Pit Bass

Yo Fool, I think that you have to get the "sugar " from " Senko Sam ". I think that he has a website linked to this message board.

Wow! I recently purchased and used a respirator from a national Home-Improvement store. Big Difference ! No more fumes and headaches ! I spent about $30 and got a half-face respirator with a p100 filter. This filter is also good for lead dust/fumes, so I think that it's what we need for multi-purpose lure-making. Even if you have an exhaust fan, please use a respirator ! Play Smart ! Pit Bass

Howdy men. What are you guys using for breathing resperators/air-filters? I'm very sensitive to any dirt/dust/ fumes and I want to be as safe as possible. I plan to buy a full-face resperator from Menards. What filteration-rating or chemical resistance do I need ? Thanks for any help.

Thanks guys ! All good Ideas that I will try. Senkosam, great pic's ! Reminds me of a trick that I have used on hard baits- Removing the paint with nail polish removier to create a clear bait. Pit Bass

I'm curious about everyone's best color sticks for LMB in clear water. My definition of clear water is being able to see your lure on the bottom in 8-12 ft of water, which is normal for the sandpits that I fish. I'm guessing that subtle colors, like clear and natural preyfish are perferred. Any thoughts ? Pit Bass

Ditto what Big Splash says. My 3" swimbait has a 1/4" sprue hole with a 9/16 " reserve funnel. Remember to hit the center of the pour hole when pouring ! Pit Bass

I've been pouring soft-plastics for about two years now. Seems like some baits work better when the plastic formula is hard as oposed to soft. My best example is a sluggo. My best sluggo's are fairly hard and have more of a " glide " action than a " wiggle". But sticko's are a different deal. Since most folks dead-stick these baits, the wiggle is the deal. But, the high salt ratio seems to make the baits stiff, killing the wiggle. I don't know how or If I discovered this, but if I pinch, roll, or otherwise " tenderize " my sticko's, the wiggle-action is awesome ! Just grab a stick'o and pinch it a few times to realize how much softer it gets. So, I guess I'm wondering if all you guys try to "tenderize" your stick-baits or not. Maybe I'm crazy, but it don't feel like it ! Pit-Bass

I have had bad luck with the small aluminum cups from Lurecraft. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but the plastic handles melted when I used the cups on a small camp stove. I re-made the handles from a small wooden dowel(SP?). Now they seem to work well.

Northbassman, I use 4 oz aluminum pans from lurecraft. I actually started out using cut-down aluminum pop cans and a pair of bent pliers to grab the can for pouring. Seemed to work ok, but the lurecraft pans have a handle and are eaiser to use. I also have a larger 1 qt aluminum pan from MF for larger pours, but it's a little harder to pour with. I don't know how a soup can would work, but I tried a stainless steel soup-ladle that didn't work to well. It always scorched the plastic. The only other problem I had was adjusting the stove to heat the plastic evenly and not scorch it. I use a small grill rack spaced-up above the burner and a piece of plate-metal between the burner and grill to disipate the heat. I had to play around with the flame setting and grill height to get the best results, but it's really not too hard. Good luck, pouring is a blast !

Northbassman, it gets plenty cold here in Nebraska too! I pour in my garage, using a kerosene heater to stay warm, and a 2 burner propane campstove to heat the plastic in aluminum cups. I do store my molds and plastics in the house until I'm ready to pour. I don't know what freezing temps would do molds or plastic. Hope this helps, Good Luck !

What about silicone spray-lube ? Has anyone tried to spray it on a silicone mold before pouring ? IT's gotta be worth a try !

Is there any particular brand of engine paint that you guys perfer ? I only tried it once and the paint never hardened. Did I do anything wrong ? Pit Bass

Tm, I use Devcon 2 ton epoxy to seal my plaster and water-putty molds. It's a clear 2-part epoxy with 30 minutes of working time. You can get it at Walmart. I brush it on my molds with a few thin coats using a cheap bristle brush.

Just for reference, I'm pretty sure that Zeiners sell MF plastic. I've actually been in the store. Pit Bass

Thanks Guys. I'm pouring my Calhoun at 350F and I place my 1 part baits on a peice of vinyl siding to cool. When I do this, the flat side of the bait takes-on the "grain" of the vinyl siding. If I cool the baits in water first, this effect is less noticable, but still there. My biggest problem with this is when I pour full-round, 2 part baits. These seem to even get a flat side if cooled on the vinyl siding.

Hi Guys. What process do you all use to cool your baits after removing them from the mold ? Do you use pans of water or what ? If so, how long in the water? I use Calhoun plastic, leave it in the mold for 3 Min. and then put it in a pan of water. If I leave the bait in water overnight, the color seems to get lighter. If I pull the bait out of the water pan and place it on a flat surface, it seems to flatten out. Am I doing somthing wrong ? Thanks for any help !

Hey Alby, I still use aluminum pans for pouring lures. I started out using cut-down pop cans with a pair of pliers. Worked ok and I could throw it away if the plastic scorched. I also use the Barlows' quart pan with good results on larger molds. I recently bought Lurecrafts 1-cup pans for smaller molds or tails. The plastic handles melted so I made my own from a wood dowel. They work well now. All of these pans work best with about 1/4 capacity. Also, make the pouring spout sharper with pliers. Good Luck !

I have used mod-podge to seal plaster and water-putty molds. I thin it down with water and brush it on. It usually takes 2-3 light coats to seal a mold. I have never had to re-coat a mold with mod-podge, but a lot of guys say that it will peel. My only problem was brush marks. I recently switched to Devcon 30 minute epoxy to seal my molds. It is thicker and can remove some details, but it dries smooth--no brush marks! Good Luck !

Hey alsworms, do you think that a guy could crush regular glass for the floating effect ? Why do you suppose it works ? Thanks for any help.

Hi Guys. A lot of discussions on this forum are devoted to making soft-plastic's sink. What about floating plastic's, such as a carolina rig? Is there a perferred brand of plastic for floating rigs ? What about hardner, softner, or heat-stabilizer ? How do these products effect lure flotation ? Thanks for any ideas! Pit-Bass

Hi Guys. Is there a scale to rate hardness of a soft plastic bait ? I use calhoun plastic with no additives. How would that rate on a hardness scale? Thanks for any help !

I pour in my garage on a propane stove, and I got tired of the fumes -n- smoke, so I built a low-buck ventilation system. I found a bathroom "turd-lifter" fan and wired it to a dimmer-switch to adjust the speed/noise. I cut a vent hole in the wall to remove the smoke-N-fumes, and used a flexible dryer-vent hose to connect it to the fan motor. Seems to work well.

I have purchased Durhams Water Putty from Ace Hardware and Menards for $6-$7 in a 4lb can.

Oops , I forgot to tell you how I use Durhams ! I superglue my soft-master to a piece of flat plastic and place it belly-up in plastic container. Then, I put 8-12 oz Durhams in a plastic cup. I then add 2-4oz water, and stir with a coathanger, kinda like mixing-up plaster. Pour it into the container and let it cure for a day before disassembling. After that, seal the mold and enjoy pouring ! Alan

Fish N Fool, I have used Durhams Water Putty to make both one-part, and two-part molds; using soft-plastic masters. I like it much better than plaster, because it seems tougher. Almost all of my water-putty molds turn out perfect, but my plaster molds are about 50 %. Seems like the brittle plaster breaks when removing a hard or soft master. Water putty doesn't seem to have that problem. I use devcon 2-ton epoxy to seal plaster and water-putty molds. Good Luck !