Jump to content
pat28

A Newbie's Question...

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

I have made myself a bunch of masters out of Sculpey. I have sealed them with epoxy and intend to start making my molds as soon as they are dry (I will wait for about two to three days for the epoxy to cure fully, just in case). Now tell me if I get the following steps okay... Make mold box, superglue master to bottom, spray with release agent, pour PoP, let dry, remove master. I suddenly started wondering whether a rigid master could be removed from a rigid mold material...

Thanks again for the help!

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In one or two of the dozens of videos I watched prior to embarking on this new adventure, I saw the makers pour pop over a rigid master. As I am into large baits for muskie, it is clear that removing them from the pop will be a nightmare. I would rather avoid breaking those masters if I can. I will therefore go with the silicone I ordered for the rigid masters, and pop with the existing soft plastics I wish to duplicate. Thanks for opening my eyes to this. It does sound like a stupid thing, but man did I save myself some trouble!

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I had epoxied all my Sculpey masters, I thought I would try the PoP molding with the simple bass lures, and go for the rtv for the big muskie stuff. The small lures came out of the PoP well. Perhaps not yielding professional grade molds--I do not know yet as the molds will dry for another three to four days prior to sealing and lure pouring--but very decent ones in terms of shape and detail for my personal needs. PoP was at least a good introduction to molding for me. I will see how the rtv turns out very shortly.

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should have added for other newbies like me that this hobby is VERY addictive and costly. Just for fun, here are the preliminary investments:

three pyrex cups of different sizes $15

Sculpey, super sculpey, Mod Podge, PoP $130

Rtv silicone, mold release, featherlite resin (the latter for hard baits) $230

5 gal alumisol, hardener, softener, heat stabilizer and ten dyes $320

Microwave $60

Mixing cups, containers, tape, stir sticks, super glue $15

And then you quickly run out of mold making material, so I bought another 11lbs of rtv and 10kg of PoP

$150

Will I save money by pouring my own lures? Well... It is not certain. However, given the price of muskie sized baits (15-25 ea.), if I make say 25 of them, I may compensate for the initial investment. But hell this is fun!

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

   I only hand pour my own designed lures. Yea its not cheap, and I doubt you will ever save money, but you will have lures you will make that work for you, in colour combos that will work for you. Not to mention it feels great to catch big fish on your own lures that came from knowledge and skills you turned into tools to catch fish.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear ya Kajan. It all started out some 20-25 years ago when I started tying flies. In fact, I started fishing just because I wanted to give them a try. Then I got into pike and bass and started making wood lures. This is what got me into woodturning, and then general woodworking. I produce about 15-40 new wooden lures each year now, just for my own box and that of one of my friends who paints them. And now, soft plastics and poured hard baits. I just love the ability to tweak any lure I like or to design one that is really effective. I already have a few of those. One is so good in fact that I deliberately avoid fishing it because it makes my life too easy and prevents me from trying my other prototypes. Go figure. I guess lure making just takes fishing to the next level.

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...
Top