Molding Plastisol Swimbaits

Started by rogan, August 20, 2020, 05:13:42 PM

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rogan

A few months back I got inspired to try my hand at making my own plastic baits.  I was heavily influenced by a very poor fisherman posting videos who specialized in injection molding.  I had no interest in injection molding since I'm not a bass fisherman, but he showed something different that grabbed my interest: open pour aluminum molds, especially in a large swimbait.  I thought that would have an application for me, since I'm starting to get into ocean fishing and I was already pouring my own large swimbait jigheads for rockfish and lingcod, so why not make the other half of the jig as well.

When I saw that I could also get an open pour worm mold, I bit and was hooked pretty good.  I have a few friends who enjoy bass fishing and one already injection molds his own baits, so i got a couple worm molds and a couple 6 inch swimbait molds (4 inch molds are on the way).  Some plastic, colors and glitter and a new cheap dedicated microwave and I was making baits. I didn't even steal the wife's pyrex cups, I bought my own!

So here are a few samples of my work over the last few weeks.  I've been concentrating on swimbaits, cause I was supposed to be fishing in Cerdos in a couple weeks, but sadly the trip was canceled, so I haven't been able to fish them yet, but they do swim well in the water.

Anyone else making their own plastics?

xjchad

Wow, those look killer! Nice work!
Husband, Father, Fisherman

mo65

Agree with Chad...those look really good. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Bryan Young

Nice work. Those will be killer!

If you can find UV reflective glitter, it will help the fish see your baits when down deep. My friends swear by it.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Rancanfish

#4
I've done buckets and buckets of them.  It's addicting.  A friend gave me a bucket of plastisol I haven't cracked yet.

I just purchased another mold for Spro type jig heads since I have tons of lead still.  That will save me a ton.

I was going to post pics, but they're on my old phone still.

Really curious how you get the red mottling in the bottom bait?
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

rogan

#5
Thanks for the comments guys. I am still learning, but the uv glitter idea is good, thanks Brian.

The aluminum molds make this process easy, and offer a significant range of options, because the mold can be heated, before, during or after you have poured. So to get the copper/green, i lightly poured medium hot (300 degree-ish) plastic across each half of the room temp mold, cleaned up any overspill, assembled the mold, then open poured the green just as normal, still with a room temp mold. Then the secret, heat the mold on an electric griddle until the mold hits about 350 degrees. This reheats all the plastic, allowing it to bond, and no cold cracks. I didn't create this method, thats what videos are for! But i think the name given to this technique is the "drizzle method". I find the entire process very interesting and satisfying too. I can't wait to catch fish on them, but right now we have had 40+ days in the last 2 months with daytime temps over 110 degrees in AZ, its just too hot to fish.

xjchad

Will you be selling these????
I'd love to try some of the trout colored ones for bass, pike, and musky!
Husband, Father, Fisherman

gstours

Thanks for sharing your pictures and information.  You have learned a lot and made some great looking lures.  Hopefully you can fish some of these soon.  It's always more fun to catch fish on your creations.

oc1

That's a really cool project Rogan.  Sounds like there is a lot scope for playing around with it.
-steve

jurelometer

#9
Very high quality pours!

Nice trick on heating the mold to avoid delamination and still get clean color separation.  I was thinking about trying a mini heat gun to just melt the top before pouring the second color.

How long does it take to cool enough so that you can remove the bait?


Quote from: rogan on August 20, 2020, 05:13:42 PM

So here are a few samples of my work over the last few weeks.  I've been concentrating on swimbaits, cause I was supposed to be fishing in Cerdos in a couple weeks, but sadly the trip was canceled, so I haven't been able to fish them yet, but they do swim well in the water.

Anyone else making their own plastics?

I have been designing and making swimbaits for a few years now.   Spent nearly a month  at Cedros as part of my testing.  For calicos, don't be afraid to use a lot of gold.
Sometimes they fished better once the tail got bit off.



THe yellowtail liked the bigguns. 7 inch would get bit, but 9 inchers would get bit better than surface irons.


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Now a little PSA.  My apologies if you know this stuff - but maybe still useful for others.

As the resident killjoy and science fanboy (not an expert), I would like to point out:

Plastisol is a PVC (nasty) with lots of plasticizer (nastier)  and you are heating it up in the neighborhood of the combustion point (even nastier).   This is pretty toxic stuff. If you see (or smell) it smoking, it is releasing (and you are inhaling if you can smell the fumes) poisons including dioxin- which is an extremely nasty substance (ever hear of Agent Orange?).    I read up on the SDS, and use well fitted respirator with a fresh cartridge rated for the vapors.  Plus I pour outdoors with a fan.  The stuff still scares the c**p out of me.   I just pour a few as needed nowadays.   Pouring a lot for friends and/or a business would further increase the risk.

Since the effects of some toxic compounds are cumulative, sometimes it is too late before you know that you are in deep doodoo.  Everybody has their own tolerance for risk, but it is still better to make an informed decision for yourself and anyone else in the household, especially kids.

-------------------------
OK- past the public service announcement, but still in science-fanboy mode  :)  :

Quote
If you can find UV reflective glitter, it will help the fish see your baits when down deep. My friends swear by it.

UV light makes up a small amount (five percentish) of the overall light energy  that reaches the earth from the sun.  It does not travel very deeply into seawater, especially if there is any plankton present.   Humans (and many fish) cannot see UV light (it damages cells, so animals that can see in the UV range are usually shorter lived).   The lures we see at the store in "UV" colors, are UV reactive (AKA fluorescent) which means that UV light is not absorbed by the pigment and not simply reflected back at the same wavelength, instead it bounces off in a new wavelength in the visible light spectrum (e.g. blue).  This  same trick is used to make bright white paper extra bright.  But there has to be some UV light present to pull it off.

So if UV pigments are doing any good at all at depth, most likely they are UV reactive, and are utilizing the small amount of UV bio-luminescence that might be generated by little critters in the immediate vicinity.  Being reflective over a wider color spectrum (e.g. white/pearl) is probably more useful, and possibly what  the "UV" flakes are actually doing to contribute to the lure being bit at depth.  

But hey,  confidence is everything. Forget that I ever mentioned this and you will catch more fish :)

-J

happyhooker

Nice work; end result must be satisfying.

Frank

rogan

Gentlemen, thanks for the comments.

The UV concept is very interesting.  From a layman's perspective, the idea has merit, who wouldn't want a bait/lure that stands out in the water to attract the fish...  But from a scientific standpoint, the math about light waves interacting in water makes it seem like the idea won't work.  I have no idea: I have enough science education in my backround that i can follow the math involved even if I can't reproduce said math on my own, so that part of me says it won't work and isn't necessary.  But another side of me says, science is an evolving endeavor and maybe there are some other factors that we aren't taking into account that might it make an effective addition to a bait.  And I think that's one of the coolest parts about life, we don't know everything.  Which gives us a chance to experiment, tinker, engage and challenge our world and our beliefs.

J, thank you very much for the PSA.  I knew I wanted to hear the downsides to this process, but I didn't remember that plastisol was a pvc based product and I could just look up the SDS and get my answers.  I appreciate your help and knowledge.  I have been using the fans and minimizing the smoke production by keeping the temps as close to 350F as possible and not overcooking the plastic. (plastisol must be heated to 350F first to make the chemical changes necessary to bond the chemicals and get usable baits) You mentioned using a heat gun to heat the top of the previous layer and that is exactly what needs to be done to get a proper laminating bond, otherwise the layers will separate when cool, sometimes called "cold cracking".  But the heat gun is also what generates the smoke. By heating just the surface, that localized dump of energy "burns" off the top layer creating the dangerous vapor you mentioned.

It takes about 20 minutes for the molds to cool enough for me to remove the baits, but I am working in the desert where our daytime temps are over 110 and the nights are 90+, so you might have a different experience.  They are hot when i remove them, so they go into a water bath for 5 minutes to cool and stiffen up. I also allow the molds to cool on the griddle, so that added heat mass takes longer to dissipate.

Single color pours are fast, just fill the mold, let it cool for a few minutes and de-mold.  The laminates are a significant time investment.  To guarantee lamination, i pour all the layers, turn on the griddle to 350-360, let it heat 20-22 minutes, turn it off, wait another 20+ minutes for cooling, then i can de-mold.  A much more time intensive process, but the results can be amazing.  If you can dream it up, it can be made in a soft plastic using these methods.

rogan

A few days ago I received my order for the 4 inch swimbait mold.  Built just like the 6 inch version, just smaller.  harder to pour since the cavity is smaller and the top opening is narrower, so I had to have a steady hand and slow down to avoid spills and over pouring.  But really cool and fits a 3/0 or 4/0 screwlock swimbait hook depending on the brand. Can't wait to try these out on the largemouth bass and trout.

Cor

This is something I have still on my to do list.     

jurelometer's public service announcement is appreciated but also more then a bit worrying, in particular as I have been thinking about a test for lead poisoning.   I have been making all sorts of cast lead items since I was very young. :o :o
Cornelis

Swami805

How many cavities in a mold? I'd imagine less the bigger the bait.
Do what you can with that you have where you are