New To Pouring. Have A Few Questions.

[Jesse-C]

Hey everyone. So long story short a buddy and I are so tired of going through so many GYCB baits (mainly the shad shape worm) and most being thrown off on a fish jump or wasted on shorts that we have decided to buy a 12 cavity injection mold from angling A.I. and attempt pouring our own.

SK I have watched some videos on how to do this yet still have some questions.

1. What's a good soft plastic to start with. How much do you recommend?

2. When pouring do you wear a respirator mask? Any certain one.

3. After injecting the mold how long do I wait to take the baits out of the mold? How do I keep the plastic warm between injections?

4. What do you do with your baits after you remove them from the mold? Water bath, lay on newspaper, etc?

5. How many shad shape worms can a guy expect to get out of a gallon of plastisol, and what size injector do you recommended for a 12 cavity mold?

Thanks guys I am sure I will be back with more ?'s. If there's a thread with a lot of this info already please direct me!

-Jesse

[Jig Man]

1.  I use Calhoun Medium.  Get at least 1 gallon to start.

 

2. No I don't.

 

3.  First shot maybe 30 seconds.  Longer with each succeeding shoot.

 

4.  Water to cool down, then towel to cure for a while.

 

5.  Not familiar with that mold.

[JRammit]

Respirator is not mandatory, but propper ventilation is!

Everyone has their favorite plastic.. From what i can tell, they are all good but there is no "best"... I like Lureworks because i can order several other things from their site and only pay shipping once

A gallon will go a LONG way if you are only pouring for your self... My 1st gallon has lasted me over a year, but i make as many small crappie sized baits as i do larger bass sized baits

Also load up on colors!.. The 1 oz bottles go a long way too.. They are cheap if you order them at one time.. But not if you have to pay shipping every time you want a new color

[Travis]

I use Calhoun also but pick your poison as they all seam to have their hits and misses.   A gallon is good to start off with but depending on what you pour won't last long and depending on how often you fish.  When I was fishing a lot and on a good soft plastic bite day using a 100 of something wasn't abnormal.  

 

I keep plastic warm between injections (don't inject much would rather pour) in either my prestopot set up, hot plate, or microwave depending how much plastic I am messing with. I use water at times but often just hang them on a rack to cool then later just put on a cookie sheet before packaging.

 

I would go with a larger injector, as you can shoot any extra into other molds or back into the pot.   

[Apdriver]

1. I get mine from Baitjunkys. Excellent price and fast service.

2. No Respirator, but a excellent ventilation system

3. Two minutes after injecting before de molding. Some use a griddle. Some use presto pots with stirrer. I just stick it back in the nuke usually. Watch your temps with a infrared. After your initial heating to 350, try not to take it north of 320 on your reheats. Stir and then take the temp. Technique-others may do something different.

4. Lay them out straight on a big cookie sheet. I wouldn't use newspaper unless you want ink on your baits. Give them a week to cure. Some say longer. If you bag immediately, baits will take a set and be bent.

5. No idea about your baits per gallon. Do yourself a favor and get the large injector. A twelve cavity mold takes quite a bit of plastic. I have a seven ounce for my larger molds. With a small 3 ounce, you may run out of plastic and not fill the mold up. You would demold and be scratching your head, wondering what happened :-). That's never happened to me, though. LOL.