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More Muskie Fishing -> Basement Baits and Custom Lure Painting -> Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch
 
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/19/2009 7:06 PM (#372998)
Subject: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		Had a few people email me about making their own swimbaits so I figured I would just post my version of "How To" here. Aluminum molds are best but they cost an arm and a leg but mine was made for under $10 and I have two lure molds in one mold. My lures are not as pretty as ones from aluminum molds but they catch fish and will help you feel better about those old swimbaits that are ripped up but still have perfectly good harnesses in them. These are also fun to do with your kids too. Just remember, plastisol is VERY hot and also stinks when its ready to pour. Do this in a ventilated area and I also suggest wearing a gas mask. I have a double sealed bio-rated gas mask when I play with plastisol. I am a chemistry geek, I have these thing in my home

Feel free to add pointers!!!!
James
-----------
Here is what I did for making a few home made swimbaits:

1) Get your favorite swimbait (for me I did this with a SuperD). Remove the treble hooks on the belly but leave the top single hook in.
2) Find a cardboard box that is large enough to get your lure in sideways (laying on its side)
3) Take Vaseline and coat the inside of the box (so your mold will slide out easy when it is done)
4) About half way down the box wire the lure to the box (belly wired on the box side) The tail will be hanging in the empty box at this point.
5) Make up enough plaster to fill the box half way (so it only covers half of the lure
6) Pour the plaster into the box and make sure you hold that tail up out of the plaster.
7) After you pour the plaster place the tail into the wet plaster and just push it slightly into the plaster but don’t bury it or let it get covered by plaster.
8) Let this stand overnight until hard.
9) Now, cover the plaster with Vaseline.
10) Make another batch of plaster and pour it over the bait and fill the box. Tap the box some to get a good coverage on the lure.
11) Let stand overnight
12) Now just pull the cardboard box away from the mold and then carefully separate the two parts of plaster.
13) Your done making your mold
14) Now to make a new lure, simply take any old ripped up Dawg or SuperD those lost its tail to a toothy and gut the harness out of it.
15) Please the harness into the new mold and rubber band it shut (now you will be happy you left the top hook in as it will hold the harness in the mold very well)
16) I use rubber bands to keep the two mold halves together when pouring a new lure.
17) Prep your plastisol with pigments and sparkles etc and pour your new lure.
18) Hint, I also drill a hole form the base of the tail in the mold into the interior of the mold where the end of the tail is so I can make sure I get plastisol into the tail area. You can trim this up with a knife later.

See the attached for a picture of my SuperD mold. As you can see I wanted to make two lure molds in one so I did a Regular and Mag SuperD in one mold.
Lure Craft has everything you need from plastisol to pigments.
http://www.lurecraft.com/




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Muskerboy
Posted 4/19/2009 7:14 PM (#372999 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 727


Awesome demo. Thanks James.
Halfpint
Posted 4/20/2009 8:20 AM (#373053 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch




Posts: 73


Location: Indiana		Anyone ever tried melting down the plastic from old torn up rubber baits...like in the microwave or over a stove...and pouring that into one of those molds?
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/20/2009 8:50 AM (#373056 - in reply to #373053)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		I know you can re-melt the plastisol but I have never done an experiment to see if it retains its durability after it re-sets. Plastisol is a liquid with various amounts of powdered PVC in it and when you heat is the first time it solubalizes the PVC and the plasticizer together into a homogenous state and as it cools it sets. I am not an expert on plastisol chemistry but as long as a chemical reaction does not occur and its just a physical change I think the remelted plastisol should work. Again, I have never tried this but I am sure its easy. Just make sure when you remelt it you don't scorch the rubber. Bring the heat up slow and just try to hit the melting point of the rubber and then hold until it all melts. I can even try a little to see what happens and post back with results. If Andy from Shack Attack reads this he may be able to comment on the recycling of plastisol rubber. I know he tinkers in his basement a little.
mb79
Posted 4/20/2009 9:09 AM (#373061 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch




Posts: 76


recycling plastisol works fine , as far durabillity on the recycled plastisol i would say that ist a bit more durable as it tend to get a bit harder 2nd time around
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/20/2009 9:55 AM (#373070 - in reply to #373061)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		Just a side not but if you want to get a good even melt and you know the temperature of where youw ill get your old tails and pbdies to melt, you can make ahot oil bath and make a crude "double boiler" for this. Temperature probes that go to 500F are not too expensive and a lot of synthetic oils will do just fine for your hot oil bath. Be carful with that though! 2nd/3rd degree burns instantly with oil that hot!
eric
Posted 4/20/2009 12:49 PM (#373106 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch


thanks for the informative demo james, do you think it is ness. to have a two peice mold. ive tried one piece mold with pop and the olny hard part is getting the sculpy out when the pop cures. and as far as the tail: do you think that the rolled up tail in your mold and the super d's is superior to say a long thin tail on the mold. does it have a better action? also is there a supplier that a person could order say 5-10 of the body loc harnesses you use? or is that a trade secret?
again I love the d's and im looking forward to seing your new colors for this season.
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/21/2009 8:44 AM (#373317 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		Hi Eric. I like the two piece molds as you will damage less lures. Real easy to get them out of the molds. As for the harnesses, I don't have any right now. That was why I suggested to keep your old Dawgs, SuperDs, Curlys etc. With that said, you might try calling Lure Craft. I know they make swimbaits for other companies. They are setup to make harnesses with lead head I think. If you order enough they should make you some. You might also try Dick Moore from Moores Lures. If Dick does not have it he can find it or make it He knows everyone and everything in the fishing lure market! Great guy.
James
gus_webb
Posted 4/21/2009 12:35 PM (#373385 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 225


Location: Nordeast Minneapolis		James- Thanks for posting this! I've been playing around with making 'super' twistertails for my bucktails for about a month now, and your tutorial helps quite a bit. I've tried making a few molds, with marginal success. Pouring one half on top of the other makes more sense than what I was trying to do... I had found some acrylic picture frames and was trying to use those to pour the POP into, giving me 'protected' halves. But the problems (air bubbles, using too much plaster, not getting the consistency or levels of the halves quite right) faaar outway the benefits. Having said that, I think I've learned a few things by doing things not quite right...
The lessons I've learned so far:
-Melting plastic in a Pyrex measuring cup works great.
-A toaster oven with temperature settings also works great, and can exist in the garage. No bubbling, no guessing; set the temp to 325 degrees and wait. It's much slower than microwaving, but I don't mind waiting a little while for the sake of consistency.
-Old twister tails melt down and reset just fine. Just make sure they're clean.
-If you're going to coat your molds, there don't appear to be any shortcuts. I've tried a bunch of 'em. The next set of molds I'm making, I will coat them three times each with thinned epoxy. I tried some high-heat spray paint on the last set, and it still peeled off. But a nice coating on the mold sure does give the final product a pretty finish!
-With my twister tails, my current prototype has a body (for putting a hook into) and a large 'circle' at the back. I'm cutting the smaller circle out of the middle once it's cast. My first prototype had the tail being more like a 'donut', and this did not work for me. The plastic had set enough by the time it poured around both sides of the donut that the two streams wouldn't seal right, and seemed to trap a small air bubble between them.
-I've read some tutorials that recommended coating the mold with worm oil to help act as a release agent. Fleet Farm had some scent spray, so I've been giving that a shot. Seems to work pretty well.

Thanks again for posting, James. Can't wait to throw some of the shad baits I picked up from you! Man, it was a long winter...
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/21/2009 5:20 PM (#373467 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		gus_webb--Good point and I forgot a very important item when I made my molds from plaster!!!! I coated the entire molds (inside) with a very thin layer of epoxy cement. Same stuff I use for my clear coats on my Grunts. That was KEY in getting everything to come off well and not with a bunch of plaster on it.

Thanks!! Good catch and glad you thought of it too. I think it also helps extend the life of your molds too.

You guys better still buy my SuperDs and not just make your own!!!

Muskie Bob
Posted 4/22/2009 6:44 AM (#373565 - in reply to #373467)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch




Posts: 572


Tackle Industries - 4/21/2009 5:20 PM

gus_webb--Good point and I forgot a very important item when I made my molds from plaster!!!! I coated the entire molds (inside) with a very thin layer of epoxy cement. Same stuff I use for my clear coats on my Grunts. That was KEY in getting everything to come off well and not with a bunch of plaster on it.

Thanks!! Good catch and glad you thought of it too. I think it also helps extend the life of your molds too.

You guys better still buy my SuperDs and not just make your own!!!




What kind of epoxy cement?
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/22/2009 7:15 AM (#373569 - in reply to #373565)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		I use PolyGaurd two part epoxy. I buy it in bulk off of eBay. I used to buy the two part tabletop stuff form Home Depot. It worked ok but yellowed slightly after 18 months. This stuff works a little better. Yellowing is oxidation. If you want real good stuff for lures you need to find an epoxy that uses a UV inhibitor and a primary and secondary antioxidant system.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/lpsissy

gus_webb
Posted 4/24/2009 10:29 AM (#373991 - in reply to #373467)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 225


Location: Nordeast Minneapolis		Ha!... no danger, there. My soft plastic mission is in making more of these... I only got about three out of my last mold before the high-heat paint shortcut I tried for coating the mold bubbled up enough as to make them worthless.
Hence the plan to epoxy the heck out of the next mold.

Here's my monster twister tail, by the way, attached to my 'Big Ben' pattern. Not that I'm a Steelers fan... just happened to start tying the pattern Superbowl Weekend.


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Tackle Industries
Posted 4/25/2009 7:52 PM (#374234 - in reply to #373991)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		gus_webb-Looks like you put a little boot on the end. I like that! Does it curl and twist int he water or is it more of a batting back and forth action?
Toad
Posted 4/21/2009 7:37 PM (#373493 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch


At the prices you are selling your baits James, I don't think it would be worth making our own. With all the time and materials it would take to make my own duplicates, I could buy several of your baits! Awesome pricing and good lures.

That being said, the information you have shown is awesome, because it helps to show us how to make our own unique baits, and also how to recoat old harnesses is pretty helpful to, since you already have half the bait, and the rubber part is the cheaper and easier part to make. I've been meaning to make some rubber baits for quite some time, not to mention molds of the lures I've already carved, so I appreciate your information. Have you tried some of the silicone materials like Larry Dahlberg used on his show?
Tackle Industries
Posted 4/22/2009 6:13 AM (#373562 - in reply to #373493)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 4053


Location: Land of the Musky		I have not tired any of Larrys hints yet. I have one of his shows on DVR and need to get the rest. Love his stuff! Nothing like catching a fish on something you made. Well, my son is 4 and daughter is 3 right now and I think one thing better than catching a fish on something I made will be catching something that they made.

As for harnesses, don't let that big lead head get in your way of trying. If you can bend wire you can make a harness. When your done with the wire bending you can always go get plumbers soldering wire. First, to make sure the harness will be strong, since your not using a good chunk of solid lead on the head, use a small steel wire and wrap the harness/top hook to the harness body yo just made. Then wrap the front part with x? amount of soldering wire depending on if you want a shallow or heavy swimbait. Then just lightly hit it with a soldering gun to melt it down on itself and coat the wire wrap you just used to make the harness stronger. Hint: The wire wrap around the top hook and harness is finally how I got my new Mag SuperD shallow harnesses strong enough. Prior to that the small amount of lead holding the harness and top hooks was not enough. I was able to pull the harness a part with my bare hands. Make sure your home made harnesses are good and strong. Use the "weakest link" theory and make sure its nothing on your lure is the "weakest link". I like to think my 80lb-100lb line is the weakest part of my fishing setup. *Actually my drag is but that does not count.

James



Edited by Tackle Industries 4/22/2009 6:14 AM
ChadG
Posted 4/24/2009 12:36 PM (#374019 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch




Posts: 440


I used a material called Durham's Water Putty for the mold. It lasted pretty good and really didn't need coated with epoxy. It pours very similar to plaster of paris. It is at almost every hardware store and is not very spendy. My attempts were very rough but someone with some patience and attention to detail could make something very nice with it.
Decatur
Posted 4/25/2009 12:34 PM (#374170 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: Re: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 82


Very cool thread!
gus_webb
Posted 4/26/2009 5:43 PM (#374435 - in reply to #372998)
Subject: RE: Making your own Swimbaits from Scratch





Posts: 225


Location: Nordeast Minneapolis		James- the only playing around I've done with them so far has been in the utility sink, but the action seems pretty good. The twister tail undulates like it's supposed to while the little swim-boot on the back gives it a little more wobble and motion. It seems to kick it out and around, giving it a little more action than a typical twister tail. Kind of a swimbait/tail combo.

We'll see... in a couple of weeks, I'll actually get to see it in real water! Hope it works as well in the lake as it does in my sink.
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