Worms Per Plastic Ratio

[Cormorant Lures]

Here's a question straight from a newbie... How many 4" or 5" senko type baits can you make out of a gallon of Plastisol?

Oh and by the way, I have an ad in the "wanted section"... I have absolutely NO supplies what-so-ever... I am totally new to this excellent hobby... I love to fish, and even love more the thought of catching fish with baits I made myself.... I have jumped from site to site, checking out what each supplier brings to the table... It seems as though you need quite a bit of money to get started!!! A few hundred bucks doesn't seem to get you much... Am I wrong for thinking this way?!? Where I live, I believe I am in an "untouched market"... I don't think there are to many people around me pouring there own baits... There could be money to be made right here in my own backyard... I think I could market my baits quite well... Is the investment worth the risk?!? Let me know what you think... THANKS!!!

[Bass-Boys]

welcome,

just where in upper mich. are you.?

I am in the dead center of lower michigan.I mite be able to help you out,

shoot me an email.

Jeff -- bassboysbaits@cmsinter.net

[gone2long]

There could be money to be made right here in my own backyard

It could be but I would recommend going forward as a hobby and not ruining your first experience. I started 2 years ago and I will tell you that to start count on 5 gallons or at least 1 gallon so that you have plastic while 5 gallons is on its way I bought a combo stick mold from del and a dozen open pour RTV molds from lurecraft and that kept me into it, I now have jumped to injection and love it just keep it simple at first and if you get things going then by all means go for it.

[biggun]

Its not hard to figure the lures out of a gallon after you have poured a batch because different molds have different sprus some larger and deeper some shallower. If im right here I can normally get 7 five and a quster inch sticks out of 4oz plastic. There is 128oz in a gallon =224 stix per gallon. Think thats right little early for math LOL.

Get you a starter kit from bear or del and give it a try first and make sure it is really somthing you want to do.

But becarful it is very very addictive I started several years ago with a small starter set from jannscraft, now I have over 3k just in aluminum molds.

Keep it simple and have fun!!!!! Welcome to the addiction!

If you stumble or have a question just ask. The guys on here have helped me and giving me more knowldge then I could ever repay.

[powerworm]

as for the 4" sticks i have never weighed them but for the 5" bears sticks injection molds out of 1 CUP of plastic we get 33-34 baits that is reusing the sprues as always. 16 cups in a gallon gets you right around 500 per gallon. that is using lureworks pourasol medium 1gallon of plastic 2 cups softener and 5.25-5,50 cups of salt

Edited June 5, 2011 by powerworm

[Cormorant Lures]

Well here's the deal... Like some (most?) of you, I am married... Starting a new hobby that includes a "somewhat" hefty startup cost is always hard to get prior approval from the wife... Even for myself, it's hard to think that if I spend the money and pour a crap ton of baits that I myself am ever going to use them all... It would be nice to have information going forward to prove to my little lady love that there is some sort of "return of investment" besides all the baits that could sit around in my house and POSSIBLY not get used... Since the material to make these are not as cheap as I originally thought, it would be nice to think that people in my area would eventually like to buy them from me... I believe that this is not a far fetched scenario... I have buddies at work, and a step-dad that I know for sure would use them... I just hope that somewhere down that line "word of mouth" would spread like wildfire... For me, a hobby should not be something the necessarily drains all the money from your account and leaves you with a product that could see a whole bunch of shelf life... As for me, I don't believe that this will be the case... I should also say in my defense, I don't have plans on pouring hundreds of baits right from the get go, but I would pour some baits and give them to people to use just to get the "juices flowing"... The more replies and opinions I get, the better!!! Thanks again in advance!!! *TubeJig*

Edited June 5, 2011 by TubeJig

[Vodkaman]

The whole start up of a business thing has been discussed many times, so it is worth doing some selective TU searches. Try searching BUSINESS or SALES or tax related search words, as all such threads usually end up talking about tax liabilities. You should be able to filter out relevant threads from the thread titles.

If you go for a production setup straight out of the starting gate, yes, it is going to cost BIG bucks. You cannot pour efficiently with one mold, you may need four or more of each pattern that you intend to market. Frank has some great video’s of a production setup in action, well worth a viewing. As a business, you will not get away with just a single worm product, you will need a range of products to satisfy and generate a return customer base. So you are definitely into four figure $ numbers.

You have not poured before, so it would make sense to start off small and economically. There is a lot to learn, different color mixes, laminates, glitters, salt, temperatures, different plastics, injection etc. Once you ‘learn the trade’ and demand for your product starts to mass, you can easily ramp up with the purchase of aluminium molds as required, but from the start, you really need to watch the purse strings, until you can justify the expense.

The best way to minimize the costs, is to make your own molds. Start off with plaster of Paris (PoP). This is as cheap as it gets and you will learn the molding process and make the mistakes at little cost. You can then progress to RTV rubber molds, the technique is virtually the same, only RTV does not need to be sealed. RTV is more expensive, but still a lot cheaper than ally molds. With PoP and RTV, the baits are still good and marketable, it is all down to how good your masters are.

Going this route, your initial outlay is virtually all consumables. Additional costs are: a second hand microwave, a few Pyrex jugs (or alternatives) etc. Even if you only produce for yourself, at this level of production, you should be close to even, possibly even ahead financially. If you limit yourself to only use sales money to purchase future equipment, then you win and your partner will have nothing to complain about, your hobby will be self sufficient.

Even at this level, you are liable for tax. Ignore this aspect at your peril. Enter the market place, selling baits, competing with others who are trying to earn a living, they will report you. This is a ‘dog eat dog’ world that we live in, sad but true.

Once sales come in, the next stage is presto pots, stirrers, heating griddles, injectors and aluminium molds. If you really want to get ahead of the competition, you need an original fish catching bait, otherwise, you are just turning the same stuff out as everyone else, except the competition has more experience than you. Originality is the key to success and marketing skills of course.

Pay the tax, you will sleep better, you do not need the stress.

Dave

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

How many? There are some other factors like how much you remelt. etc. Also, it always seems to me I get better usage of material when I am doing more plastic at one time. A single cup can only shoot a couple molds, but 4 cups seems to shoot a dozen (less for my bigger molds of course).

[Cormorant Lures]

The whole start up of a business thing has been discussed many times, so it is worth doing some selective TU searches. Try searching BUSINESS or SALES or tax related search words, as all such threads usually end up talking about tax liabilities. You should be able to filter out relevant threads from the thread titles.

If you go for a production setup straight out of the starting gate, yes, it is going to cost BIG bucks. You cannot pour efficiently with one mold, you may need four or more of each pattern that you intend to market. Frank has some great video’s of a production setup in action, well worth a viewing. As a business, you will not get away with just a single worm product, you will need a range of products to satisfy and generate a return customer base. So you are definitely into four figure $ numbers.

You have not poured before, so it would make sense to start off small and economically. There is a lot to learn, different color mixes, laminates, glitters, salt, temperatures, different plastics, injection etc. Once you ‘learn the trade’ and demand for your product starts to mass, you can easily ramp up with the purchase of aluminium molds as required, but from the start, you really need to watch the purse strings, until you can justify the expense.

The best way to minimize the costs, is to make your own molds. Start off with plaster of Paris (PoP). This is as cheap as it gets and you will learn the molding process and make the mistakes at little cost. You can then progress to RTV rubber molds, the technique is virtually the same, only RTV does not need to be sealed. RTV is more expensive, but still a lot cheaper than ally molds. With PoP and RTV, the baits are still good and marketable, it is all down to how good your masters are.

Going this route, your initial outlay is virtually all consumables. Additional costs are: a second hand microwave, a few Pyrex jugs (or alternatives) etc. Even if you only produce for yourself, at this level of production, you should be close to even, possibly even ahead financially. If you limit yourself to only use sales money to purchase future equipment, then you win and your partner will have nothing to complain about, your hobby will be self sufficient.

Even at this level, you are liable for tax. Ignore this aspect at your peril. Enter the market place, selling baits, competing with others who are trying to earn a living, they will report you. This is a ‘dog eat dog’ world that we live in, sad but true.

Once sales come in, the next stage is presto pots, stirrers, heating griddles, injectors and aluminium molds. If you really want to get ahead of the competition, you need an original fish catching bait, otherwise, you are just turning the same stuff out as everyone else, except the competition has more experience than you. Originality is the key to success and marketing skills of course.

Pay the tax, you will sleep better, you do not need the stress.

Dave

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the information... Trust me when I say, I have read your reply, taken it all in, and I deeply appreciate it!!! As far as the whole tax mess is concerned, I have been involved with my in-laws business for almost 10 years... I would have no problems having the tax situation covered... But you're 100% correct when you BASICALLY said, I need to slow down, take a deep breath, and get this ball rolling in a simple but right direction... Thanks again!!! *TubeJig*

[wnybassman]

I have been getting 18 sticks (5 1/4") from a 4 ounce cup of raw plastic with salt and softener added to the "Yamamoto Ratio" posted on this site. I definitely use my sprues, then at the end of the pourable amount in the cup, I save it for the next batch, So, for me, I could essentially get well over 550 sticks out of a gallon.

[biggun]

And dont count on family and friends actually there the worste people you can even let in your shop. They will tell you...

"Hey cuz let me get some of those crazy baits you make to test and il spread the word"

This is code for " give me free baits cause im to tight to buy my own"

jmo