BobFuller Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I know it will take some time to get used to pouring plastics, but I am really wanting to make my own for my small business I am starting. My question is, If I have a gallon of liquid plastic how many baits can I make with it? I know it has to do with the size of the lure. Say I wanted to make my own 5" stick baits, how many can I get out of lets say 1 gallon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little man baits Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I would say at least 150-200 depending on how you are pouring and how much is wasted. Ie burnt plastic, sprues etc. Once you figure out what u are doing u become more expierienced and waste less. How many sticks is your mold . U know for myself is that I have a 7 cavity and it takes approx 4 ounces of plastic with very lil left over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobFuller Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I would say at least 150-200 depending on how you are pouring and how much is wasted. Ie burnt plastic, sprues etc. Once you figure out what u are doing u become more expierienced and waste less. How many sticks is your mold . U know for myself is that I have a 7 cavity and it takes approx 4 ounces of plastic with very lil left over I don't have any molds yet.. I'm still in the beginning stages of this business. What molds are best for producing soft plastics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Wow you sure are just starting out not trying to discourage you but I would suggest you do some searching and reading on the intricacies of a small plastics business as it is quite costly. The demand for quality is high with the advent of hand/small machine injecting. Head to the CNC mold sites such as Bearsbaits, Basstackle, CCM or lurecraft to get an idea of what you will be dealing with. Good luck with your endevour. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobFuller Posted May 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Wow you sure are just starting out not trying to discourage you but I would suggest you do some searching and reading on the intricacies of a small plastics business as it is quite costly. The demand for quality is high with the advent of hand/small machine injecting. Head to the CNC mold sites such as Bearsbaits, Basstackle, CCM or lurecraft to get an idea of what you will be dealing with. Good luck with your endevour. Yea, I'm doing jigs, spinners, spoons, salt ect... Just about everything. I already got 7 grand dumped into it. I just wanted to expand everything before I push the open button. I'm gonna make this work the first time around. Not gonna lay down on this one!!! I will deff check those sites out! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 Yea, I'm doing jigs, spinners, spoons, salt ect... Just about everything. I already got 7 grand dumped into it. I just wanted to expand everything before I push the open button. I'm gonna make this work the first time around. Not gonna lay down on this one!!! I will deff check those sites out! Thanks If you got 7 grand into it, I'd say you're MORE than good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XFactorTackle Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 That's great that you have been blessed enough to have the $7k invested to this point, praise God. It's obvious that you have a vision for your business, which is great...many start up with no set goals therefore have no idea when they have arrived. My advice would be to get started with what you have and learn the soft plastics on the side. There is a lot to making soft plastic baits and as others have said, the investment is big, with time and money. There is a definite learning curve to soft plastics that cause many to be totally frustrasted. I'm confident that you CAN do it but when getting a business off the ground your focus needs to be more on sales, marketing and building your brand, not on learning a new skill. The other question you need to ask is (and you probably already have), who is your customer? Are you going to sell all retail or are you going to focus on wholesale? You can do both wholesale and retail but if neither one is your main business, you'll be so-so in both areas. Do you plan on making and selling everything? How about packaging, are you going to package everything to? I had similar goals a couple years back and I settled with soft plastics exclusively. I can't make everything on my own and I'm to the point where I don't do any packaging at all and I'm not making spinners or pouring lead, just soft plastics. The point is, there is only so much time in a day and we can't do it all...at least not effectively. I hope that helps. Jeff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifemaker3 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) I'd have to agree with xfact on this one........Just because you have the startup investment doesn't mean it's all glory from here. I expanded a business into a retail location a little over 2 years ago now and added fishing and hunting supplies and guns to the business.....it's been a tight 2 years and most of the time all money made has been put back into the business. And I only pour or make a very few amount of what I sell and I still don't have enough time to get everything done by myself. Shortly after starting the new location I hired a part time helper just to be able to stay up with part of the business and really need a full time employee but can't afford one right now. Then you have insurance, electricity, licensing, overhead, etc. etc. to keep up with as well as taxes, excise taxes, quarterly taxes, monthly taxes, etc. Then you have to deal with customers, custom orders, tire kickers, bull shooters, and everything else that goes with owning and operating a business. Is it a viable solution? Absolutely. But with your question of how many baits can a gallon produce this tells me that maybe you might want to do more research and developement before "opening" you doors. That question leaves me with the impression that you are fixing to go down a very slippery and costly slope with your business. I'm not trying to talk you out of opening or doing this as a business in any way. I'm just trying to help you with some straight up advice from someone who already owns and operates a small hunting/fishing/tackle shop. I just reread this entire post and am editing my post to say you stated "before you push the open button" in one of your post..Is this for an online venture or brick and mortar store? I own brick and mortar so my advice is for that. What you are attempting to do with online may work just fine for your situation. Everyone has different ways of being successful with their business. Edited June 13, 2012 by knifemaker3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerworm Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 know ing what a gallon will produce in senkos will vary from person to person per the type of pastic they are using and how much softener they use as well as the salt ratio. but gallons wont help you if you want to open either a stand alone store or just a website as a gallon will never be in your order you will either buy multiple 5 galllons at a time or drums. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) If you got 7 grand into it, I'd say you're MORE than good to go! 7K is merely scratching the surface of the money pit associated w/running a professional soft-bait plastic business w/custom,multiple CNC molds,website cost,packaging and related injection equipment.It will take a minimum of 5 years,mucho free handouts and costly advertising to become establised. The complete costs of your start up business could reach 40K+ over the span of 5 years w/ little profit. 1- Quality or quantity?? You'll need some expensive Zorn machines if you want to produce quantity 2-If you're going to sell the identical baits that Bass pro,Cabelas etc sell,then you had better be cheaper. Bait and tackle stores want a minimum of 40% off of your retail prices providing they are proven products. You'll get "hung out on the line'' if you get sucked into a consignment deal. 3- Figure $2.00 net profit per bag after all expenses and excise tax. Now throw in trademarks and patents-OUCH!! @--For the purpose of discussion,let's say you sell 10,000 bags of plastic products per year. that's only 20k income. You can't support a family on that for sure. Reseach your options throughly, review the limitations of your financial resources and then decide in which direction you wish to go. This is one cutthroat business for sure and to suceed as a legitament business you'll be required to continuosly put in countless hours and $. Good luck! Edited June 14, 2012 by smallmouthaholic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 You just got some of the best advice you can get . Sounds like you are already addicted . Fishing tackle theraphy is 250 bucks an hour . Might add that to your costs .LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
