Increase productivity

[whitley]

How can I increase my plastic lure productivity? Right now I use the microwave and pyrex cups. I mix up about 6 different colors and then go out and pour them. What about pots that everyone talks about. Does the salt and glitter clog them? Do the molds fit underneath the spout? I pour about 70-80 5" sticks an hour. That is with 2 four cavity molds. Do i get more molds. If I went with pots how many do you need. How do you switch colors?

[Delw]

Depending on how many baitys you want to make will depend on what you do.

with pyrex you can pour alot of baits per day. with pots you can pour about 2 twice the amount. However you cant do this on lee post , you need to buy good quaility pots or make your own. They must have mixers built in them or your wasting your time which is slowing down production.

So lets say you want to start with pyrex first and your by your self.

you need as many molds are it takes to completely empty your pyrex, to be efficient.

if you dont have a problem keeping the plastic hot, then you need as many molds as it takes so by the time you pour your last bait the first mold is cooled off enough to open it up.

one person 2 molds maybe 4 molds is about max with a 2 cups pyrex.

I have a few cusomers that pour between 5000 and 10000 stik baits per week 6 of them use stay warm pots with mixers or ones that they built themselves with mixers, one customer uses pyrex. the key here is Molds you have to have them to increase production, there is no way out of it.

I have 3 other customers that have between 20-40 stick molds with 2 guys and one of them has 3 guys.

They have no problem with waiting on plastic because they have staywarm pots, there problem is they pour so many baits that there molds get to hot ( even with 20+) that they are waiting on molds.

what I told them was to make some kinda contraption to cool the molds off, its very easy to do, using pc case fans.

You need to make some type of rack and mount computer fans(case ones) to the rack so they blow on the mold to cool. if you have a problem where its not cooling off fast enough, grab a dryer vent tube and mount a motor to it sucking the cold air from the outside into the rack and have the fans in the rack distribute the cold air( even if the air is only 10- 20 degrees colder) it will help you alot.

This might help you get one more mold done ( kinda like having 3 molds instead of 2 molds).

1 of my customers have 1 stay warm pot for each colors, the other ones have 3-6 pots and just change colors on different days.

If your pouring on a large scale you have to invest some serious money.

you need pots with mixers ( if you dont get a mixer your wasting your money) at 1k each

You need more molds ( not trying to sound like a salemen) but there is no way to increase serious production with out molds.

you need help, at least someone to pic out the baits of the cooled molds and put them back together so someone can pour constantly.

A few little tricks on stay warm pots for production use.

have your color salt ,glitter, all measured out before you start the day. so lets say you want to pour 8 batchs of baits in ne colors, have 8 batchs of colors glitter and salt ready to add in.

Its also best to heat your plastic in the microwave then dump it in the pots with all the ingreadiants, this way your ready to start pouring before your even empty.

Thats where another person comes in handy.

Now I know some think darn there goes 2-3 thousand right off the bat, but look at it this way, lets say you have 2 molds your getting 70 per hour, and you need to make 1500 baits per week thats 25 hours of sitting there a pouring. you or anyone else who has a full time job doesnt have 25 hours per week to pour hold a job and keep the wife and kids happy not to mention do what you like to do, and get sleep.

but if you had more pots molds and maysome help. you can knock 1500 baits out in 5-6 hours and have the rst of the week for family and fishing etc.

your at that point where if you want to grow you have to spend money or work yourself to death, everyone in business gets to that point as some time or another. its also a hard decision.

[Delw]

Depending on how many baitys you want to make will depend on what you do.

with pyrex you can pour alot of baits per day. with pots you can pour about 2 twice the amount. However you cant do this on lee post , you need to buy good quaility pots or make your own. They must have mixers built in them or your wasting your time which is slowing down production.

So lets say you want to start with pyrex first and your by your self.

you need as many molds are it takes to completely empty your pyrex, to be efficient.

if you dont have a problem keeping the plastic hot, then you need as many molds as it takes so by the time you pour your last bait the first mold is cooled off enough to open it up.

one person 2 molds maybe 4 molds is about max with a 2 cups pyrex.

I have a few cusomers that pour between 5000 and 10000 stik baits per week 6 of them use stay warm pots with mixers or ones that they built themselves with mixers, one customer uses pyrex. the key here is Molds you have to have them to increase production, there is no way out of it.

I have 3 other customers that have between 20-40 stick molds with 2 guys and one of them has 3 guys.

They have no problem with waiting on plastic because they have staywarm pots, there problem is they pour so many baits that there molds get to hot ( even with 20+) that they are waiting on molds.

what I told them was to make some kinda contraption to cool the molds off, its very easy to do, using pc case fans.

You need to make some type of rack and mount computer fans(case ones) to the rack so they blow on the mold to cool. if you have a problem where its not cooling off fast enough, grab a dryer vent tube and mount a motor to it sucking the cold air from the outside into the rack and have the fans in the rack distribute the cold air( even if the air is only 10- 20 degrees colder) it will help you alot.

This might help you get one more mold done ( kinda like having 3 molds instead of 2 molds).

1 of my customers have 1 stay warm pot for each colors, the other ones have 3-6 pots and just change colors on different days.

If your pouring on a large scale you have to invest some serious money.

you need pots with mixers ( if you dont get a mixer your wasting your money) at 1k each

You need more molds ( not trying to sound like a salemen) but there is no way to increase serious production with out molds.

you need help, at least someone to pic out the baits of the cooled molds and put them back together so someone can pour constantly.

A few little tricks on stay warm pots for production use.

have your color salt ,glitter, all measured out before you start the day. so lets say you want to pour 8 batchs of baits in ne colors, have 8 batchs of colors glitter and salt ready to add in.

Its also best to heat your plastic in the microwave then dump it in the pots with all the ingreadiants, this way your ready to start pouring before your even empty.

Thats where another person comes in handy.

Now I know some think darn there goes 2-3 thousand right off the bat, but look at it this way, lets say you have 2 molds your getting 70 per hour, and you need to make 1500 baits per week thats 25 hours of sitting there a pouring. you or anyone else who has a full time job doesnt have 25 hours per week to pour hold a job and keep the wife and kids happy not to mention do what you like to do, and get sleep.

but if you had more pots molds and maysome help. you can knock 1500 baits out in 5-6 hours and have the rst of the week for family and fishing etc.

your at that point where if you want to grow you have to spend money or work yourself to death, everyone in business gets to that point as some time or another. its also a hard decision.

[Delw]

Depending on how many baitys you want to make will depend on what you do.

with pyrex you can pour alot of baits per day. with pots you can pour about 2 twice the amount. However you cant do this on lee post , you need to buy good quaility pots or make your own. They must have mixers built in them or your wasting your time which is slowing down production.

So lets say you want to start with pyrex first and your by your self.

you need as many molds are it takes to completely empty your pyrex, to be efficient.

if you dont have a problem keeping the plastic hot, then you need as many molds as it takes so by the time you pour your last bait the first mold is cooled off enough to open it up.

one person 2 molds maybe 4 molds is about max with a 2 cups pyrex.

I have a few cusomers that pour between 5000 and 10000 stik baits per week 6 of them use stay warm pots with mixers or ones that they built themselves with mixers, one customer uses pyrex. the key here is Molds you have to have them to increase production, there is no way out of it.

I have 3 other customers that have between 20-40 stick molds with 2 guys and one of them has 3 guys.

They have no problem with waiting on plastic because they have staywarm pots, there problem is they pour so many baits that there molds get to hot ( even with 20+) that they are waiting on molds.

what I told them was to make some kinda contraption to cool the molds off, its very easy to do, using pc case fans.

You need to make some type of rack and mount computer fans(case ones) to the rack so they blow on the mold to cool. if you have a problem where its not cooling off fast enough, grab a dryer vent tube and mount a motor to it sucking the cold air from the outside into the rack and have the fans in the rack distribute the cold air( even if the air is only 10- 20 degrees colder) it will help you alot.

This might help you get one more mold done ( kinda like having 3 molds instead of 2 molds).

1 of my customers have 1 stay warm pot for each colors, the other ones have 3-6 pots and just change colors on different days.

If your pouring on a large scale you have to invest some serious money.

you need pots with mixers ( if you dont get a mixer your wasting your money) at 1k each

You need more molds ( not trying to sound like a salemen) but there is no way to increase serious production with out molds.

you need help, at least someone to pic out the baits of the cooled molds and put them back together so someone can pour constantly.

A few little tricks on stay warm pots for production use.

have your color salt ,glitter, all measured out before you start the day. so lets say you want to pour 8 batchs of baits in ne colors, have 8 batchs of colors glitter and salt ready to add in.

Its also best to heat your plastic in the microwave then dump it in the pots with all the ingreadiants, this way your ready to start pouring before your even empty.

Thats where another person comes in handy.

Now I know some think darn there goes 2-3 thousand right off the bat, but look at it this way, lets say you have 2 molds your getting 70 per hour, and you need to make 1500 baits per week thats 25 hours of sitting there a pouring. you or anyone else who has a full time job doesnt have 25 hours per week to pour hold a job and keep the wife and kids happy not to mention do what you like to do, and get sleep.

but if you had more pots molds and maysome help. you can knock 1500 baits out in 5-6 hours and have the rst of the week for family and fishing etc.

your at that point where if you want to grow you have to spend money or work yourself to death, everyone in business gets to that point as some time or another. its also a hard decision.

[whitley]

Thanks Del. I will start with getting more molds then can you point me in the right direction on getting some good pots. It would help to have somebody to take the baits out of the molds so I could keep pouring. I just got two more 7cavaty mold from you so this should easilly double my output. Where can I look at these pots and get any info I can on how to build one or buy one.

[mickeyg]

I also do the pyrex/microwave method and can output about 90-100 5" Del stik baits using 2 7-cavity molds. With that method there is only so far you can go before you have maxed out productivity.

I did try the Lee pot once for stik baits and put it away after I got done cussing and swearing. It works okay for "regular" baits but not heavy salt one.

Sometime this year I will buy a high quality (thermostat) pot w/mixer. Just have to get through the dead of winter and sell some baits.

Mickey

[D.J.]

Does anyone have a link for these pots with mixers in them? Thanks

[The Dutchman]

Go to www.sta-warm.com

[D.J.]

What Sta-Warm Pot are people using? Does it have a mixer on it?

[millsryno]

I think this is the pot guys are using. I have had people tell me that the components rust if you are using salt. They do not sell a mixer for it. I bought an arrow mixer on ebay for $100 and its almost new. I don't have a pot yet, but it will be mounted to mix the contents in the pot.

http://www.sta-warm.com/pots.htm

You may also want to consider the Wenesco pots. I am contimplating which to get, myself. For some reason or another, the guys that have these pots are not too open about giving you info on them. I have tried in the past and gotten very little feedback. I'm at the point where I'd actually pay somebody money to let me see their pot in action.

Here is the link for the Wenesco pots. The mixer you see is the arrow mixer I got on eBay.

http://www.wenesco.com/dip.htm#diptop

One problem I have with the Wenesco is that every time I call I seem to get a different price quote from them.

From my research, the Wenesco seems to be a better built pot. The thing I don't like, though, is the dispensing mechanism. I like how the Sta-Warm dispenses from the bottom and it seems like the dispensing handle on the Sta-Warm is more user freindly than the gate valve on the Wenesco. Maybe somebody that has either of these pots can chime in on this.

[GB GONE]

Guys...I have purchased a sta-warm pot and will be setting it up soon.

I will give you full details on the pros & cons of how things work for me with the pot I have. I also have 2 Lee pots in the wings...

I don't have a mixer set-up devised yet but I am thinking hard about a magnetic mixer set-up vs a drill motor deal.

I plane to pour mostly "salt-free" baits but will be glad to run through some sticks for testing purposes...

Give me about a week to get my pot and I'll try to answer as many questions as possible.

Buying these is an investment so I understand the need for the info!!!

Jim

PS Del is on the money!!! More molds = increase productivity. I waste more time waiting on molds than I do waiting for plastic to heat by far!!!

[Delw]

Dont use anything that has magnets on it. Magnetics will mess anything and everything in your shop up, especially high power magnets.

Besides stainless stael is not magnetic so the magnetic drill wouldnt work unless they use steel then you will have other problems.

Makeing a stirer is very easy and plently of ways to do it,

one is to goto granger and buy a low speed motor and modify that. most people dont have the tools to do that but it does work for those that do.

The other way is to goto harbor frieght and get a small drill press that has a very low or varible speed motor. put a spade bit in it the biggest you can get 1.5" ? make sure your grind off the tip and just have a flate spade.

now the problem with drill pressesis they get in the way and you need room, they are clumsy and can fall over.

you want to make sure you can get your rpm lower than 500rpms.

One other thing remember the bigger dia the bit the slower you will have to go.

while 500 rpms dont look like much with a 1/4" bit in there putting a 2" bit will really look like its flying.

the other thing you have to worry about is torque, depending on the size of your pot ( diameter) will depend and thickness of material on the torque needed.

Remember when plastic gets to the gel stage and it will requirer lots of torque to mix it at this stage.

All in all its less head ach and in somecase less money( if you include time and trial and error) to buy one all ready made for the job. or get parts from granger. Somewhere on this board in the begining I gave all the part numbers needed to make one using granger parts. it was a long time ago.

if I remember correctly you still were at about 200-300 bucks.

If you dont get a stirrer with tourqe you will have to hand stir first while its in the gel state as to not burn the plastic.

As far as the stirring part. the best one would be to have about 1" of clearance from the sides and 1/2 from the bottom. then make some holes in the blades in different positions so it mixes thourghly.

A spade bit will work but not perfectly.

Delw

[GB GONE]

He Del...I've got a buddy that works with chemicals and plastics alot. As an engineer, he had to design something like this for his company.

Bottom line is that it would work with some major mods but it is WAY to expensive for me. He deals with the high end magnetic stirrers for labs that have extremely low tolerances for error. He is in the quality control area..

Anyway, the drill press is the way I am going to have to go I guess. Since I don't use salt most of the time, I don't expect to much hassle..

Thanks!!!

Jim

[Delw]

Chemicals/plastics are not the problem with magnetnics.

everything else is.

cel phones, computers, credit cards, drivers licences ( anything with a magnetic strip on it) magnitizeing tools will also mess up car computers and the list goes one.

lets say you take a screwdiver or knife and stick it in there to stir the plastic or check to see the viscosity. that screwdriver is magnitized. then if it gets placed next to one of the above items you have major problems next time you go and use your creditcard.

not to mention you set a screwdriver or knife on the floor and it picks up dirt, some of that stuff drops into what every your working on with those tools( like an engine) could have problems.

all I am saying is becareful with using magnetics, and that a magnet drill wont work with stainless steel, stainless is non magnetic. so it wouldnt stick on the top of the stainless steel pot.

ive there valve/heaters thermostat has any magnetic parts in it you will mess them up as well