shakyhead10 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Ok, the thermometer said the plastic was above 300 and I was able inject my mold and the baits turned out right. Heres where Im messing up. I watched numerous videos and read articles that said to heat up the injector by filling it then pushing it out then refilling again. For some reason I keep gumming the inside up. Im getting one pour then Im having to take the nozzle off and clean the inside of the injector out. Why is the plastic hardening inside the injector that quickly. Am I getting air in there some how, am I not getting it hot enough, or what? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAWG1419 Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Keep ur injector hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipt Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 you really dont need to preheat the injector by filling it up a few times before you shoot. mess around with it and you'll get a system you like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick reif Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 I generally get one set of shootings with each try too. What I do is to make sure I have all the molds ready to go that use the same recipe of color, salt content and softener. An example would be sticks, drop shot worms, shakey head and flukes all get the same treatment, and are shot at the same time. Swim baits and grubs would go together. Chunks and tubes, ect, ect ect,... I always draw plastisol in the injector and shoot it back in the cup a couple of times before I'm ready to pour. That's mostly to burp the injector though. In the winter, I put the molds and injector on the dash of my truck with the defrost running on high heat, high speed until my plastic is ready. It's not a bad idea to do that all year, but I don't do it in warm months. Try warming the injector before shooting and see if it helps. After the first couple of cycles, it should be warm enough to reduce the gumming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 If I am making more than one shoot, I evacuate the injector and put it back in the cup to keep it hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Just draw up plastic and shoot. The other way just gives you bubbles in the plastic. You see when you draw up plastic it cools and solidifies almost immediately which give you particles of plastic that are not liquid. Also some injectors are made of a thicker tube so it take them longer to heat up. No matter who's injector you use you should be able to draw and shoot. As you do more it will heat up and become easier. Try and not use all the plastic as near the end it will be just a bunch of cooled plastic. If you watch any of my videos you will see my version. Frank 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Yeah... I tried the three cycle method a few times and got exactly what Frank (by the way Frank, I love your youtube vids... Keep up the good work!!) said... Now I just get my plastic up to temp, draw slowly (not glacially slow but slow enough that the plastic warms up my injector fairly well on the first draw) and shoot. I won't say i don't get ANY microbubbles but it's not nearly as bad as when I tried the three cycle purge method... Bottom line is, try everything out and see which method works for you. The one that gives YOU the best results is the best method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakyhead10 Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 frank can you or someone post a link to your videos please.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Plastic at 300 degrees? Way to cool. Depending on the brand of plastic, you need to get it to 350 degrees to fully change state or your baits will get cloudy or sticky. If the plastic is only 300+ degrees...then when it hits the "cool" injector it is setting up immediately. Yes, after you use the injector a few times it may be hot enough to keep this from happening ....but...! Temperature is probably THE most critical factor in plastics (quickly followed my pressure) and that comes from 30+ years in the injection molding industry...and bait making is basic injection molding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) frank can you or someone post a link to your videos please..Here's a link to one. You can access the rest from there.Curses!!! Let me try this again..... Edited July 10, 2013 by bluetickhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) Plastic at 300 degrees? Way to cool. Depending on the brand of plastic, you need to get it to 350 degrees to fully change state or your baits will get cloudy or sticky.If the plastic is only 300+ degrees...then when it hits the "cool" injector it is setting up immediately. Yes, after you use the injector a few times it may be hot enough to keep this from happening ....but...! Temperature is probably THE most critical factor in plastics (quickly followed my pressure) and that comes from 30+ years in the injection molding industry...and bait making is basic injection molding.[/quote I often shoot at 290 to get what I want. If i want a real definite line between colors lower temps are the key. Getting plastic to set is one thing but I use spike it plastic and it does not NEED to get to 350 to change. Like was said before find away that works for you. Frank Forgot to see my videos go to the tutorials section and you will find a few. From there you can access them all. Edited July 10, 2013 by Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonestarbaitcompany Posted July 13, 2013 Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 The only good I use I have for my hot plate is using it to preheat my injector before I shoot. It does not have to be to hot to handle just warm is good enough. Once you shoot some plastic through it it will stay hot after that I pull the injector almost full, then shoot then expel the hot plastic back to my "draw cup". If you keep your draw cup covered it will stay hot enough to shoot several times before it needs further heating, and the more plastic in the cup the longer it holds template as well. Errr temperature not template. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
