Custom Baits - Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: ctom on 04/06/20 09:58 UTC
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How many of you will assign a number to a mold if you have more than one or two of the molds? I have 4 basstackle stinger molds that are identical and one was hooting with a line of extremely fine bubbles thru it which for personal use was fine but I had a couple customers call me on it so I had to go on a hunt.
First I had to shoot all the molds until they got fairly warm before I could determine which was the culprit. Then I numbered each , 1 thru 4, with the engraver. The one dealing me fits was #4.
As it turned out the venting was cut too shallow between a couple of the cavities so that when the mold was injected real warm the air was backing up thru the cavities making the bubble trails. I used a shop knife and steel straightedge to cut those vents deeper and that took care of that issue. So now I have a reference number etched in those molds and if any other little treats show themselves I can simply back track to find which one is up to no good.
I dropped one of three of baitmolds' aluminum molds for 2" swim impacts on the rubber floor mat and one side "just" ticked the floor. The resulting ding was not really noticeable and at the time I wasn't even aware of it until I was doing an order later on in the season and started getting a ton of heavy flashing on one mold. I'd already numbered these mold and knew exact what number it was so I was quick to pull it and find out just what was happening. When I ran a wad of old nylon stocking over the mold's faces and corners I found that there was the minutest of dents there that left a burr on the corner so the mold was ever so slightly open at that point allowing the flashing. Since it was a corner that wasn't near a cavity I used a very fine flat file and with a couple passes reduced the burr. A few trial shots showed this remedied the problem.
Little things like this can make me nuts at times so I've gotten into the habit of engraving a number into any mold that I have more than one of. I also engrave my name on one face of the outside so if they're ever stolen the name can claim them back if found.
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I number the few molds that I have multiples of.
I also note the best plastic temp. on large body molds that have a tendency to dent (shooting them cooler normally solves the issue).
I mark mine with a permanent marker which comes off with some WD-40 if I change the info on it. (that also works on Plano boxes that I've marked what is in them on the lid/latch.
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I've tried the mrker route but it comes off pretty easy if you get and plastic, raw or cooked, on it.
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Write on the hinge side.
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I tried that side first, but ya know I like to handle the whole mold at times....lol I just engrave the numbers now and then go over the cut with the magic marker so when the marker has worn off the flat its still in the engraving. Works great.
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I bought three molds off of Denny and he has a label maker the he had used to mark them. I thought that was a good idea for a lawyer.
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Some of my lead molds require tilting while filling or just like to be run hot etc.
So now I started marking them so I remember right off the bat what I need to do to get it to work properly.
The other day it was a hilts 16oz bullet head mold.
Without tilting it just wouldn't fill properly around the hook shank near the lead barb.
But tilted it worked fine.
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I don't have enough YET. ::) but I'm working on it.