Van1707 Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Hi guys I wanted to find out if there is already a thread on this or if you guys could help me out with some advise. I got asked the question by a friend of mine, he wants me to make a mold for him for a certain tube bait, now give me any other plastic to make a mold of and I can do it, but I have no idea how to make a tube bait mold, how would I get it to be hollow inside? Any advise guys or maybe point me in the right direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Get steel or aluminum rods and dip them 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Molding them would be tricky, but not impossible. MonteeSS is giving you the "normal" method, and once you dip them you would cut the tails free. You could mold Sculpy on an aluminum rod, make a mold of it, leave lots of air vents at the thin tails, pour from the head, then cut the tails free. I have seen an injection mold that had the tails already split, but I don't remember where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowFISH Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 (edited) Look for a injection tube mold and look for the "Spline" that comes with it.... there is altleast 1 vendor that sells it.... The spline is basically a rod with groves machined into the end - goes between the mold halves so you can mold the legs and have an empty cavity using injection..... The spline looks just like the end of an axle. To make your own mold - you could form the upper portion custom to you - and just "graft" the design to use the correct diameter at the leg/body intersection to use the spline to form the "legs". Hope this makes sense... once you see the mold/part you'll get it. J. Edited October 11, 2017 by SlowFISH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 Injection molds: http://store.do-itmolds.com/Tube-Molds_c_291.html In my opinion, the only way to go. (hand cutting tails and I never did get along!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 #1 seems like he want to make his own mold #2 Do-it with spline is expensive and way too slow . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 12, 2017 Report Share Posted October 12, 2017 This is one of my tube molds, pour the hot plastic in, let it cool a few seconds and pour the plastic out, it's all timing. The tube on the left came out of that mold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van1707 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2017 Thanks for the advice guys! Seems like a ball ache to make! Roger Linnell that looks very cool man, would love to see how that mold looks on the inside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 12, 2017 Report Share Posted October 12, 2017 nothing fancy, just these glass tubes embedded in plaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted October 12, 2017 Report Share Posted October 12, 2017 Are they hollow or solid? Thank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a64angelfan Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 I am looking to purchase a tube mold for small trout type tubes. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 13 hours ago, Les Young said: Are they hollow or solid? Thank they are hollow, basically small test tubes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a64angelfan Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hollow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleyeking Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 That's an awesome idea Roger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Young Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 5 hours ago, Roger Linnell said: they are hollow, basically small test tubes Roger, I meant are the tubes hollow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Do you fill and drain the cavities one at a time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowFISH Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 On 10/11/2017 at 8:51 PM, Roger Linnell said: This is one of my tube molds, pour the hot plastic in, let it cool a few seconds and pour the plastic out, it's all timing. The tube on the left came out of that mold Gotta say this is just a really cool way of doing it... would have never thought of trying something like this... super simple yet totally effective... nice job! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 I would think the OD of the test tube is the ID of the bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 1 hour ago, mark poulson said: Do you fill and drain the cavities one at a time? yup, fill em fast and dump all at the same time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 1 hour ago, MonteSS said: I would think the OD of the test tube is the ID of the bait. actually, no, the inside of the tube gets the plastic, when you pour the plastic back out, you are left with a "shell" of plastic inside the tube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Linnell Posted October 13, 2017 Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 If you look closely, you can see the tops of the tubes recessed a bit down in the openings, I also made a mold using Sharpies for the cavities, they were pulled out of the mold after it dried, then the mold was sealed, look at the center bait in the picture, and big tube mold was made with plastic test tubes, they were removed too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
