Issues With Injecting My New Frog Molds...

[Cormorant Lures]

Okay, so I finally started shooting baits with my new 3.5" Caney Creek Croaker molds with mixed success... I have been getting big air bubble "voids" in the tips of the frog's feet as well as smaller air pocket voids around the eye sockets... I have tried shooting slow or fast, hotter (345-350 degrees) or colder (330-335 degrees), etc.

I know it must be air getting trapped within the mold... As I am drawing plastic into my injector, I keep the tip below the surface of the hot plastic at all times... I am just trying to figure out how air is getting into my plastic, and/or if I am doing something completely wrong...

It is an awesome feeling to shoot five molds and get five great looking baits, and it is a very depressing feeling to shoot five molds and get only one good bait...

Oh and one more question, how do you minimize overall scrap?!? It seems like I get A LOT more overall scrap with injection then I did with hand-pouring... I was wondering if there were any good tips out there on this subject as well...

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks!!!

[SHK]

cant help you with that mold specifically but try shooting cooler (310 give or take) and very slow, if you think you are going slow, try a little slower, weight of your hand only. hold pressure for 5 - 10 seconds.

compared to hand pouring yes there is a larger quantity of remelts.

[Cormorant Lures]

One more thing I should add to the information stated above... Towards the middle and end of the existing batch, we added batches of remelt to the existing mix of plastic in the presto... Basically what we did is throw about 8oz. of new plastic in a pyrex with equal amounts of remelt and heated it to temperature and then added it to the already hot plastic in the presto... Could this method also have a negative affect on how the baits will inject?!?

[SHK]

Could this method also have a negative affect on how the baits will inject?!?

Nope

[MonteSS]

I had a 4" Croaker mold and it shot perfect every time.

You will find that every mold shoots differently. Some like slow and barely pushing and some I had to stand on the plunger hard and fast (usually curly tails).

I tend to inject very slow. When full I press hard and hold 10 or so seconds.

....Bill

[JSC]

I had a 4" Croaker mold and it shot perfect every time.

You will find that every mold shoots differently. Some like slow and barely pushing and some I had to stand on the plunger hard and fast (usually curly tails).

I tend to inject very slow. When full I press hard and hold 10 or so seconds.

....Bill

X2

[patrick reif]

x3 and then cap the mold off within a few seconds.

I have the basstackle frog though.

Works 9 out of 10 times for me.

I should re-read this before I post, but heat your mold first.

Also squirt out about a tenth of the plastic with the tip pointed at 10 o'clock before you shoot. It ejects air if the plastic is around 350 and very liquid.

Every mold is differant.

Every maker is too.

My problem only comes up as a problem with laminates. Hollow heads and excessive air bubbles in the body and legs.

Those are the ones I fish.

They look good when right, but damn...too much work sometimes for mixed results and un-needed details.

The bottom line is that it's a top water, and the fish are reacting to the surface bite. Unless you're selling these, do the best you can and throw the "junk ones" in the slop first.

I seriously doubt the fish give a crap if there is an air bubble in the nose or leg.

Still I get that you want the best bait you can produce.

I'm starting to sell some basstackle swimbaits locally(supports my habit) and I fish those with too many air bubbles, while selling those I'd most like to have.

There's no differance in swimming action between the two.

Those air bubbles will make it a bit more tender(and bouyant for top water) but nothing else.

Throw that stuff and hang on.

[pieterbez]

I have 10 of the 3" and 4" Craoker molds.

On the 3" I get 10 out of 10 when shooting.

On the 4" I managed to get 3 out of 10 if I am lucky. I tried everything. Shooting slower, cooler plastic, clamping tightly and not tightly. Nothing worked.

I then took a hacksaw blade and cut grooves in the mold where the voids occured in the feet. I started shooting and waited for the plastic to exit the hole in the feet. Noticed a lot of bubbles exiting the holes. I shot about 300 frogs the other day and only 5 had holes in the feet. Only downside in that you have to pull of the excess plastic on the legs. I can live with that.

[Cormorant Lures]

For all those of you who were following my post... I FIXED MY PROBLEM!!! It was the injector the whole time... I went and bought a couple new o-rings and replaced the ones on the injector(s), still no luck... A little bit of ingenuity was all it took... I took the o-rings back off and placed about three full revolutions of teflon plumbers tape in the o-ring groove... I put the o-ring back in the groove over the top of the teflon tape... NO MORE AIR VOIDS IN MY BAITS!!! I have NOT had one bad bait since and I am loving every minute of it!!! Thanks for all your help!!!

[t-billy]

Glad you got the problem solved. I had the same problem with the feet when I first started shooting the 3.5 croaker. More pressure for a longer period of time solved it for me.

[Walking Dead]

I have 10 of the 3" and 4" Craoker molds.

On the 3" I get 10 out of 10 when shooting.

On the 4" I managed to get 3 out of 10 if I am lucky. I tried everything. Shooting slower, cooler plastic, clamping tightly and not tightly. Nothing worked.

I then took a hacksaw blade and cut grooves in the mold where the voids occured in the feet. I started shooting and waited for the plastic to exit the hole in the feet. Noticed a lot of bubbles exiting the holes. I shot about 300 frogs the other day and only 5 had holes in the feet. Only downside in that you have to pull of the excess plastic on the legs. I can live with that.

Old post but your advice fixed my issue.  100% quality toads with that vent slit cut.  Almost trashed the molds until I read this.  Thanks for the advice and thanks to the forum TACKLEUNDERGROUND.