bluedragon2k9 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Was thinking about trying to make some baits out of alumifoam.What I was wondering was when I make the mold should I make it where it holds the lip and I pour the foam around the lip or should I make the lure then cut a spot out and epoxie the lip in and weight etc>Or will epoxies even work with a foam bait. thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
School Master Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 Brand new to making hardbaits. I actually just got done with the process you are talking about last week. I made my mold so it molds my lip and my hook hangers before I pour. The hook ties work awesome, no drilling same spot every time. However the lip I kind of wish I would have left out. The major issue is tiny amounts of the foam will seep into the lip slot and get on the lip and it is VERY difficult to get off without scratching the lip. If you are planning on making baits for you box and don't care about a scratch or two I would say go ahead. If flaws on your bait will bother you like it does me, then leave it out. Cutting the slot is a different story, I'm still experimenting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 There is no reason why you could mold the slot with a removable plate and fit the final lip later. This is what I would probably go for. Dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 If you know the bait will perform the way you want, just cut the lip slot in the master... Rather than cutting a slot in every bait, let the mold do most of the work However, once the slot is molded in, there is no changing it... So if the lure doesnt perform, the mold is trash.... I learned this the hard way 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted February 11, 2016 Report Share Posted February 11, 2016 The only 2 situations that I have had material go up the bill is when I first started making molds and from having bills that were not all shaped correctly. When I first started I made two molds that had this problem. I use clay and you have to make sure that the clay is tight to the bill and the body or it will show when you pour. As Dave mentioned, you can also use a dummy lip and mold it in your blank and pull it out after pouring. If it doesn't pull out easy then you can spray the lip with mold release and it should pull out easy. I personally mold my lips in and never have to clean a bill so it can be done with a 100% success rate. I know it is frustrating and at times can get expensive but if you stick with it you will be able to make perfects baits every time. Hope this helps. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I do pour in lips too. I drill 2 small holes at the base of the lip to allow the resin to flow through. That sucker isn't coming out. Square bill (and coffin) style lips are a little tougher to remove from the mold. I recently completed one. The lure comes out nicely, but I'm afraid that the edges of the lip may reduce the life of the mold. It's much more difficult to remove than a round lip. Bass100 is right, you need to make sure your lips are all cut identical for it to work in the mold. I keep my "master" lip that I used to make the mold with as my stencil for sketching new ones. Even better, if you can punch the design in on a computer (even standard Paint can work well), you can print these out on either label sheet or on standard paper (use a light coat of spray adhesive) and adhere to the lip material (circuit board in my case). This drastically helps with consistency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedragon2k9 Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 hey nice tips now how does the foam baits hold up in heat sitting on the boat al lday etc and lets say in the cold as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
