Spike

Try this company, they have ac and dc motors with gear reducers. http://www.surpluscenter.com/

I'm sitting here at the computer desk staring at a bottle of white out (Liquid Paper). Has anyone ever tried this for sealing Durhams or plaster molds? I think if it can be thinned down a little it may allow the detail to be picked up rather well. Not sure if it will stand up to the heat however.

You could also take two jigs of known weight, one slightly heavier than what you are looking for and one slightly lighter, or one exactly the same weight. Place each jig in a small cup of water by itself and mark the level the water rises to. You can then place your jig in and compare how much water it displaces compared to the jigs of known weight.

Fireball, With the benchtop mill are you also controlling the Z-axis. If so how much travel are you getting? I just got a micro-mark mill and am playing with the idea of converting it. I haven't even had a chance to take it out of the crate, just moved to a new house, so I don't have a good idea of how much travel the Z-axis fine adjustment will allow. Also, did you need a lathe to perform the conversion? I have a machining and CAD background so programming and using the mill is familiar to me, it is the controller that will give me problems. Who do you think has the best info on what you need for a controller and how to hook it up? Thanks. Spike

Cheesehead, I was down there on a family vacation in early june a few years ago. If you want to do something different there are a bunch of old building foudations located in the middle of the lake a couple of miles south of the dam. I don't have my maps in front of me, but if I remeber correctly it would be an easy drive with your boat. When the bass fishing was slow or we had to take my mom and brother out, we went out to the area of the old town and trolled bottom bouncers and spinner rigs with night crawlers, just like we were walleye fishing. We caught all kinds of fish: Kentucky bass, largemouth, catfish, drum, and panfish. Granted, this isn't exactly bass fishing but the action was very steady. Let the bass go and keep a couple of small cats to eat, mmm mmm. Also, you may want to use some Berkley power crawlers in place of real night crawlers. Since this trip we have found that they work just as well for walleyes when trolling spinner rigs and they last a lot longer than a real night crawer and don't stink (as much) when you forget them in the storage compartment. Good Luck. Spike Spike

Have any of you guys ever tried making a jig head mold out of Durhams or plaster? I was just wondering if it could take the heat of molten lead and if it holds too much moisture, not a good mix with molten metal. Thanks. Spike

I got the glitter from Del. It is the fine size. I think I might have overheated the plastic a little. I had 20 drops of electric blue in about 4 oz of plastic. Just before I poured the burner got red hot, not sure why, I already had the burner going long enough to get the plastic close to being hot enough to pour. I caught it right away and pulled the plastic off but it must have been to late. Up to that point the plastic was still too thick to pour. I did add the glitter just before I poured the baits. I think that is when the color changed the most. It was hard to tell because I put a lot of glitter in, about half of a plastic spoon in 4 oz of plastic. Oh well I'll just have to try again. Although the color I ended up with looks great, it just wasn't what I was trying for. Thanks for the tips. Spike

I poured some baits the other night that were supposed to be electric blue with gold glitter, but ended up being a light green with gold glitter. Is it common for glitter to discolor your plastic? Thanks. Spike

How long can you leave roughly 4 oz of plastic heated in a pan before it will burn or discolor. I have Calhouns and feel rushed every time I get it to pouring temp. I am not using any heat stabilizer and am melting on a single electric plate from Walmart. I don't begin to melt until after the initial heat up of the plate. It seems like plastic will burn onto the bottom of the pan if I don't stir it continually. I have the heat set just under medium. I'm just trying to get an idea of how much time I have to pour without wasting plastic by trial and error. Thanks.

Has anyone ever tried the Chompers scent. It looks oily, will it work in hot plastic? Thanks. Spike

What do you guys use for larger mold boxes. Say for something like a 12" worm or a muskie bait. I don't want to use a large pan to get the length needed and waste all of the extra Durham's. Thanks. Spike

Has anyone ever tried to make a two piece tube mold out of plaster, Durhams, etc...? I've got an idea for a mold I am going to try this weekend. I'll let everyone know how it goes. Spike

My first two piece mold is finally hard enough to begin grinding on. It is a mold of a 3" Yum Dinger. I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the diameter I should cut the sprue for filling the mold. Also, should I cut vents to allow the mold to fill easier? Thanks for any help. Spike

Does anyone have a color mix that is similar to this amber color? Thanks.

I want to get into pouring and dipping my own baits. To begin I plan mostly on making tubes. I was just wondering what brand or mixture of plastic will work the best for all around use, dipping and pouring? Also, for Christmas I will be getting a small bench top milling machine. I have some ideas for making two sided aluminum molds. Do any certin brands or mixtures of plastic work better for this type of use? One more thing, who has the best prices for ordering plastic? Thanks for any info. Spike