wchilton

If you're making a mold using a plastisol bait as the master it's best to have it held in place somehow. Silicone is denser that plastisol and you don't want the bait floating to the top. You can make a one-piece mold with no sprues, etc. like you mention and slice them open with an exacto knife. I've done that. You just may want a little thickness (1/8-inch absolute minimum) on each side to have enough stiffness to maintain the shape of the bait. You also have to be really careful filling those because when you let them close they can ooz/spurt hot plastic. One thing I've done is to mount my master on a thin strip of wood (upside down) so I only get a thin flat region at the top of each bait that is easily trimmed. You basically pour into a long, thin sprue and since the silicone is so flexy it's not problem getting baits out.

Yes, but I've heard about this more in regards to epoxy than CA. For golf clubs you can use a ca glue called "black max" that has rubber in it to make it tougher (rather than brittle) and you'd still use the glass beads to ensure even glue line width between the club head and the shaft. In the case of wood and using thin super glues, the glue soaks into the wood pores so bond line thickness is going to be less of an issue. For gluing wood to wood, you want a thin joint and clamp pressure drives the wood glue into the pores of the wood. Heavy clamping with epoxy pushes most of the epoxy out of the joint since it's too thick to be pressed deep into the pores. This is one of those areas where the specific product may work when a generalized answer says it shouldn't. It basically gets down to you have to make a few tests to find the best glue for your particular situation. Bond line thickness is one thing to consider, as is surface prep by both roughing up and cleaning, etc. Here's a link to a nice write-up on adhesive "issues" to keep in mind "https://www.freemansupply.com/datasheets/adhesivesguide.pdf".

Epoxies can be sensitive to the thickness of the bond line. If fit between the parts is too tight, the bond line will be too thin and epoxy looses strength. You can google "epoxy bond line thickness" to get more info. Starting point is from 0.001 to 0.006 inches for a good epoxy bond line. I played with assembling golf clubs a while back and one way to get a consistent bond thickness was to mix small glass beads with the adhesives.

Cooler plastic is more viscous and will suspend salt better. That's why you'd want to pour as cool as possible. Also, the finer the salt the slower it will settle in the plastic. Aluminum molds will pull away heat to solidify the plastic more quickly before salt can settle. Also, starting with cool molds will help cool the bait down faster, regardless of the material the mold is made of.

Silicone will adhere tightly to silicone, glass, and porous surfaces. Sealed PoP should be fine. I'd give a spray of PAM as a release agent. If you're looking for toughness of the bait, I'd look into RTV polyurethane also.

Silicone caulk will get hot too. I used silicone to glue fiberglass "paper" (thin fiberglass insulation) to my cups and that works well for me. I did that for norpro silicone cups and it also stiffens the sides of the cups. Have been thinking about doing same for glass beakers I use.

Heating will speed up the curing process. It's like any other chemical reaction, higher temp results in faster reaction. The rule of thumb is reaction rate doubles for every 10 deg C (18 deg F) increase in temperature. That rule depends on other things besides temperature but is not a bad guideline. A little heat to make the epoxy flow is fine. As it's spread out over the bait it will cool back down and the cure speed will go back to normal. If I want to speed up cure time I'll usually let the epoxy cure normally (without heat) until it's solid and then warm it up for the final cure. I just hang baits in a cardboard box and put the whole thing in the oven with just the light on (no burner heat). With a 60 watt bulb that gave me a 100 degF cure environment. I used to use a cardboard box/lightbulb setup for curing tung oil on gunstocks. Same principals apply. With that setup I reduced cure time from 3 days to less than a day and I could apply the next coat each evening after work and get a stock finished in a few days or a week.

I dug up some info for anyone that wants to try making a replica. Length: 80 mm Weight: 42 gm (also a 24 gm version) Solid lead weight, no rattles #4 hook in front and #6 hook in the back

Materials that are referred to as "thermoset" are those that harden due to a chemical reaction. When a material is referred to as "thermoplastic", that means it becomes solid as it cools. Thermoplastic materials can be softened, shaped, even melted by heating and then injection molded. Thermosetting materials will not melt once they become solid. They may soften a bit and become more flexible upon heating, but too much heat will cause them to degrade. G-10 is in a category of materials commonly called "garolite" which use different combinations of resin and re-enforcing fiber. G-10, specifically is an epoxy resin with fiberglass (e-glass) used as the re-enforcing fiber and that is, I think, what is being called CB material for lure lips. Other types of "garolite" are made from paper, linen fiber, etc. Knife makers use similar composites for knife scales, in which case they usually refer to the material as "micarta". For knife scales, strength is usually not an issue so they'll use all kinds of different fibers to produce decorative patterns.

I tried brake fluid (once) and when left too long the plastic turned milky and started to dissolve. Later it went back to clear after leaving it for a day in a hot car. Have since learned that you want to use DOT 3 brake fluid. It is glycol ether based. Others are made up of mineral oil, silicone, and other components that may not work as well (or at all). I'm not sure what the one I experimented with was...haven't gotten back to that yet.

I've also used flake and pearl colors from PaintWithPearl.com. They're more expensive but have a large variety of colors.

I've had a few occasions where one bait drastically out-performed others just like it. The first was back in college when one panther martin spinner I used just slayed the rainbow trout while others of the exact same size and color were ignored. It got to the point my brother and I were fighting over who got to use it and we had to take turns. I always thought it must have put out some different sound than others because the colors were the same and there's not a lot of variation in action with an in-line spinner. Never did find out what it was. The bait was lost to an underwater snag. The next time I was aware of this happening was with a freshwater jerkbait a friend of mine picked up at Wal-Mart. For some reason about 25% of this particular model just out-fished anything else including every other type of jerkbait we tried and even live bait. We actually had other fishermen getting angry at us for catching so many fish on these while they got nothing. My friends and I were able to acquire about 10 or 12 of these very special baits and caught tons of fish on them (all species) for about half a year until they were all finally destroyed. We were using them on inshore/saltwater species so they got chewed by toothy critters and banged on the rocks where we fished and a few were simply taken away by something larger that couldn't be stopped with the gear we were using. Color of the bait was not a factor...the good ones worked no matter how much paint was chewed off. Possibly a slightly different action or sound was what made the difference. I did save a few of the good baits after they were busted beyond repair but have not to this day figured out exactly what made these lures so productive. Here's a pic of one of those I preserved. I attempted to repair this one with a new lip, but it never worked the same again. This is an inexpensive knock-off of a Yozuri Tobimaru minnow. Old version of the bait long out of production and size is 4.75 inch, and about 5/8 oz.

In your area I'll bet you can find a local lumber yard that carries bass. Look for HARDWOOD suppliers and just give a quick call to see if they carry it. Hobby shops often have smaller pieces for carving. Also, woodworking stores like Rockler (a big chain) usually have some on hand.

It could be hydrographics printing, also known as water transfer printing. Basically you print the image on a clear film that is floated on top of water surface. The film dissolves, leaving only the dye/ink floating on the water and then you dip the part to apply the picture to it. This is the way they print natural camoflage images like leaves and branches on gunstocks, bows, etc.

Since you're able to make "some that hunt" rather than just a single example you have some options that others don't. Before introducing modifications, I'd make up a bunch and test them all and separate into hunt vs. non-hunt. (or just set aside baits that hunt for a while until you have a few to work with) Then I'd take them home to a clean desk, a nice bright light, and a magnifying glass and inspect to see if I could identify any differences between the two categories. I would look for asymmetry, minor defects, or just differences in the overall bait or specific components. If that kind of inspection reveals something, that's where I'd start for experimenting with modifications. If you have several that hunt, you could also try swapping out components to discover the difference by process of elimination. Example: swap the blade with one from a non-hunting bait. If the bait still hunts, probably the blade is not the reason. Don't rely on just one "test" to tell you the story. Do a few repeats of each test with different baits 'til you know the result is not a fluke.

Another option would be tapered silicone plugs made specifically for powder coating to prevent filling screw holes etc. Powder paint suppliers and even eBay have them.

try an eBay search for "glass pasta jar". I saw one that's over 12" tall. The thing you'll have to watch out for is the seal. Rubber seals may not be enough with the solvent in GST. If you can find a jar that uses a flat rubber seal (not molded) you could replace the seal with one made out of a solvent-resistant gasket material.

Just type "site:" in the google search window and then copy the forum url after the ":" then a space, then the word you want to search for. Examples: site:http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/forum/13-hard-baits/ PVC - will search the hard baits forum for the word "PVC"

I'm not sure if this would work but I've been thinking of trying to use powder paint itself as a filler material for small defects or even as an adhesive for prototype metal baits. It would have to be set up enough that it doesn't run when curing the final paintjob. Would be heat-compatible for sure. I'd rig the jigs up on a hotplate and figure out some way (eyedropper?) to add a bit of powder to fill the voids. Just a thought.

If you're talking about those "wrinkles" on the surface, that's just the lead hardening too quickly in a cold mold. Try warming the mold up with a few pours (without hooks). Also, some people blacken the surface of the cavity with soot from a candle.

D2T is not as runny as super glue but more runny than the gel. The things to be most careful about when using it are to start with equal portions of the two parts (by volume), then make sure and mix it COMPLETELY. Secondary consideration is to make sure the lure is clean before topcoat. If you've touched it with hands, just wipe with DA and let it dry off for a minute or so.

You could do the same with different density wood. Also can dremel a channel in one piece and run thru-wire before gluing the top/bottom halves together.

For mass-produced parts they are probably punched out with a die (similar to a hole punch for paper). The cost for making such a die would be prohibitive for anyone making a few or even a few hundred pieces. They could also be cut with a cnc router or laser cutter. That's gonna be more expensive than a die if you're talking millions of parts but could be the best option for prototypes up to several thousand pieces. For making a few as a hobby, I find that making up a drawing on the computer helps me with symmetry. Then I'll print it out and paste the printed image onto a piece of the plastic sheet then start cutting and grinding using the printed image as a template. Lots of commercially-made baits have the lips molded in as part of the bait.

If you try plating blades yourself, just remember that the smoothness of the finish will be the same as the smoothness of the blade before you plate it. So if you want a really shiny finish you need to mirror polish the blades before plating and if you want a matte finish you need to have a matte surface on the blades before plating with silver. Also, since silver tarnishes you'll want to give your blades a protective clear coat after they are plated.

Either Hagen's or Worth for large quantities. Hagensfish.com or worthco.com.