keakar

im told that just about any regular version plastic, as-is right out of the bottle, will be harder and stronger then store bought baits i find bait plastics has the best prices and they have a saltwater medium hardness that i bet is just what you are looking for you can use any plastic and add hardener or softener to get it just the way you want it so dont worry too much about getting the perfect premix right out of the bottle

yes but bottom line is its easier, cheaper and 5x faster to do it with regular injection molds so unless you just like wasting money, buying a centrifugal spin mold setup is only worth it for large manufacturers making 100k baits a week thats all we are trying to tell him with enough time and practice you can do all the different tail laminates and probably do them as fast as with a regular injection mold, but there is still no way to do the top and bottom half laminates as far as i know

centrifugal spin cast molds are for pouring lead not plastics

you just have to mix it differently, you are mixing the bubbles into it so try using a drill with mixing type rod bottom line, your solution is in how you mix it, you have to do it so there arent any bubbles

the ribs pour easy without issue, its not a problem with trapped air in the ribs as you think by looking at it because the molds have all the vents they need to fill completely

just pour the tail color, cut off tails and leave in mold, then pour the main body color. dipping tails is the lazy way and not the best results to doing it the right way with actual lure color

this ^^^^^ not all plastics are the same, some hard pack and you must dig up and get the sediments off the bottom and mixed in well once you get it mixed well all you have to do is remix it regularly each day so it doesnt repack on you

its done with a sprayed on dye i would imagine

it may just be you arent starting with hot enough plastic, but more likely you just need to warm the molds first. whats happening is the plastic is cooling too fast and getting hard, or you arent holding pressure on the injector so it fills completely. as for fixing the mold, all you have to do is ,make the vent lines for the tail slightly bigger. with that mold just find a small drill bit just a little bigger then the hole and drill it out one size bigger. dont go crazy with it, only use one size bigger, then if needed be go up one more size. you dont want it any bigger then it needs to be

baitmold.com sells them and i just got one. i never got any notice when, or even if, it was shipped, but it arrived in about 3 weeks time as mentioned the stone isnt a smooth shiny cavity surface so it makes baits with dull finish unless the mold gets lubed first the downside is they are thin so if dropped on hard floor it may break, and if you clamp them too hard it "could" cause deformation because the stone isnt rigid stone like it appears to be so it can warp from the heat over time so not a lifetime mold like with cnc aluminum is. the mold cavities can also be sealed to create smooth baits just like they do with POP molds

check the date eric, this thread is 12 years old since the last comment, everyone overlooks that sometimes lol. any way, if its my own personal stuff i use a drop of veggie oil in the bag. when exposed to water it will come right off and leave no scent at all. as for flour and hooks thats old wives tail to absorb moisture to prevent rusting and there is truth to it but its far easier and less messy to just use raw uncooked rice instead

yes its naturally clear as for not fully filling use a "little" more pressure or hold pressure longer when you pour after you feel it stop whats going on is its cooling before its fully filled if holding pressure does help then maybe you need to get it a little bit hotter temp before pouring

just use common sense on the pressure, think of it like a can of soda ready to squirt out, if you give it a reason or chance to it will squirt out melted plastic and nothing on earth hurts worse if it gets on your skin and you cannot remove it until it finishes burning you and cools off. short answer is when in doubt dont apply more pressure unless you have issues with deformed baits a good safety precaution is a BBQ/cooking apron, might look or feel silly wearing it but the first time it stops hot plastic from getting on your shirt and/or through it you will be happy you had it on i would venture to say the only time people get hot plastic squirting back out at you is because they are rushing and trying to force it into the molds too fast. if you think the molds are filling too slowly then enlarge the gate but dont try to force it in. PS - im an amateur rookie as well just sharing things i have learned

yep, it just needs a flat spot to glue it to so an exacto knife can do that for you quickly

everything i see they glue the eyes on after molding then dip the frog in clear plastic to seal it in i really love those eyes by the way

you gotta give more info then that are you looking for doing production runs of dozens of different baits? are you just doing a dozen for personal use? are you looking to start a business selling lures? what sort of budget do you have for getting a complete bait making setup? go to youtube and watch the videos, then im sure you will have a better idea what you want and dont want you can spend $2000 and get set up to run a business or just spend $500 and be able to make your own baits for you and your friends

go to youtube and watch all the videos there, most of your questions will be answered as well as things you havent thought about yet safety is the key and the biggest rookie mistake is trying to force plastic in too fast and having it squirt back on you, wear long sleeves and i recommend a cooking apron because hot plastic burns bad and if it gets on your shirt you cant get it off from touching your skin 4oz of plastic seems to be the normal amount made and thats enough to pour 6-12 baits depending on size, you want to create mix recipes for your baits so you have to mix the same every time to get repeatable results and uniform color baits color gets added and mixed in when cold but glitters get added at the end right before you pour even high heat glitters will melt if you get them hotter then 350 degrees and when remelting plastics use less heat and take your time getting it hot so you dont melt the glitter or burn the plastic lastly, salts are added to baits to make them sink and the salt makes the plastic weaker and it dulls the colors, also if you get a lot of bubbles in your plastic or popping and splattering after adding salt then the salt has too much moisture in it

just make sure you arent buying a dye, if its a dye it will bleed no matter what they say about it

call "do it" and send them the pics, maybe they will warranty replace them. also if those are aluminum molds they sure are producing very dull baits regardless of the bubble issues, are those aluminum molds?

here is my advice, don't stir it at all. melt it and let it cool solid, then remove from cup and cut off the bottom 1/4" or so of settled salt. now you removed the salt and you can remelt with good results but the glitter will settle with the salt so you will most likely need to add more glitter. this is an easy much overlooked way to remove salt and glitter you dont want while retaining the ability to reuse 90% of what you are remelting

that depends entirely on the size of your melting cup, it expands like 2/3 more when it boils out the bubbles so you want no more then 1/3 full melting container. only you can decide what that is but go bigger then you think you need

as mentioned, ebay has the best deals and they are all just a collection of parts put together so pay attention to the gallon size and the cfm, the higher the cfm pump rating the faster and stronger it pulls vacuum. and ALWAYS buy a bigger pot then you think you need

also warm your molds before pouring and make sure you are keeping the injector port completely filled so the runner can draw in plastic as it cools. everything i have learned says 99% of deformation issues are due to mold or plastic pouring temperature or injector port not being fully filled when done

from what i understand they are sprayed on with a small air brush. to remove it, you will damage the bait, it cant be helped because some plastic will come off with the color, so just spray over the areas you dont like or tell the guy you buy them from what you want, it shouldnt be a big deal for him to make you some just the way you want. short of that, all i can think of that dissolves paint that may not eat the plastic, would be soaking it in 97% pure iso alcohol then rub the paint off, but this will leave the bait dull and remove all the paint