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Posts: 3
| Ok just getting started here. Have some designs that i actually want to commit to now. I figured this is the place for the best info. First off i need a little insight into making my mold for a soft plastic lure with an internal harness. What material do I use and how do I clamp it all together?
Edited by jbarnard 3/26/2009 9:13 AM
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | As a start, the tutorial given here has been pretty helpful to me...
http://www.tacklemaking.com/default.php?pageID=52
(My own input would be not to skimp on the epoxy over the plaster of paris. My first attempt, I tried using a spray-on acrylic sealer, and the soft plastic stuck to it, pulling most of it off... With my next mold, I'm going to use envirotex right off the bat.)
I haven't tried anything with an internal harness or weighting yet- still just trying to make a 'better' twister tail that I can use for my bucktails. I would guess that anything that would stick out of the soft plastic would need to be accounted for in the mold, but as for weights, etc... that stuff is beyond my abilities at this point. I think I'll leave that for better, more capable builders.
Good luck! |
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| I make soft plastic molds from two different families of materials.
The first is called RTV Silicone and is available in different "stiffness or flexibility" levels. The stiffest and easiest to tear is called Quick Set, which is ready to go in a couple of hours. The others are High Strength 2 and HS 3. Both take over night to set. This material is about $30 per pound, but is so much easier to use and you can throw it against a wall or run over it with your car and it won't break.
I also use Flex 30 rubber which is less expensive and sets in a couple of hours. It's not as flexible as the RTV's but for most designs works very well. The only disadvantage is that you can't use the mold for anything except soft plastic. Urethanes will stick to it.
I've used these materials to make exact duplicates from live eelpout, mudpuppies, shiners, etc. and they look really good.
The advantage these materials offer over plaster of paris are so great I can't overemphasize it. THey also enable you to put pins/wires through the mold to hold hook hangars etc.
For the type of lures you are describing I would suggest mixing hardener in your plastisol to strengthen the areas where you might have lead or wire inserted, then pour the rest of the lure out of softer material.
You can check out makelure.com for some tutorials on using RTV to make molds.
Good luck, be careful not to fill your shoes with hot plastisol.
best
L
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Here are a few short write ups I made a while back:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=49...
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=54...
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Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | Larry, Have you ever coated your plaster of Paris molds with epoxy or other material to get a release from your material? I coated my mold with a light coat of epoxy and then rub a thin layer of Vaseline over the mold before I pour in my plastisol and it seems to release well. Just curious.
James
PS-Love your spots on the various shows. If you ever make a lure making DVD I will be in line to buy it! Maybe you already have one??? If so, please post the name. Even just a DVD filled with all of your current spots would be a great selling DVD IMO.
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