New and need a little help

[mikesjet]

Hello all,

  Just got into this because Pennsylvania winters suck!  I received my molds, 7" ribbon tail and 3.5 newt.  Here is my problem:  I am having trouble getting complete tails.  It is cold where I am doing the injecting and I am thinking that I need to preheat my molds in that temp.  Any help would greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Mike

[Justin9j]

Ok mike I'm new too.  But make sure your plastic is 350 degs. And preheat your molds with a hair dyer.   I even preheat my injector.   

[Jason]

You can keep you molds in the house and/or as mentioned above you can knock the chill off with a hair dryer.  The other thing that can help is rubbing a tiny bit of worm oil in the tail area.

Jason

[andrewlamberson]

Jason is ...of course.... 100% correct ... I live in lovely Minnesota....and I always need to make sure my molds get hot enough....and my injector is hot enough...and I always inject at approx. 350 degrees....and then I get great results.

I made a bunch of  Tiny Toad Stickers today...which shot perfect AFTER the mold warmed up!

With my "make up air" coming in the window at 14 degrees this am...I am also very careful NOT to let a "cool" breeze hit my molds. I often cover them with a towel between injections to keep them warm.

[MonteSS]

Welcome to the site.

I heat my cold molds in the toaster oven @350* for 5 mins.

I had a 10" CCM ribbontail worm mold and a couple different length curly tail/leg Lizard molds from other manufacturers. To get the tail and legs to fill completely, I had to inject VERY hard and fast. This is odd for me because normaly I inject most molds very slow.

So try standing on it hard and hold pressure for 5 seconds.

...Bill

[mikesjet]

thanks for all the replies.  I did figure one thing out, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!  I was relying on the hinge to hold together and if I injected hard, it would push the mold apart.  I used real clamps (bar clamps) and I was able to inject hard and fast and hold the pressure and that has solved my issue so far.  I will use some of the tips I read and that will make the injecting more relaxed.

[superharmonix]

...just a tip- careful on the bar clamps.  If you get them too tight you will warp the aluminum.  I'm not saying you can't use them, but just don't over tighten them.  Also  since no one else has mentioned so far, how are you measuring your plastic temp?

[mikesjet]

I am using the visegrip style bar clamps.  Temp wise....well there is another problem.  I search the net and found to look for a consistancy and not a temp.  Now that I have read through this forum I am thinking I will purchase an infrared thermometer. 

[andrewlamberson]

I would like to recommend: http://www.amazon.com/CDN-DTQ450X-ProAccurate-Quick-Read-Thermometer/dp/B0021AEAG2

By Daughter is a Microbiologist and this is the thermometer she uses in her lab. I've had one since Christmas and I'm really impressed! For $20 you can't beat it!!!!

An Infrared thermometer only measures the skin temperature...and has issues with clear or light colored plastics.  I work for a high tech engineered plastics company and we only use the infrared thermometers to measure the temperature of metal (the equipment)...not the plastic....they are not accurate enough.

I think having a good thermometer is extremely important in getting good results.

[Muskygary]

Thanks for that e-address andrew, I just bought one of those. Looks very acurate.

[mikesjet]

Cool people here.  Took all the tips and baits are coming out awesome!

[Jason]

Congrats!!!  When you get a chance you should post a pic of some of your creations.

Jason

[mikesjet]

 I posted a pic in the gallery of my second try at laminates without a plate.  I don't think they came out too bad.  I am facinated with what you can accomplish with some ingenuity.