agarrett

A lot of is going to depend on the plastic resin that you are going to be using. The Amazing Casting Resin that is sold at Hobby Lobby creates and traps tiny bubbles in it when it hardens causing it to float. I'm not sure how it would do with hook hangers, ballasts, or hooks on it though. Also, Alumilite makes a product called featherlite which is made to float. For high density resin, microballoons are probably a necessity. A lot guys on here use 2 part high density foam. Different density will determine the weight, hardness, and boyancy.

I have used: Smooth-On Mold Star 15- turquoise color, fairly soft, high tear strength very durable Alumilite Quick Set RTV silicone- Off white/ beige color, fairly hard, low tear strength. Alumilite High Strength 3- Pink color, medium softness, good tear strength, very durable. All three have their ups and downs but I would recommend either the Alumilite HS 3 or the Smooth-On Mold Star 30 (it's the next one up from the 15 and has a higher hardness rating). For open pours, I prefer the Alumilite Quick Set because it's harder doesn't flex when trying to move them after filling. I mostly make hard plastic or POP molds for open pours now though. I will make the master out of silicone and then pour resin or POP on top of it for the mold. All of them have been very easy to work with and are a 50/50 mix ratio. I just eyeball it. I have some pics at home that I can share later of some of the molds I've made.

Not trying to be a turd or start debate but you are mixing up two different things- Parody/Fair Use and Common Use/Generic Trademark Parody and Fair Use are ways of using a copyrighted or trademarked works of someone else. Parodies although similar to the original work, must also be different and original enough so that the intended audience understands the reference but it is also not a copy of it. Fair Use is using a piece of work in reference to that work ie. news article etc. (Your example of Stinko/Senko could apply to this although it's not really a parody but simply another persons name for a stick bait). Common Use/Generic Trademark- Overtime, items such as Aspirin or Escalator have become a generically used terme. Aspirin is trademarked named for Acetomenophin by Bayer but has become so popular that it now is a generic name and is not protected. As products grow in popularity and the product name is used a general term for an entire category it becomes genericized and loses it distinctiveness which causes it to lose it's protection. (This is how it is legal to use the name of someone else's product name legally when marketing. To the best of my knowledge this is the only legal way to use another companies C/TM.) If someone says "I was using a senko" you don't necessarily assume it was a GY Senko even though that is the only true Senko. You just assume that it was some kind of stick bait. This is a perfect example of how it works. Senko is becoming a generic term for stickbait. GY still has protection on it because it has become an officially recognized term but he is definitely slowly letting it become a generic TM. This is probably why he sends out letters to unlicensed users of the term. Mickey probably won with the parody usage. Coke/Pepsi was probably generic usage since coke is becoming a generic term for cola. Not really sure though, I haven't been able to find any legal cases that specifically reference either of these or the rulings.

I just picked up another SS syringe from Bed Bath and Beyond last night. It's a 2oz meat injector and it was $19.99. Lowes has them for $12.99 if you can find them. Most of the stores around me are selling out because of Thanksgiving. I am going to lowes tonight to get a threaded nipple and a tip that will fit my molds. The inside diameter of the needle is about 3/16 of an inch. I'm not sure how quickly the plastic will harden inside of it but it's worth a shot. Worse case you have a 2oz injector $20.

As a business/marketing major, I think the best that GY could do legally without a patent is to go after people that use the name senko when selling stick bait molds thats only if he had some kind of copyright or trademark infringement. From a business standpoint it was a genius move on his part and Do-It's part. GY has so many manufacturers making their own stickbaits that it doesn't even matter if there is a mold that replicates his. His secret is in the formula so it would be incredibly hard for anyone to truly make the exact same bait as GY. It was also a genius move from Do-It because the GY Senko has such strong brand loyalty that people will think that they will be able to either make them on their own for cheaper or be able to sell them as being made from the same mold. GY has nothing to lose on this deal and Do-It is playing on people's ignorance...Formula, formula, formula!

Hey Travis, what kind of plastic are you using to pour your crankbaits?

Why don't you just leave them on the rod that you use with your injector and then dip them on that?

They make stainless syringes that are used to inject seasoning into meat. They work good for using as an injector for custom molds (without the needle). They can be hard to inject so I remove the O-ring on the plunger and it works fine that way. The needle on them are fairly big around and may work for what you are trying to do. The hard part is cleaning out the needle when you're done. I got some from Bed Bath and Beyond but you can find them online or a lot of places that sell kitchen supplies. http://www.target.com/p/bayou-classic-stainless-seasoning-injector-2-oz/-/A-14525620?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C14525620&CPNG=Kitchen&kpid=14525620&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=14525620&gclid=CMeTvMCB_LoCFbQWMgodsBgA7Q

Hey, when prototyping, it does get pricey using alumilite or even the tube method. I use a product called composimold. You can google it and I have mentioned it before on here. It isn't the most durable but here is the benefit to it. It acts almost exactly like silicone, good flex but not too much, and good durability for medium size runs. The best part is that it is reusable. All you do is heat it up in the microwave until it turns to liquid and then pour it in your mold. It hardens as it cools. And doesn't take that long. Once you get the lure the way you want it you can make a master out of something else more expensive and durable.

Very well written TroutSupport. I am a marketing/entrepreneurship major and can only speak to the marketing and legal aspect/protection. It is truly incredibly difficult to protect your ideas in the fishing industry. If it was that easy, there would only be one company making soft plastics and one company making crankbaits. Within days of the A-rigs big debut win, other manufacturers were making their own versions. It was patent pending but they only needed to change a little bit in order for it to be different enough to not infringe. We also don't know Mann's has a design or utility patent application for it either. It's unlikely to be a utility because other versions have been used and it would require a much more dramatic changes to the concept. The only way to bring a new lure design to the market and be successful with it is to either have something that is truly revolutionary like Livingston Lures and get the utility patent (and spend lots of money trying to protect it through legal channels) or to launch that product with enough force that you are able to capture a lot of market share before others are able to duplicate it (kind of like Mann's and the A-rig). The best way to do this is probably going to be licensing your product/design to a larger manufacturer and letting them take it to market for you. They already have the structure in place for a mass launch of a new product. There are legal forms that they can sign to "protect" your idea when pitching it to them. The downside is that the commission on this is typically fairly low. The biggest issue with having a lure company is not being able to create products. Anyone can come up with a design that catches fish and then pay a larger manufacturer to make them for them. The biggest problem is marketing and distribution. Not many companies are able to or know how to do this on a large scale and most companies die locally or at a certain volume of sales because they are unable to create a enough demand (marketing) or handle the shipping and logistics from their own home (distribution). Think about all of the big name soft plastic companies. Then think about the mid sized companies. What are they doing different that got them the name recongnition they have and what sets them apart from the local guy that is starting his own company? The large companies like Strike King, Yum, and Zoom have market share and name brand recognition they can just keep doing what they have always done. The mid level companies like Poor Boys, Reaction Innovations, and others are emulating what other successful companies are doing (or have done) and are being successful at it. It's not enough to just have something interesting that catches fish, you have to be able to sell it on a large scale to people that may already have brand loyalty with other companies. I'm not trying to deter you from starting a company or launching a product but I did want to share this so that you make sure your timing and method of launching is done correctly. Make sure you have everything in place first so that you can reach your goal. Whether that means launching on your own or with another company. You must make sure that either your product as is will create enough demand or that your marketing will. Then you have to make sure you can handle that demand through manufacturing and distribution. If your idea is the next million dollar idea and you are missing any of these, then it just became someone else's million dollar idea. Hope this helps.

Squish molding is typically used for making thin hard plastic peices. Here is a very good instrucational/overview of the process. http://www.alumilite.com/howtos/SquishMold.cfm The one thing that I would do differently is I would use legos to build the box around the object. It's perfectly uniform and easy to rebuild/resuse.

BTW HickoryHollow, I only live about an hour from you just east of Akron. I'm not a pro at this but I have definitely spent my share learning.

I make silicone molds all the time. There are a million different silicones out there. If you want something that is going to hold up, you really should get something that has a good density and high tear strength. The alumilite one that is sold at my local Hobby Lobby is not that great. It has a good density but it also "cracks" and tears when stretched a bit. This will work great and I have been using the same mold for two years but I'm not sure how long it will hold up. The good thing about making silicone molds is that once you make one, you can make a hundred of the same one. When I make a mold out of silicone and I get it the way that I want it, I will make a master out of casting resin so that I can make more silicone molds. Here's a tip that I dont tell too many people (at least until now). I take a peice of plexiglass and put whatever object I am trying to mold on it. I then build a box out of legos (no bottom on it) and set it around the object to mold. make sure you leave enough space around the object 1/2" to 1" should be plenty. Then I use a hot glue gun and run a bead all the way around the base of the lego box. you can also use duct tape or silicone but the corners are hard to seal with duct tape and the silicone will take a little while to dry. Once the box is secured, I pour my silicone into the box to the desired thickness. I usually pour in one corner and let the silicone spread itself over the object. (not sure why but I read it somewhere so that's what I do) Then I tap the box gently to get any air bubbles to rise to the top. Let the silicone fully set up and then you can remove from your legos. Here's the complicated part. If you are making a two part mold, you will need to add something inside the box so that when you mold the second half, the two sides will always line up correctly. For this I like using small acorn nuts. All you do is add a small dab of hot glue to the bottom of the nut and glue several of them to the plexi glass. You will also need to create a spout for pouring (not needed for one part molds). Modeling clay in the shape of a half-cone is an easy solution. **make sure it doesn't contain sulfer because the silicone will not cure around it** Once it is cured, remove the mold from the box and take out the nuts and clay. This is why I like legos- Flip the silicone over and build the same size box around it and add the clay pour spout so that it is a full cone . Now you can pour the second half of the mold the same as the first. I use cooking spray to lubricate the first half so that the second half doesn't stick to it. Just use a very thin layer and wipe off excess. To make duplicates of your mold/mold halves, simply make a box around each half and pour casting resin over it so that it fills the cavity and the box. I usually try to go about 1/2 inch above the silicone mold. **I would use a good mold release to help the resin to not stick to the legos, again cooking spray works find** Once that hardens completely, break apart the box to remove it. Now you have your master and can make all the molds you want by putting a box around it and pouring in your silicone. this is way more than you asked for but once you have the master made, you can make as many as you want and the life of the mold won't matter as much. They do last for a long time though. There are also some threads on here about using GE brand silicone in the tubes and adding a tiny amount of water to it to help it cure correctly. Supposedly it has the same result as the alumilite types. I have not tested it yet but it could be a cheap alternative. For practicing with making molds or making molds for small runs, there is another type that you heat up in the microwave and then it hardens when cooled. It's called composimold and is relatively cheap. you can google it. This is primarily what I use to make my masters because you can reuse it just by putting it back in the microwave so it saves tons of money. Final note, the amazing molding putty/rubber is only good for certain applications. It is a putty so you have to work it around the object you are molding and unless that object is very rigid, you will lose a lot of detail. I do have several tubes of it at home, Hobby Lobby sells it and it comes in a box with two tubes- one yellow and one white and you just mix them together to an even color and then press it around the object. You do lose details with it though and it can take quite a bit to finally get a good mold.

Thinman, that's the million dollar question. That's also part of the reason why people are just building them.

The lead version that I was referencing is only used to make a mold for the plastic/resin version. I make much smaller lead version for jigging for stripers. I used the lead ones to make a silicone mold to make plastic ones that can be used as a top water/wake type bait. DO-It makes a 9oz flutter spoon which is very large and similar design. You could use the same (or similar) wire insert to make your replica. Like I said though, I would just make a silicone mold of an original and then cast it from that and then bend your own SS wire for the insert. That way you have the same size and design and you would also have the ability to add weights or rattles internally if you wanted.