Two Part Mold Revisited...Again and again and again........

[cavu]

I need to make a two part mold of a shrimp that is very similiar to a DOA. The legs will present me with the most problems. I have read everything I can find on making two piece molds. I guess I need to know if it is feasible to even try something like this. Will it need to be poured by some injection process or do you all think it can be poured normally? For those of you who do not know what a DOA looks like it can best be described as an anatomically correct shrimp, legs, eyes and all! I do have a master to make the mold with.

[Delw]

Cavu.

Shrimps are not that easy too pour they are pretty much impossible.

Ive tried to make a mold for one guy he had one of the nicest looking shrimps I have seen I couldnt do it to get the detail like he wanted to, well I could have but then we would have been talking thousands of dollars, 2 other guys That wanted shrimp molds didnt mind the detail very much. one guy decided to go the injection route the other I am making.

I cant give out the info on how they were able to get around the leg problem on the hand poured ones but wil say we came up with some pretty creative ways in doing so.

if you want and exact shrimp replica plan on injection molding

if you want a so-so way pour it out of a molding material that will spread evenly around evry nook and kranny then cut a place out so you can pour the plastic.

if you want the legs and antena's you will have to inject them, the body and tail will pour pretty easy, but machineing the mold like this is extreamly costly due to the time it takes to design one.

In the first guys mold I had over 60 hours just in programming time alone not to mention test runs and such.

I had one guy pour the liquid plaster over a dead shrimp and he does pretty good on selling them.

Delw

[Fish_N_Fool]

I agree with Del the only way you could make it is in an injection mold and you better plan on stending a lot of money, To get the kind of bait your talking about it.

[cavu]

Thanks guys. I figured it would be that way. I won't be making them to sell so it will not be feasable to invest lots of dollars. Just for grins and giggles I'll try to make a two piece mold and see how it goes.

[jigmeister]

cavu , I made vaccum chamber out of a 5 gal plastic bucket for pouring two piece molds . Replace the lid with a piece of plywood with the smooth sided insulating tape to fit the lip of the bucket. drill a hole in the side of the bucket at the bottom for a shop vac hose . drill a pour hole thru the plywood top and attach your mold to the lid with a strap system or ?

When you turn on the shop vac it will pull a vacuum thru the lid and sprue hole of your mold and pull the hot plastic into all the smaller recess' of the mold . If you still end up with voids in your bait drill a tiny hole thru the mold to the outside (not in the bait cavity area) and then scratch a small line from the cavity to the hole you just drilled . this allows you to direct the vaccum where you need it . Its a trial and error thing but it works.

[Senkosam]

Appendages or antenae that are on the same plane as the body can be accomplished without an injection mold. The photo shown is a bait created in a plaster 2-part mold.

The process is no different than making the thin, curl-tail of a grub in a one or two part mold.

FrankM

[jigmeister]

OK heres my version of the large Mad Man craw . full round body ,hollow center but made with softer plastic and livelier moving legs than the original .

vacuum molded method-click on link......Jigmeister

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Kieuseru/Dad%20stuff/craw1.jpg

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Kieuseru/Dad%20stuff/craw.jpg

[cavu]

Thanks for the input. You all have great ideas, not to mention your finished products! First I have to make my two part mold and then I will start working on the pouring part. I recieved a PM from BigZ and he gave me the idea of pouring the bait body and then using rubber skirting material, gluing the legs in after the pour. With all help I am getting, I think I can make this project work.

[clemmy]

Another posibility would be to pour it sort of as a sheet (like a twister tail), then use your choice of tube cutting contraption to shred into the legs...This should especially work with a tougher plastic intended for saltwater..

[Tm Customs]

Mike I would try big z's idea I have some old crawfish that are made that way what they do is get living rubber and thread it on to a needle and poke it through the bait.

Tm

[BigZ]

Either living rubber or some of the fancier silicone leg material works great, just get a fine gauge sewing needle and punch it through the bait. No mess unless you try to do more than a couple strands at a time per hole. Remember that you have the strand doubled through the needle, just cut it once you pull the eye out to your desired length and you are good to go. You get 2 legs at a time that way. Sure, it's time consuming, but it will pay off in strikes and action. I used to get saltwater jigs from some old Portugese guy when I was a kid that basically were a culprit worm with legs on em, and they would kill the surf fish here (Pacific halibut and rockfish mostly). You can get a killer leg effect with some of the silicone multicolor material... Tightlines, Z.