Custom Baits - Forum
Soft Plastic Bait Making => Photo Gallery => Topic started by: ctom on 08/27/22 14:54 UTC
-
Aloha colorshift in clear over black.
This first picture shows the colorshift in fairly good sunlight from the west.
(https://i.imgur.com/M2N0Nsj.jpg)
This second picture shows the colorshift after stepping into the kitchen with an east facing window for light.
(https://i.imgur.com/z8HTc8Q.jpg?1)
Walking in from outside was a mind trip.
When using a twin injector I find that both of these molds like to be fairly warm. Not really HOT, but quite warm. And the blending block needs to be very, very warm. I clamped the two molds together side by side and with all the aluminum I think they acted as heat sinks until the molds got real warm. The baits shown are from the molds when they had gotten warmed up and were clamped together.
I'm liking these two baits a lot.
-
That color shift is bonkers!!!
-
About what temp do you heat your molds up to before injection, 250?
-
I filled every cavity in both molds with junk plastic and let them sit for a couple minutes, three times. Ten i used the twin injector. This is with the two molds clamped together And using the twin injector. I haven't tried either mold solo yet and I'm almost sure that they'd inject fine with the single pump.
These are very large molds, both dimension-wise and volume-wise, that are two separate halves. They're not joined in any way. I think I'd be leery of heating these on a large surface griddle for fear of warping. The false injections did a good enough job of getting the cavities warm enough to fill completely when clamped together. I got both molds within days of each other and waited until I had both to work with them. I was curious if their bulk when clamped together was an issue, otherwise I can't imagine why anyone would want to do two of these big honkers at a time.
During the cold months my shop is held at about 40 degrees until I plan to use it and these molds are kept in the shop. When I know I am going to be injecting plastic or casting lead I bring everything I am going to be using in the house the day before and put it on the boiler housing where it'll go back to the heated shop at about 100 degrees, so working with them in the cold won't be an issue for me.
The Kantana Craw injects straight down into the cavity from the port while the beetle's cavities are at an angle almost immediately after the port. My first issues were with the bodies shooting hollow and very small appendages half filling, on both molds. Buth after a couple warming injections the two molds filled like troopers. Again, I haven't tried either mold on it's own so what I experienced may not even be an issue.
On a plus side for both molds I can see a thin metal, like punch plate art metal, being used to whip up a splitter. Since the molds use simple alignment pins the whole face of the mold is clear of any obstructions like the cnc molds have to deal with when hinged. For those without twin injectors this could help them make split colored baits that would be eye popping nice. And of course the bodies of both baits lend themselves to hand pouring if that's someone's ilk.
-
Nice