Driftwood

I don't have the mad dad craw so I can't compare the two. I do have the ecto craw and it shoots great and has great action.

Yup, aluminum flashing is the cheapest and easy to work with.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Just recieved my laminate plates for the 702 craw 4 cavity mold and can't seem to get the craw to fill out. I have tried hotter plastic, slow injection, and holding pressure. Anyone else have this problem? If so, how did you solve it? Thanks in advance.

No problem here, used chrome browser.

I use cardboard flats from the local mom and pop store. They lay flat until I'm ready to bag them.

Just contact the manufacturer and ask for mso. Its virtually the same as worm oil and cheaper.

You would also need to consider events beyond your control. We had 127 stores carrying our product and all of a sudden... the financial crisis hit and 90% of those stores closed for good. None of us quit our jobs( which was a good thing.) But that could have been a major disaster. As Rtavis said, you need to figure in all aspects of what your job pays now.

Just get the bass tackle and you will have greater efficiency and less time fixing, adjusting, tweaking, and repairing your equipment. Best of all, piece of mind.

I had some sitting on a self that had been exposed to the cold and had no trouble with it. (Kentucky winter.)

Use an automatic stirrer.

Yes, FM bait in ky will shoot your molds. They changed hands several years ago so the quantity may have changed.

You may try Bison bags also. They do a reverse print laminate bag and the bags have held up nice.

Just charge the customer for shipping. If you are selling one pack of baits, after deducting plastisol, color, scent, flake, heat stabilizer, cost of molds and equipment, electric, and your time has to be worth something, there is no way you are going to make a profit if you pay shipping.

Yeah, I was talking about baits that lay flat in the bag.( think jig trailors.) when using the thin plastic to bag with. Now if you are talking about worms, lizards, craws and such.... bagging is a royal pain so we hired a few teenagers to bag for us. We took the bags and baits to them, showed them how and the quantity of each bag and paid them when they finished. Worked real well for us.

I let cure on wax paper for 24 hours. For uniform packaging I cut a plastic milk jug and spray it with a worm oil and scent mixture.

Yes 10% fet on all product you produce, bulk buying all raw material is a must for maximum discount, check your state tax guidelines for small business. ( raw material is a tax write off, finished product is taxed as it is a saleable product here in Ky..) Marketing in any way you can is a must, never pay pro staff when starting off. Never ever put product into a store on consignment ( if they have no money tied up into your product, there is no incentive to sell it.) Packaging needs to stand out from the other guys, and remember, this is a very cut throat business, you will get hammer the bigger you get. There is a lot more and others will chime in. One more thing, when you own your own your own business you only have to work 1/2 a day, just pick which 12 hours you want to work. Good luck.)

Vegetable oil works real well. Then coat it with worm oil and it should shoot smooth.

Go with the basstackle twin 6oz injector. Quality will pay for itself in the long run.

Just remember, shoes,( not flip flops.) Long pants and long sleeved shirts will protect you from plastic burns. Hot plastic is very unforgiving.

Yeah, you don't really need one. We have never had any issues with bubbles so I don't see a need for one. We mix our plastic with a paint mixer in 5 gallon buckets on a lower speed.

Make sure to write the recipe so you won't have to try to remember later. Also, salt will cool the plastic, change the color, and weaken the bait, all to consider when shooting baits. The amount of salt depends of the bait and personal preference. Good luck and enjoy.

A lot less mess if you pour a stick the color you want for eyes, stripes, and use a hot glue gun for your prep before you shoot the main color.

I just let them hang for 24 hours.

Worm oil and small hands.( think wife, daughter, niece,) we hired a friends 2 daughters to package for us. They did a great job and saved us a lot of time for pouring.