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Making Proto-type, suggestions

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Well, thanks to all of you I've started the journey, and I have to say its fun but frustrating! My first mold (chunks) came out okay, 6 out of 8 cavities came out...forgot to glue them down. Anyways, I started to make my "ultimate chunk" out of clay, checked on it this morning and it had shrank some but not too much. I worked with the clay for about an hour, got the basic shape, no details, but am having some confusion...how do you come out with a "factory look" to the bait? I'm guessing its mostly skill level, but was thinking of casting a single cavity mold of the way it is now, take the first plastic proto-type and make modifications to it, cast another, and so on, till I get it exactly the way I want it. Is this the right way of going about it or should I just keep trying to improve on it during the molding of the clay? What has best worked for you?

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Just finished making a prototype of a new worm I making. This was my first time also. I decided to use a combination of "things" to get mine made.

I used a "senko" type bait for the worm body and cut it a little short. Then I designed the tail I wanted and cut it out of plastic. I poured my plaster in, lubed up my parts and put the worm body in, the plastic piece in on an angle to make the tail right, and let it harden.

Then you can cut a little here and there to make it just right after you take your pieces back out. Kidlizard gave me some tips that made my mold happen right like baking it for a couple hours on 250 to get the moisture out.

I guess my point is, I would not limit myself to clay. I would figure out a way to get a prototype made and you can "adjust" that mold before pouring with carving tools.

My big deal was to get a bait out of the plaster mold, see if it worked in the lake (and on the fish) and then you can decide if you want someone to make it into aluminum or if you want to make a multicavity mold yourself.

Just my 2 cents!!!

Jim

PS My worm worked great as I caught 2 fish in about 2 minutes. Then the rain came. :censored: I will post a picture after I pour a few this weekend!

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Silly Putty would probably work well as long as you use oil as a release.

You can harden the plastic by putting it in the refrig before or after you shape it. It would do well in plaster and maybe in other materials.

I tried clay and a toaster oven to harden, but couldn't find a decent coating that kept the clay from the plasters moisture. Once clay gets wet, it dissolves. So, I've been cutting worms and grubs etc., reattaching them together by the flame of a candle to form a hybrid, and then molding them in plaster. Good results and easyier than screwing with clay.

Sam

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I have had the best results just using sculpey. I have "baked" some in the oven to make molds and then finish them up with sand paper and dentist tools for detail. I put a coat of finger nail polish on mine and they demolded fine from rock puddy. I demolded it as soon as the stuff set up. I also just use it as is and make worms, pork trailers, etc... then it doesn't matter how long you leave it. This works great because if a certain cavity makes better baits can grease the cavity up and press the sculpey back into it and remove. You then can repeat and get as many duplicates from this "master mold" to make a second mold with baits that are mirror images.

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