Author Topic: Question from North West - is there a dummies DIY guide to salmon soft beads?  (Read 1387 times)

Offline pointbob

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Hi all

Been lurking for a while but would like to ask a basic question. I'm in pacific north west and soft rubber bead fishing is hot. I'm also not into paying $10 for 8 beads lol.

Is there a newbie guide on how to make these round beads...esp in the 10 - 12mm size?

I looked thru old forum pages and found this nugget but it's a few years old and the OP is not around:

"A 50 caliber bullet mold makes about a 12.5 mm ball.  I'm going to try hand pouring one with orange plastic to see how it works.  If that works, I'm going to have to look up how to fish with it!"

"I tried it today and made 16 beautiful eggs in about 10  minutes.  I used a Beast injector, which I believe is for injecting food, and it fit the sprue hole great.  If someone wanted to do serious quantities I believe the Lee 12-cavity mold would really crank them out.  I did 8 batches of 2 eggs without reheating the plastic.  I had it to around 350 or so when I started."

1) What's a beast injector? ( i googled it...is it a big metal syringe??
2) What's a sprue hole?
3) Is there a way to make a hole in the rubber bead somehow (for the fishing line to slide thru)?
4) Is there an inexpensive online place to buy the pouring plastic?
5) how do you make the colour you want?

Thanks for any guidance!

Bob
Van BC


« Last Edit: 08/06/21 11:52 UTC by pointbob »

Offline ctom

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Welcome aboard the insane tackle crafting train pointbob.

I haven't any info on the beast injector but the injectors we use to make our baits are specific to plastic and offer the most safety.

The sprue is where the injector fits into the mold. The area of the sprue chamber where the plastic actually enters a cavity is called the gate.

Some molds can be modified to accept a wire or soft metal rod so that the resultant bait have a hole running thru them. Since what we use for plastic is soft by nature I wonder about how durable and soft plastic bead would stand up to the rigors of fishing while strung on the line, but its always worth a shot.

You can get the raw plastic right here at Do-It. Check at the top of this page and click on "store", then soft plastics. There are a host of other on-line venues to purchase the raw plastic and colorants and all are relatively competitive with one another price-wise. Do-It also sells the colorants and anything you'd ever need to begin the soft plastic page of tackle crafting. Plus, this web site has a world of experience and plenty of persons to help if things get challenging. You're always welcome to ask questions here.

Once again, welcome to the Do-It forums!

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Offline olsarge

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I am not aware of any quick fixes that will solve your issue without an investment.  I am pretty sure that both lure craft and bass tackle offer egg molds of various capacities.  Than you will need a injector microwave gloves and colorant. Among assorted other sundries.  The good news is a gallon of plastisol will make a helluva  !it of beads.
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Offline Muskygary

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Basstackle.com has all the different sizes of salmon egg molds! You inject and make salmon eggs the same way we make all plastic baits.

Offline efishnc

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Whether you were going to use the .50 cal or or egg mold, I would recommend punching your holes afterward with a marinade injection needle (instead of modifying the mold as a newbie)... as far as making them more durable, I would suggest heavy doses of hardener in your mix and/or gluing a rivet cap to them.

Offline WALLEYE WACKER

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Welcome Pointbob there is a when starting a new hobby there is always is a cost and this is how I choose if it’s worth the cost in most cases it isn’t but what justifies it to me is that you can make any color you want plus even if the molds manufactured bait’s you still get a better result on your own.
The day you catch your first fish you’ll be hooked for life no matter what the cost.
May your days be filled with sun shine and you always have a tight line. AMEN