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bigbass101

for those that use alumilite

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what do you use to make a mold? how easy is this stuff to work with? can you sand or machine it? what would someone charge me to make a 2 piece mold of my swimbait?

I am grateful for any and all help I cant afford to buy them $30-$100+ for these so i want to make my own. Ive used wood and i have a prototype but i need a way to make copies so I can test weight position and wether or not I make floaters, slow sinkers, fast sinkers

again thanks to all those who help and those that have helped in the past

Ryan

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bigbass

i'm just writing things down and its late, so pls dont blame me for my ortography...

if i'm right, you want to copy your master swimbait...?

what do you use to make a mold?

www.smooth-on.com or www.tapplastics.com have a nice video section.

i would start with rtv silicone, cause its easy to handle and demold. if the sections of your swimbait have a V-shape, rtv is the stuff to go. (cause of the flex)

the mold will last a long way if care is taken.

flex urethan can also be used, but i would go for rtv-silikone for a couple of reasons.

(later on, you can switch to epoxy or fibreglas molds)

how easy is this stuff to work with?

peace of cake if you follow the instructions!

can you sand or machine it?

rtv-silikone...NO

what would someone charge me to make a 2 piece mold of my swimbait?

your mold well be ready to pour in 24h

things to take care of:

- take your time to make the mold!! it safes you a lot of time on the finished casting

- use releaseagent if silicone is applied over silicone, or the 2 halves will be glued together! (rtv-silicone is self releasing, so no releasagent on your prototype is needed, but the demolding is easyer and the mold will last longer)

- air vents (where and why)

- do you need a 2 peace mold? (i dont do 2 peace rtv molds enymore, i only make block molds, and cut them. no partingline etc. can be seen after, but it still need vents etc...)

casting material:

to start i would strongly recommend polyurtehan casting resin. you can "fill" it with i.e. microbaloons etc. to make your bait floating or "suspending"...i dont do foam anymore.

goog luck

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can you sand the resin?

yes

do screw eyes hold?

good

do you have to add ballast?

depends on your desired lure

how does it hold up compared to wood and a couple coats of D2T?

good

the more help the better Ive got too much time invested to scrwe things up

try the search feature on this website

i guess every lure builder invest a lot of time in each lure!

Edited by dramone
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Check out Alumilite's web site. They have excellent video on mold making, and their silicone is excellent. Especially the pink. If you have much detail in the bait the pink will reproduce it the best. I know that using the color to describe the silicone is a little vague, but I'm at work and cannot remember the actual numbers on this silicone. If there is a Hobby Lobby near you they carry Alumilite. I have also found it at Hobbytown and it is usually a couple dollars cheaper. I will post the particulars on the pink silicone after I get home and can look at the box.

David

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If saving money is what your looking for you will spend way more than 100 bucks per bait molding your own than just buying swimbaits! I have about 3 to 4 thousand invested in molding material so far! And at best even after you mold the bait you will still have about 6 to 8 hours of work putting it together and painting it! Welcome to the FUN!!!

The Rookie

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Sorry, the Rookie is all wet about the cost of pouring

baits from Alumilite. Your start up cost will run about

$1.25-$1.40 per bait.

After that its about $0.85 per bait.

This includes is everything for a completely finished lure.

I have been making molds and casting baits for

a few years myself.

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I don't want to contradict what Coley has reported because he very likely has far more experience in this regard than I do. Perhaps Coley has a cheaper source for the materials but here has been my experience.

The resin and rtv will run about $100-$125 to get you started. You will then of course need a working prototype to mold and need to build the mold(s) which may take many hours depending on the complexities of the lure.

The cost of the resin per lure depends on the lure size. I think I figured out once that musky sized lures 8-10 inches long run me about $3.00 each just in resin. Long story short, your first lures will be expensive but as you pour more of them the cost will come down.

Be careful with the resin if you decide to try this. I have a friend in the foundry business and he has told me that some people are extremely sensitive to resins and will get very ill almost immediately when using them.

Jed

Edited by RiverMan
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I don't want to contradict what Coley has reported because he very likely has far more experience in this regard than I do. Perhaps Coley has a cheaper source for the materials but here has been my experience.

The resin and rtv will run about $100-$125 to get you started. You will then of course need a working prototype to mold and need to build the mold(s) which may take many hours depending on the complexities of the lure.

The cost of the resin per lure depends on the lure size. I think I figured out once that musky sized lures 8-10 inches long run me about $3.00 each just in resin. Long story short, your first lures will be expensive but as you pour more of them the cost will come down.

Be careful with the resin if you decide to try this. I have a friend in the foundry business and he has told me that some people are extremely sensitive to resins and will get very ill almost immediately when using them.

Jed

I've been using the resin that Shopmaninc.com sells. It costs about $90 for 2 gals. That equates to 256 oz of lures, and that w/o considering Microspheres , ballast hooks or finish.

Also, there is a resin by eBay Store - D Wilson Enterprise: which sells for about $67 per 2 gals. It sound very much like the Shopmaninc.com resin It's their RP-40 Call for availabilty. I never did find out what Alumilite sells for, but I'm so satisfied with what I have, I may never.

I love the stuff and the price is right. :twocents:

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I've been using the resin that Shopmaninc.com sells. It costs about $90 for 2 gals. That equates to 256 oz of lures, and that w/o considering Microspheres , ballast hooks or finish.

Also, there is a resin by eBay Store - D Wilson Enterprise: which sells for about $67 per 2 gals. It sound very much like the Shopmaninc.com resin It's their RP-40 Call for availabilty. I never did find out what Alumilite sells for, but I'm so satisfied with what I have, I may never.

I love the stuff and the price is right. :twocents:

Hey Husky,

How does shopman product compare to smoothcast?

Jed

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Hey Husky,

How does shopman product compare to smoothcast?

Jed

Hey Jed,

I haven't used SC The Shopmaninc stuff Sets in minutes, It's very hard, hold screw eyes, sands easily, and takes a finish with no degassing problems. With a 3-1 mixture with MB's, I've been able to pour 3 oz lures with total fills. It's not brittle and can easily be drilled for ballast. It takes every detail of the mold and doesn't distort in the mold like foam does. With MB's it expands ever so slightly. The casting comes out pure white. I pesonally abused the heck out of it in tests and was amazed at it's durability.

Daskars RP-40 appears to be the same product, different company. All it's specs are like the above.

There another company, CR Resin on Ebay which sells 2 gals of resin for $52 but the casting is tan, not white. The shore hardness is the same, but I haven't used it, myself. I may give it a go the next time I order.

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Husky, I am pretty interested in that stuff but I can't seem to find it on their site. Is it an epoxy or poly resin? Also, can you elaborate a little more on exactly which micro filler you use. US Composites shows a few different types. You say that you can mix the filler @ 3 to 1...is that the amount it takes to get the bait to float? Is that mix ratio similar in bouyancy to some of the softer and more bouyant type woods, or more like less bouyant hardwoods. Based on the 3:1 mixed viscosity, how do you think this product would perform on more complex baits with undercuts (flowing in and around the joints of a swimbait). Sorry for bombarding you with questions. Thanks for posting the info.

TJ

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Husky, I am pretty interested in that stuff but I can't seem to find it on their site. Is it an epoxy or poly resin? Also, can you elaborate a little more on exactly which micro filler you use. US Composites shows a few different types. You say that you can mix the filler @ 3 to 1...is that the amount it takes to get the bait to float? Is that mix ratio similar in bouyancy to some of the softer and more bouyant type woods, or more like less bouyant hardwoods. Based on the 3:1 mixed viscosity, how do you think this product would perform on more complex baits with undercuts (flowing in and around the joints of a swimbait). Sorry for bombarding you with questions. Thanks for posting the info.

TJ

TJ,

Click on the mold making and casting materials. It's at the bottom.

I use the 3m Microspheres

3-1 works for my purposes. You can go lower but the viscosity might become a problem.

(IOW's 1.5 ozeach of Pt A and Pt B 1 oz MB's (THIS IS BY VOLUME, NOT WEIGHT)

I've used it on some VERY complex castings and every detail was captured.

Mike P

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