Laminate Plates, A Pain In The....?

[J lure]

I was wondering who used laminate plates and are they a pain in the ass to use? It seems like they would be since you have to align the part back into the other mold right?

[CrabbyBass]

Laminate plates are used in place of handpouring. I think they make the lures come out looking smoother. Then again, I am not great at hand pouring yet. I just bought my first laminate plate from CCM. I was having issues getting the lures to turn out correctly. With this one, as in probably most of them, the belly is injected first and then the top of the lure. When I was injecting the top, the plastic was going underneath the belly of the lure instead of on top. I had written to CCM to tell them about my issue. Jason actually called me and gave me some pointers. Turns out I was injecting too fast. It was my own fault from inexperience. I don't have anymore issues. Now that I know what I am doing, I think they are worth it just because I have not fine tuned my hand pouring. Hope this helps!

[DaBehr]

Since I am totally "hand pour challenged"....I really like using the laminate plates from CCM. There are a few molds that work really well (even for me) with just hand pouring the bottom....the 3.5 and 4.5" Swim Shads are a good example. I think Bear's Baits also offers plates for some of their molds.

If you have really good hand pour skills ...you may not need them. Or you can use the BT Twin Injector (which has it's advantages and disadvantages). Depending on the bait ....I utilize all three of the techniques.

(for example...the Twin Injector is awesome for worms/stick baits!).

Like most things in this hobby...it's what works best for you.

In regards to getting the laminate plates to work well:

1. You get better results if you inject the second side before the baits fully cure (24hrs). I like to make up a bunch...and shoot the other side all in the same molding session.

2. Inject the 2nd side SLOWLY ...otherwise it lifts up the bottom piece (the liquid flowing over the solid creates lift like in an airplane wing). Make sure you bottom part is completely seated in the mold so you don't get the hold plastic running under the nose.

3. If you have problems with the two sides not staying together...your not shooting the 2nd side hot enough to have a melt at the interface with the other side.

Given my total lack of hand pour skills and no artistic ability ....read this: Poor hand /eye coordination!!!!

I really like using the laminate plates because they give me a really professional looking bait!