wallyc14 Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Baitjunkys plastic is good stuff even to learn on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 7 hours ago, porkmeatballs said: Mark, would Baitjunkys still be a good choice if I decided to sell my baits later on? Since I am just a hobby pourer, I really can't answer that question from personal experience. If you decide to make a business of bait making, I think you'll wind up shopping around for both product and price. Personally, if I found a material that I liked, I'd check the market to see what comparable materials in quantity are selling for, and then contact the supplier of the material I like and haggle price with them. There are also a lot of pourers on this site who pour in volume for sale, and I bet they could give you better advice than I. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Sounds good Mark! I actually just pulled the trigger on some alumisol... We'll see if it's any good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Well I just got the alumisol, heat stabilizer, softener, and alumidust in the mail! Starting to make my silicone mold... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Well, I've already run into a road block here! I tried pouring my first bait (a small worm) just to experiment, and it came out extremely soft and kind of sticky. It kind of felt like those sticky hands that I used to play with as a kid... What should I do? I was thinking that I didn't microwave it enough. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 23 minutes ago, porkmeatballs said: Well, I've already run into a road block here! I tried pouring my first bait (a small worm) just to experiment, and it came out extremely soft and kind of sticky. It kind of felt like those sticky hands that I used to play with as a kid... What should I do? I was thinking that I didn't microwave it enough. Any ideas? How well did you mix the plastic before you poured? Some brands separate really bad. Look at your jug and see if there is hardener on the bottom of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc14 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Did you mix the plastic up in the jug?with all plastic it settles a little bit and usually have to scrape the bottom of the jug that you got your plastic in to get all the solids back up in it if you don't you'll end up with tacky plastic and really really soft baits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Whoops! I didn't know that I had to mix the plastisol before using it. The alumisol is very opaque, so I don't know how badly it separated... How much should I mix it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Never mind, I mixed it up a bit, poured a worm, and it turned out pretty good! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc14 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 you can use a long dowel rod smaller than the diameter of your container to loosen up the hard packed stuff in the bottom and then just slowly stir it in. Try to avoid shaking the container all that does is invite air into your plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 So I poured my first swimbait, but it doesn't swim well at slow retrieves. I think it's too stiff. I'll probably put some softener in the next swimbait. Any ideas on how much I should put? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc14 Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 How many oz of plastic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 I actually measured in mililiters (about 50ml). I think that's around 1.6 fl oz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 I guess I'll just experiment with the softener... Any ideas on how to keep the swimbait upright in the water? I put weight in the belly, but the lure sits on its side when it rests on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Softener........ Kind of hard to judge with that small amount of plastic. I usually had a couple softened gallons set aside and used it as needed. Not more than a couple ounces of softener is needed in a full gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 3 hours ago, porkmeatballs said: I guess I'll just experiment with the softener... Any ideas on how to keep the swimbait upright in the water? I put weight in the belly, but the lure sits on its side when it rests on the bottom. I'd suggest you prep a cup of plastic at a time, so you can add stuff in easily measured amounts. Adding a little heat stabilizer will let you reheat quite a few times. Just a dribble, or it can yellow your plastic. And keep records of what you do, so you can repeat it later. I usually add 1/2 tsp/cup of softener, at the most, when I'm making senkos, but I use Baitjunkys' soft plastic to begin with and add both blast medium and salt. For swimbaits, I use Baitjunkys' medium with no softener. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Well guys, I figured out that the part leading up to the tail was way to thick, which hindered the swimming action... I tried plastisol with softener, but it just wouldn't swim. After I chopped some plastic away from that section, it swam pretty well. I guess i'll have to make a new mold with a skinnier tail. While I'm working on that, can anyone tell me why there were huge indentations in my swimbait? It seemed like the plastisol pulled in on itself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Plastic shrinks as it cools. The higher the temp when poured the more it will do that. Do you have a temp guage? This way you will know the temp that works best for you. 320 is about as high as I go air it will do that in injection molds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I don't have a gauge... How would I go about avoiding this problem? I dont inject the plastic, I just pour it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Get a temp gauge, it that simple. If you don't know what the temp is you are just guessing. And guessing will get you no where. The plastic you bought is different than most others in a way that it is thicker when at a temp that won't cause this problem. My comments are from using plastic made for the soft bait industry. I deal with a manufacturer of plastic so if I want it to be thinner at a lower temp I can have this. Repackagers of plastic can't offer you this. Get an infrared temp gun and take the temp as you stir. This will help out more than you know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 So basically what I would have to do is keep the plastic hot enough to fully fill the mold before it cools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttexas Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Keep the poured plastic in the mold a long time before you open the mold While the hot plastic is in the clamped/rubber banded mold, it cools slowly As soon as you open the mold, it will rapidly cool. Rapid cool=more plastic shrinkage/pull back. On a large bait, like a swimbait, you want to fully fill the cavity (a good indicator is when molten plastic drips out the vent hole(s) if you made some). Then keep that mold closed for ten minutes so the plastic cools slowly. No peeking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 18 hours ago, uttexas said: Keep the poured plastic in the mold a long time before you open the mold While the hot plastic is in the clamped/rubber banded mold, it cools slowly As soon as you open the mold, it will rapidly cool. Rapid cool=more plastic shrinkage/pull back. On a large bait, like a swimbait, you want to fully fill the cavity (a good indicator is when molten plastic drips out the vent hole(s) if you made some). Then keep that mold closed for ten minutes so the plastic cools slowly. No peeking! I wonder if making some kind of a cap to put over my open pour swimbait molds so they cool more slowly will cut down on the shrinkage? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 You guys are so smart... I would have no idea what to do without all this feedback. So I should pour it the same way and just let it sit for a while? Another factor that might be messing me up is that I do all this in the garage. It gets kinda cold in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkmeatballs Posted February 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Does anyone have any pictures of harnesses that are inside of hudd-style baits? I'll probably make something similar for my swimbait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
