Pouring My Own Plastics

[HJS]

I've been pouring my own for about a year now. Made my own molds and remelt old beatup soft plastics. Mostly using old Bass Assassins (BAs) and old ripped 9" & 12" trolling sassies I get from my troller bro-in-law. My resulting lures range from 4" to 8". Pretty much self taught with a few hints I gleaned from other sites. Just found this site a couple of weeks ago (first post) and found out EVERYTHING I was doing wrong. Great site!!!

I use my home pours mostly for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and in the Kennebec in Maine.

Tried 2-piece molds at first. Molds came out OK but pouring just didn't work out, the hole clogged way too quickly. So I've settled for 1-piece molds and that's working for me. At first I tried pushing the BAs into wet POP... what a mess THAT was! Then learned elsewhere to glue the master up-side-down on the bottom of the mold container and pour POP over it... worked great, why didn't I think of that??? (Still on my learning curve). I made a series of tiny sculpting tools out of nails then sculpt my molds to my liking. I painted the molds with epoxy and spray with PAM as a release agent.

Like many others, I use the family microwave to heat plastic. Tried using the 2 cup pyrex measuring cup but felt the mass of the thick glass was solidifying the plastic on the sides too fast. So I am now using a thin-walled 250 liter scientific beaker slipped into a neoprene beer cozy. Seems to work much better.

Using scissors, I chop up the old plastics, presorted to color, into limabean sized chunks then heat in the microwave in the beaker.

QUESTION: What is everyone's routine for heating times in the microwave???

Right now I start out with a couple of 20 second burst at high power, stirring after each burst with a kabob skewer. As melting begins I start to taper back on the time, from 20 seconds to 15, 10, and end up with 5 second bursts until it looks right for pouring. Seems to work OK, but is there a better way??? Seems like I need to open the microwave door and stir at least 20+ times per patch. Is this how you all heat your plastics in a microwave???

Thanks for a great site. I'll add a few pics:

-Pouring equipment

-Various end product

-Tray of curing 4" paddletail BAsPouring My Own

[King Bait Co.]

Thoes baits look great. I use Lee's Production Pot IV it's alot easier to use than the microwave for me. It takes longer to heat up but. You can get it hot faster in the microwave and pour it in the pot to speed it up. For me I feel I get the glitter more consistant in the worm. I can pour smaller places then I can the other ways hands to shaky. They are alot easier to stir then opening the microwave every five seconds to stir. You might want to get one they sell them at Lure Craft for $62 plus shipping. Yes this site is better than the bible of soft baits and any other wannabe sites like this.

Edited May 15, 2008 by King Bait Co.

[nova]

Nothing wrong with those baits; especially for re-melts.

One bit of advice though; don't use the same micro that you eat from. It's not healthy.

You can buy a cheap one for under $50 and that will work just fine once you get used to how it heats.(every micro is not the same)

www.novalures.com

[Richard Prager]

Nice pours. You might want to try the 1 cup Pyrex. You can get them at most markets. I think it would be less hassle and a bit more safer than having to place the beaker in the koozie. Welcome aboard. Try using the search feature on the top of the page. You will find alot of answers very quickly.

[King Bait Co.]

Who don't like a little plastic in their microwaveable Pot Pie!