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mangeboy79

some molding questions

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Hi guys lurebuilding is my religon and i feal a bit lost so i turn to you for some guidens:)

1 what material do you guys use to make the prototype?

2 is the density of featherlight like balsa or hevier?

3 is featherlight strong enought to glue a screw eye in?

4 how do you build 2-piece mold for jointed lures?

5 is featherlight sensitive to aceton?

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Hey Mangboy,

1 what material do you guys use to make the prototype?

Balsa model with line ties attached and in alignment. Make sure you've got weights in the model to keep the lure from floating up thru the silicone. Seal the model with epoxy or acrylic paint.

2 is the density of featherlight like balsa or hevier?

Both, lol. You can controll the boyancy of featherlite two ways. One way is to continually scrap the sprue holes clear allowing more plastic to be expelled out of the mold and more air to expand. More air and less plastic will give you more of the balsa action.

image021.jpg

If you leave the sprues to make mushrooms that solidify you will have a more dense lure with good cedar-like action. Work your balast weights on the fly stylized for the desity you're casting. :wink:

But wait there's more...

featherlite comes in two containers. Unmixed in the individual containers the parts seperate. The boyant material floats up from the resin and creates a marshmallow-like pad on top.

featherlite-cans.jpg

The single cans can be mixed and allowed to settle for a few minutes before you decant the amount you want for the lure. The resin settles to the bottom quickly taking more weight from the mix. I have found that lures that have been cast from fully mixed featherlite have too much resin in them. I've had lure blanks "sweat" excess uncured resin in a syrup puddle up to 2 days out of the mold. Cleans up with acetone. This is very undesirable if you intend to topcoat with epoxy within the week. :?

3 is featherlight strong enought to glue a screw eye in?

Maybe. I've not tried it. Wouldn't trust it on big game fish.

4 how do you build 2-piece mold for jointed lures?

With a 2-part hinged jointed mold box.... lol j/k I can't say as I've not done that as of yet.

5 is featherlight sensitive to aceton?

Yes. Preferably wipe your lure blanks with alcohol before basecoating.

Also should mention...

To get smooth finish castings without pinholes lightly mist your molds with Ease release 800 and dust the cavities with talcom powder. It makes a nice paintable plastic shell.

Wear disposable gloves

Let us know if you decide to try casting some and how your lures are progressing.

Tight lines,

Shawn

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Thank you shawn. I have some more questions

1.It seems like the density can vary a bit depending how mutch you allow airbubbles in the plastic to expand is it hard to keep the same density on all the baits from one mold?

2.what clay shold i use when i make the mold? i heard some can react with the sillicone!

3.its sensitive to thinner?

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Mangeboy,

1.It seems like the density can vary a bit depending how mutch you allow airbubbles in the plastic to expand is it hard to keep the same density on all the baits from one mold?

Not if you do everything the same way everytime.

2.what clay shold i use when i make the mold? i heard some can react with the sillicone!

plasticene, wax / oil based clay. Avoid clays with alloys such as tin and zinc.

3.its sensitive to thinner?

Is what sensitive to thinner? If your asking if featherlite is sensitive to thinner, because you shoot laquer paints and might need to strip a few,... well featherlite is sensitive if soaked in any solvents but you can wipe it with acetone. Re-basecoat with flat white enamel and shoot again.

Tight lines,

Shawn

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