Sun Fish Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Hi all, I'm relatively new to making custom baits. I currently have a 2 cavity 702 Craw mold and 2 cavity 7" Ribbon Tail mold from basstackle.com. I purchased the 6 oz injector from them also. I have slim to no problems with the 7" Ribbon Tail mold but with the 702 Craw I can't seem to get them to come out without flaws.I found that wiping the cavities of the mold with a little vegetable oil helps somewhat but is not solving my problem. The problem is almost always in the claws and the V on the head of the bait. The craws almost always have a divot in them right before the outer ridge and there is often holes on the outside edge of the ridges. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm thinking maybe the 6 oz injector is to big for this particular 2 cavity mold and air is getting injected in. Any idea's on how I can resolve this? I usually melt my plastic mix in 12 oz batches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinamike Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Try your plastic being a little hotter than what you're shooting now, and inject it slower. This gives the plastic time to push out any air instead of wrapping around it and trapping it. Also be sure to top off your mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Try your plastic being a little hotter than what you're shooting now, and inject it slower. This gives the plastic time to push out any air instead of wrapping around it and trapping it. Also be sure to top off your mold. I've definately tried hotter. I have not so much tried slower but moreso faster. When I get home from work tomrorrow I will try injecting it slower. I really love this craw and want to get a 4-cavity but hesitant until I can get this 2 cavity right. For some more info I am using Lurecraft Green Medium Plastisol w/ Lunker Lotion Scent, Lure Craft Dye and Lure Craft Glitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinamike Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Also hold pressure on the mold for 30 seconds or so before removing the injector. This will help prevent denting, and by the way, welcome to TU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Also hold pressure on the mold for 30 seconds or so before removing the injector. This will help prevent denting, and by the way, welcome to TU. Thanks for the advice and welcome, I will try that tomorrow also and report back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I have the 702 craw (best craw made In my opinion) in 2 and 4 cavity and have no probs. Here is a vid I made showing how I always purge the air out of the injector and hold pressure extra long and top the spru off. Hope this helps....Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Thanks Bill I actually stumbled upon that same video earlier tonight. I just got home from work, going to get some shut eye and try again in the morning. Do you think it could possibly have anything to do with me using a large 6 oz injector potentially pulling in air with plastisol for such a small 2 cavity mold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMc1 Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 If you keep your injector tip submerged you won't draw air. I have a slanted box for my silicone cups so all the plastisol runs to the down hill side and helps me keep air out of the injectors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I shot my 2 cavity 702 about 10 times so far today. I followed the advice of heating the plastic a little more, purging the air from injector after filling and holding pressure on the mold for 10-30 seconds. The results have been much better but I have yet to get a perfect craw as a result. I still seem to be getting dents mostly on the outside edge of the raised part of the claw.I'm going to keep practicing but man does this mold seem ever so sensitive to the perfect touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 I am on the other side of the fence and think the plastic is to hot and a cooler plastic would cause less of the dent thing going on in the claws. Hotter plastic dents way more than cooler plastic. But do you actually know how hot the plastic is? Most new people think just heat and inject but that does not give you consistent results. I use an infrared temp gun just to give me a basic idea what my temp is. This give me an idea if I need more heat or less. That baits has a real thin claw leading to the tip and when it cools the tip dents because it has nothing to draw from. On the injector I just fill and shoot the air from the tip will be at the top and as long as you don't use all of the plastic it should not come out. But as said before try and keep the whole tip below the plastic to reduce some air being sucked up. You will get it. If you think this mold is temperamental wait till you get some others. Frank 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinamike Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Sun Fish, maybe you could post a picture of the bait. It would help us all in evaluating what your problem is. Usually small parts of the bait dont dent, dents usually occur at the thickest part of the baits due to plastic shrinkage. Frank could very well be right, but without actually seeing the bait and a close up of the problem we are all just kind of guessing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) Are you using new or used plastic? Try some softener in your plastisol. Spray the inside of you injector w/PAM, then purge out the plastic sticking to the sides. This will give you a smoother injection rate w/ a better feeling of sensitivity. Proceed slowly w/ that large injector Edited February 2, 2013 by smallmouthaholic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipt Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 heat up your injector in a skillet or something, get it so hot that you cant touch it without gloves. and make sure you top off the cavity so its 100% full when it is completely cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Do you warm your mold before shooting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 This mold likes to be shot harder and faster. Keep the temp down a lil and clamp tight or you will get flashing. ...Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Sun Fish, maybe you could post a picture of the bait. It would help us all in evaluating what your problem is. Usually small parts of the bait dont dent, dents usually occur at the thickest part of the baits due to plastic shrinkage. Frank could very well be right, but without actually seeing the bait and a close up of the problem we are all just kind of guessing. I will later today Are you using new or used plastic? Try some softener in your plastisol. Spray the inside of you injector w/PAM, then purge out the plastic sticking to the sides. This will give you a smoother injection rate w/ a better feeling of sensitivity. Proceed slowly w/ that large injector Both, I start fresh and then melt the extras as I get low Do you warm your mold before shooting? No, well kind of. I don't expect the best results on my first injection and I use that for warming it up. This mold likes to be shot harder and faster. Keep the temp down a lil and clamp tight or you will get flashing. ...Bill I've had better results taking the advice above shooting it slower and holding pressure for 30 seconds but I will try shooting it faster and holding pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Sunfish- Use an electronic heat gun to pre-heat your molds and injectors. Using old runners and reject baits requires softener and some new plastisol to be added to the plastic.If you have salt in the mix,remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Fish Posted February 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Sunfish- Use an electronic heat gun to pre-heat your molds and injectors. Using old runners and reject baits requires softener and some new plastisol to be added to the plastic.If you have salt in the mix,remove it. I've shot 100's of ribbon tail worms with reject baits without softener or new plastisol. Just reheated and stirred until it was the same consistancy of a fresh batch. No salt in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 I've shot 100's of ribbon tail worms with reject baits without softener or new plastisol. Just reheated and stirred until it was the same consistancy of a fresh batch. No salt in the mix. You seem to have addressed all others but still never mention an actual temp just consistency. Way more important to know where the temp is than guess. Plus the ribbon tail mold is real easy and has no real challenges to it. Fast, slow, hold pressure, stand on one foot, right hand in the air. However you inject it you will not get consistent results unless the temp is right. Mainly not to hot. Frank 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipt Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Sunfish- Use an electronic heat gun to pre-heat your molds and injectors. Using old runners and reject baits requires softener and some new plastisol to be added to the plastic.If you have salt in the mix,remove it. how do you remove salt from plastic? heat it up so it hard packs on the bottom and pour the plastic out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 You don't put it in the next batch of plastisol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipt Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 haha thats what i figured, but he did say he was using left-over plastic, so i wasnt sure if there was a trick i didnt know about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBHUFFY1 Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 I'm with Frank on this. Shoot it a little cooler than you are now. Hold pressure for a few seconds. And make sure you top off the sprue. I shoot this mold a lot and had to find the sweet spot in temp. Different colors shoot different at different temps. The more appendages the more attention you have to pay to pressure. I have a mold that I really have to hold the pressure on for this reason. The flappers will dent on the side because they cool from the outside in and it pulls plastic into the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 how do you remove salt from plastic? heat it up so it hard packs on the bottom and pour the plastic out? heat it up in a pyrex and let it set to cool, the salt will settle to the bottom take out the cooled plastisol and cut off the bottom 1/2 " of the cooled plastisol that will get rid of most of the salt, not all but most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
