start off with and as you gain experience with the tools you will find what works best for you. also medium makes for better tails but thats just an opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Yes it would help if you warm the mandrel for the first shots. Then the heat from the plastic will take over. MF soft sets fast and is the reason it wont fill completely. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atijigs Posted March 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Thanks for the tips guys. I got it figured out today. I was backing off the pressure to soon. Complete fills every time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthworm77 Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Thanks for the tips guys. I got it figured out today. I was backing off the pressure to soon. Complete fills every time now. Heating the mold does help in my experience, not piping hot, just enough so the plastic doesn't cool too fast. Maybe 5 minutes on the griddle and then let it rest a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
