FrogAddict

My favorite mold company is Angling AI. I have used most of the plastisol brands and for me, a hobby maker, bait plastics is a good blend of value and workability. No it's not as clear as MF and not as cheap as some others but it works for me. If I was selling, I'd probably stick with MF.

Just my opinion but when I turned this hobby into a business it wasn't much fun. So I stopped and now I give them away or use them myself. Now I'll come home from a 10 hour shift and make lures all evening with a smile on my face. In addition to the great advice given here, I recommend doing up a business plan and presenting it to someone that has a wide range of business knowledge/experience. Most cities/towns should have an entrepreneur center or some other resource you can tap into.

This! Buy once cry once. If I added up all the money I've spent buying poor tools only to find out that if I had bought the better tool first, I would have saved money and headaches. I prefer the injectors that thread on and off. I can't remember where I bought them though. There's less chance they come flying off when you apply pressure. They do take a bit longer to "unload" but it's muscle memory now.

I agree with those that have said floating a lure with a hook is difficult. I used a frog I made with an insert I also made and the frog was able to float fully rigged with a hook. That was two years ago. I then got smart and asked a buddy to make me some inserts on his metal lathe. I figured having two inserts would be good since they get very hot during the injection process. The new inserts seemed like the same size as my original one so I went about making a ton of frogs with the new inserts for last summer only to find out none of them floated. We are talking a miniscule difference but the frog slowly sunk. Now I still caught bass with them and there is a time and a place for a slow sinking frog but that wasn't my intention. I like the visual of the bass spanking the froggy on the surface. Needless to say I'm back to using the original insert and I'll probably make a mold of it so I can swap them out while making up a batch of frogs. I also tank test the first frog out of each batch (yes I rig it with the hook I intend to use). It's important for me to tank test it to make sure it floats because I use a lot of remelts, some of which is salted.

I recently bought the Crazy Hog mold from Angling AI. As all the other molds from them that I own, it's awesome. Shoots well etc. Looks just like a smaller Brush Hog.

Try makestickers.com. They were less expensive than sticker mule and I've been impressed.

Just an update. After using a ladle and drop out, I'm getting good pours. I do have my pot at 9 and I'm using pretty clean soft lead.

This subject makes my head hurt. I've been in business for a short time and I've been paying FET on my retail cost since I don't sell wholesale currently. I was given two phone numbers by my local IRS office to ask for some clarification and both the numbers were disconnected.

I just got this mold as well and I tried using the bottom pour. I had a small spot that just didn't fill and as someone else stated, I'm sure its because the lead was hitting the side of the opening first. I just ordered up a ladle and will try again. I do use drop out on all my molds now btw. Great product!

Interesting read LimpNoodle. sawdust seems like the best solution but wax will probably suffice for my needs.

The guy that I received the original advice from said that when you set it on fire it works much better. but you have to stir when its on fire to bring the impurities to the surface. He's a metals guy who explained it much better than I can. It basically carbonizes that impurities I believe. I'll try to find the original thread and post it here. Here it is, sagacious is the one who gave me the great advice! http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/13369-best-lead-melt-flux/

yeah, the picture is a 3.5 inch swim bait I make but the idea is the same. I'm still working on a 1 inch version for crappie. It's hard to get the right action with such a small lure. I'm on version 3 now. Still looking for perfection or at least close. I fished a 1 inch boot tail/swim bait last year for crappie and it worked great! I just ripped it and let if fall. The crappie mostly hit on the fall.

Thanks for the replies fellas! APdriver, I use paraffin wax now. I started with some old birthday candles but they didn't work that well. They would burn for a moment but then go out. Oh, here's a tip I forgot to mention in my original post. If you keep your fan on at low speed when you light your smoke, it'll keep the flames going for a longer period of time which helps carbonize the gunk (technical term). One more thing, I bought my lead from Rotometals but I went through Amazon. The price was about the same shipped and I needed it quick so it all worked out.

I just started pouring lead and I was a bit concerned with the impurities in the lead I was using. I jumped on good old TU and found some great advice on using wax and lighting the smoke on fire to clean the lead. Now I can't remember who posted it but it sure worked wonderfully! Thank you whoever you are! This site has been so helpful in getting my small tackle business off the ground (Crow Wing Lures). It seems every time I run into an issue, the answer is only a TU search away. I'm not making much money yet but I'm sure enjoying myself! Thank you to all the TU contributors that are generous with their knowledge and wisdom!

I had the same issue, I just drilled it out as someone else mentioned.

Grady, A boot tail is the flat tail (see attached picture). I have the 1.5 inch stinger btw.

Just an FYI, I have the same mold and recently modified it to take the 32796 hook. It wasn't too difficult or I just got lucky. I just used my dremel and went through a couple burr type bits. My advice is to take it slow and steady. Check for fit often. You don't want to take too much material around the hook eye or you'll end up with lead seeping into the hook eye and that will just piss you off.

I use the other end of the disposable paint brushes I buy from Wally World. Since they taper to a point, I just cut them off about where I want them. I then sand them a bit to make sure the end is flat and dip them into craft paint. On my roundhead jigs, I hit them with a bit of solarez once they dry. It's a bit of a hassle so I may look into those Component Systems Quick Coat Lure Markers that SmallJaw mentioned.

I also own a Griffin Odyssey Spider vice and highly recommend it. I love that it holds the smallest of trout flies all the way up to 5/0 jig hooks. just clamp it down and tie until your wife wonders what happened to you!

I personally like the Stinger from BassTackle as well. I have been working on a 1 inch boot tail for Crappie as well. Those little baits are a real son of a you-know-what to work with though.

In my experience every mold has it's own personality. I have considered putting the "directions" for shooting a particular mold on the mold itself (laminating first) but I haven't done it yet. I have molds that are very forgiving and others that require me to hold the pressure for 20 seconds etc. Some molds are just fickle. I had to cut vents in my Croaker molds from Do-It to get complete feet. I have a craw mold that will get dents in the claws unless I shoot it fast and hold pressure for dang near 30 seconds. As discussed previously, plastic temp. is also an important factor. Some of my molds shoot better cooler and others are almost impossible to shoot cool (310-320 degrees is what I consider cool). Oh, and if you change any variables along the way like plastic type, increasing the amount of glitter etc., the whole learning curve starts again! Not trying to scare you off. Just enjoy the ride!

Great videos Joel, thanks for sharing!

I once saw someone cut open a bungie cord and use the white strands inside as a skirt, does that count?

One more vote for Devcon 2 ton here. I used to use Loctite Superglue but didn't like handling it. I also prefer D2T for securing eyes on my swim jigs. One other downside to using superglue, if I put them in the bags I use for display too soon, the superglue reacts with the bag and kind of melts the bag a little.