COBRA

I called for the msds but never recieved them yet. the clamshells will only melt if the plastics react. both are vinyl derivitives, so who knows. some do some dont. i actually while typing just thought of something, i have some old hawgleys that came in plastic clamshell packaging, maybe i can get a recycle number off it. thanks.

Does anyone know if vinyl plastisol based baits (lure craft plastisol) will react and melt PVC plastic? I am looking to get some clamshells to package a certain product and am in a rush, and dont know if the baits will eat them. I know some container plastic will melt, otheres wont. Both the baits and container are a form of vinyl. ANyone have any experience?

Now I am really confused. I never agreed with the whole Larew patent on having salt in your product. That is way behind us anyways. I never could accept the whole idea of a patent keeping someone from pouring a certain ingredient into their product. Anyways, just a side thought, I thought that Strike King had a the same type of patent on their coffee formula? Yet lure craft sells coffee scent, and I have plenty of coffee scent of my own, which I never used. Just a confusing thought that ran across my mind this morning.

great, thanks. i will look into the etex. i came home to find the two new molds both had one slight crack, no biggie, i flooded with elmers and they are baking. the nightmare mold had two big bubbles that came up and hardened. ughhhh. grabbed 4 tubes of silicone on the way home though, so if the ones in the oven dont pan out i will be onto the silicone. sucks i rushed the first mold but sucks having people wait for orders, i cant win sometimes i swear. all in due time.

i think its devcon 2 ton if i am not mistaken some of you use on pop molds? i have been using shellac and elmers, but how quick does that devcon take to cure until you can pour? what do you thinit with? walmart sells it? i have a bunch of two part epoxies but i am in a bind on some molds. one is elmer sealed but in such a rush to fill orders and the thickness of the mold, it never dried 100% so all it keeps doing is pushing air into the baits and is driving me nuts. i made a few more molds last night and all three have been in the oven atleast 8 hours so far and will sit for most of the day. the first mold has multiple elmer coats, and i 2 part epoxied the area that the plastic must be vaporizing the moisture from. it still pushed a ton of bubbles. so i really soaked it in elmers/water on a thicker solution, and hopefully it will pour but i am having doubts since its goin on a week of screwing with it. the other two molds feel pretty dry, they are more of a skim mold that i will end up backing up to square them and make them flat. those two probally will take the elmers no problem and dry. but i am thinking of trying the devcon on them. any info appreciated. cobra

just a little fyi. i rushed on lunch today and did up a mold. normal white mainstays silicone, some water, ect, added a skim coat first, then a thicker coat, squeezed non h20 silicone on top sprayed with water no biggie. its been sitting all day. i just pulled it apart and i thought excess water from the mold ran down my hand. nope! it was built up acedic acid or whatever the acid is called in silicone. let me tell you it must have been concentrated cause it burned like hell. i couldnt find any baking soda so lots of water and soap but my hand is still burning a bit. i have been making some pretty large molds as well so maybe thats the case but just be careful. if you peeled off a mold and it sprung that crap could get in your eye. as usual be careful.

wow, i used pork fat and advertised with it probally up until 2004 so about 5 years i used it. i stopped using it, the baits would leach it eventually, and it would look like crap on a store wall. discolors light colors, pork fat eventually rots and will turn rancid. yes the baits caught fish, but not any better than my normal scent. if you want to use it, go to the butcher, and ask for straight pork fat. if you have to pay for it find another butcher! we would take a big cast iron skillet and just melt it and strain it. then throw it in the freezer in containers to solidify it. as far as amount, not much! maybe a teaspoon to table spoon per 1.5-2 cups of plastic. like i said it will leach out. i actually have a few containers in the freezer of fat i made over the past year for some testing on a project. but in no way do i think or consider it the best scent out there. i would store it in a container and have it on the pouring station and it would sit there fine. so give it a shot, it works ok. i have some of my early baits in my collection with the old label and pork in them, i should post a pic of what the stuff looks like leached. just like how i cut out almost all the salt in my baits except for sticks, i barely use any, its a filler and a advertising game. people think they need salt. why do you think stick baits rip and fall apart? you have a filler that makes the molecular bond of the plastic very weak, its like a sponge, but all the holes have a piece of salt, which disolves in water, so they get weak and come apart. larew had the big deal over salt for years. i dont find my baits to work any different now a days or catch less fish, i think they actually work better, and of course floating plastic floats better when salt(a form of rock) isnt waying it down.

its silica, you can get it where they sell sand blasting supplies usually. its dense, a filler, cheaper than salt while adding weight. just a filler basicly.

<sigh> a really big sigh, i am trying to think on what to start with this topic, i have been in business 11 years. honestly i know my mistakes. jsc said it best out of anyone, its the luck side of things. i tournament fished starting at age 12. i happened to be involved with one of the larger hand pour companies in the state, i learned a lot. my fishing was right on. things were good. i didnt really have a social life growing up, so i ended up after high school spending a lot of time screwing off when it was the "luck" time for me. i was young, and there wasnt any competition for hand pourers and my age was an assett to sales. but young and dumb, didnt put the time in. then ended up having kids ect. so long story short this i am going into the second year now of full ownership, found out a lot last year. it takes pure money to make money in this game. i havent pushed any of my prostaff over the years. since my kids i havent been tournament fishing, so advertising from that end i havent had. if you want to promote something the right way, you have to do it yourself. i dont think i have been more driven than i am now. i work full time, and have a family. but i am making the time, every day, but not over doing myself. i have so many products that you just cant do it by yourself. i am done with the year long late nights up till 2-3 in the morning to get up and go to work. pour, cut tails, package, sell, ect. ect. my product has been in stores before and it sells very well. my website never was good and i am really just figuring out how to build it now. credit cards suck, great if you have major orders flowing in but if not you waste the money on the service fees. i am getting together a new catalog, its time, and it will be color. i have worked sales and retail a lot over the years and i know who what where when and why on what to do. i have a freshwater line, saltwater line, my own line of hooks, just got off the phone today, and i will have tungsten shortly. a outfitter shop i used to do reel repair for wouldnt carry my product a few year back, unless people were looking for it. i make smart well thought out decisions now. i made a point of view email with selling points and now i am going on a 1 year contract with them. you have to hustle and use your head. one shop i put my product in last year, the hooks they couldnt keep stocked. unfortunetly family and work pushed the company onto the back burner last year like many others. things are better now. dont bite off more than you can chew. make smart business decisions. take risks, but be smart about them. i am extremely lucky that i had met an extremely good friend from taking the job i have now. and he owns a machine shop. and is next to my work, so on any day i can go over and machine molds, have full cad design, and a fishing partner. i am probally all over on this but its whats popping into my head. prostaff, most have become close friends. last year i said 50% off for everyone. same this year, but all are going on contracts. i dont need the person who uses my secret bait but doesnt tell anyone. free sample, gone, bye bye, i have given away to much over the years, to the average fisherman who throws it for a minute or two with no confidence and if they dont catch a 10 pounder they wont call you. sample packs, $3 with a brochure and decal. they may not fish the bait but with a good logo thats free advertising if they throw it on the truck boat, or tackle box. shirts, decals, accessories, you name it its either in the works or for sale. you cant just rely on a few baits, you need to spread it out. either you want it or you dont. i was lazy, lacked thought or motivation. i am heading towards 30. i will find a way and make it happen. i have a lot of tricks up my sleeves, it all takes time. this day and age you have to look professional and have a good product as well. so many websites i have seen look pretty good, but have the bait layed crooked in the pictures. its not that hard to make a good impression and it doesnt cost much. i am lucky now, one long time pro staffer and one new one are local and are willing to give me a hand packaging. there are a few companies out my way who have made it pretty big, and they all have friends who help them out. i should be out selling the baits, but i am pretty anal about how the product turns out as well. taxes, excise, its 10%, add a dime to every buck. it does work out. i am getting to tired now to right much more. i am totally driven. i gave away a few of my pointers but i have a lot of aces up my sleeve. use your head, and you wont have to pay money with a lot of things in this business to get business. and that goes for product as well. you have to be a smart shopper. its totally true though. dont expect to get rich off of pouring just worms. you need to be diversified, have a plan, stick to it, take steps, and just go for it. if you dont budget yourself and spend wisely, you will take any or all the money you have and spend it in the wrong areas or on two much of one thing. not every idea will work. i could go one forever. i am totally driven, i dont want to work for someone else. since 1999 cant stop the snake.

i have used a microwave for 11 years. i also have two small pots, havent used them in years. just bought a huge pot last year, never tried it. only thing that REALLY sucks right now is the size of the microwave. you can def. heat plastic quicker in the microwave, especially if its a larger wattage. then you could always dump it into your heated pot if thats easier for you to pour. i think hands down eventually i will go all injection with air. i know of one manufacturer who ended up selling the business, and he had a big air powered injected system, and still couldnt keep up with demand. thats the only way you ever could be really big, is to have a couple injection machines running. you just cant pour no matter how fast as quick as a injection machine will push out baits.

what are the round rings or inserts seen on the bottom of a lot of these plugs? are the hooks all through wired or do they just attach to these inserts that lock in some how? is the front eyelet just a screw eye that screws in? i guess i am just wondering on the hardware of these things. thanks.

nice cad work. wicked machining costs for that stuff. my buddy owns a shop and his own stuff he makes takes a lot of machine time. edm is wicked expensive cause i was thinking that route. my wallets not that fat!

just go to a print shop and have them made, its not that much, get 1000. it will probally take you a while to burn through them.

i havent tried it, but lurecraft has bio plastic for about the same price as traditional plastisol. doesnt colorado or some lakes out there have a ban? the whole cali wheel weight deal is the dumbest thing i have ever heard of, people lose more lead in water than falling off wheel weights. berkeley i am sure just wants in more with their gulp! or those food source lures.

only advice is take your time melting them, they dont melt out like normal zooms or other 'normal' plastics, yeah they stink.