Top pour vs. Side pour

[Muskygary]

I always assumed a top pour mold meant when you opened the mold the top waqs on one side and the belly was on the other. Side pour ment when you opened the mold you saw the two sides. Right? I have saw some molds where they showed the side of the swimbait bur called it a top pour? Just trying to get this straight in my head.  Why would anyone want a side pour mold?

[Jason]

I'm not sure I totally understand your question, but if you are asking why would a bait be machined in a mold where there are two halves vs a top and bottom there are 2 main reasons:

1) Depending on the design it's not always possible to do a top / bottom (like the swim shad / wutz-it, etc.)
2) Cost - as a general rule it is much more difficult to design a top / bottom design and can require special (expensive) equipment

The DD Gill would be an unreal bait if it were top / bottom, but would require stacking many thin plates of aluminum to achieve this.  The cost would be astronomical.

So it's really a matter of feasibility and cost.  With enough money, anything could be top / bottom, it's just not always feasible.

Did this answer it?

Jason 

[Muskygary]

So when someone talks about a mold being top pour; the top is on one side and the bottom is on the other; making it easy  to pour in a throat, belly, top and bottom color?

[gone2long]

Isn't this a top pour? you are reffering to a hand pour not injection right?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmTMSpcu_ug

[Jason]

So when someone talks about a mold being top pour; the top is on one side and the bottom is on the other; making it easy  to pour in a throat, belly, top and bottom color?

That's what I wasn't sure about your question.  They could be talking about that.  Or, they could be referring to the mold orientation.  Again using the DD Gill as an example, the spru is on top and the bait is vertical in the mold (top pour - actually injection).  A ribbon tail mold lays on it's side and the spru is on it's side.  That's what I was unsure you were asking about.

Jason

[Jason]

Isn't this a top pour? you are reffering to a hand pour not injection right?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmTMSpcu_ug

That is an open pour mold.  A similar example in the injection world would be the Swim Shad.  You can hand pour part of the bait, then close it and inject it.  The opposite would be the DD Gill - it needs to be injected.

With that said, you could take the DD Gill, remove the arms and change the spru and make it a two piece open pour mold.

[MonteSS]

I always thought top pour was the injection hole was on the end os the mold and side the injection hole was on the side.

...Bill

[t-billy]

Isn't this a top pour? you are reffering to a hand pour not injection right?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmTMSpcu_ug

That's what I consider a top pour mold.

[BareKnuckleJigs]

To the best of my knowledge, the difference of Top Pour vs. Side Pour is where the sprue/injection port is located/oriented on the mold.  On a mold that has the Left Side of the Bait on one Mold Half, and the Right Side of the Bait on the other Mold Half...I THINK a Top Pour injects from the Top (the bait/cavity is horizontal), and a Side Pour injects from the Side, shooting plastic into the "nose" of the Bait (bait/cavity is horizontal).  I've seen a few molds that I'd like to have that had the option of either Top or Side Pour, and looking at the Side Pour configuration, I'd rather the Side Pour (in those few molds).

Consider the CCM Carrot...I prefer to fish them Tail Vertical (I could be the OddBall on this one).  The Carrot Molds, the cavities are positioned to be a Laminate with a Twin, if they're fished Tail Horizontal...these molds are also a Top Pour.  The way I like to fish Carrots, Tail Vertical, I would need a 4" Skinny as a Side Inject, and each cavity having its own Sprue, to get a Top/Bottom Laminate and rigging them Tail Vertical.  My only other option would be having a mold made so the cavities were cut in the mold Tail Vertical, to get a Top/Bottom Laminate from a Top Pour...and like many other molds that are oriented Belly on one Half, Back on the other Half, fed from a Single, Top Pour Sprue.

[gone2long]

I was keying in on his statement "top pour" as opposed to injection I would think it quite difficult to pour a side port and get a complete bait as gravity is your best friend when hand pouring

[firetiger]

The DD Gill would be an unreal bait if it were top / bottom, but would require stacking many thin plates of aluminum to achieve this.  The cost would be astronomical.

Jason

I wondered why you didn't do the DD Gill in a top / bottom fashion.  It really would be off the charts with the pouring possibilities!

[Frank]

I probably started some of this confusion. If I say top pour I mean the sprue is straight with the nose. And side pour is a mold with a 90deg sprue. I get much more controll of what the bait looks like with a top pour when I am using two colors. The side pour can do two colors but not as consistant as a top pour. The DD gill is a great example. The baits pour 50/50 baits 99% of the time. I shoot many many swim baits with top pour and have the same results nearly all the time. The mold in the video that was referred to I call an open pour. Maybe the names are confusing but that is my interpretation. Frank

[andrewlamberson]

I think this is correct....

Open Pour aka "Hand Pour": One piece mold that you hand pour the bait.
    Advantages: inexpensive, no injector needed.
    Disadvantages: bait has a flat side (for most people!), some find it difficult to pour with out flash/over pour. Very difficult to pour small appendages.

Top Pour aka Top Hand Pour: Two piece mold that you hand pour into the top and gravity and flow fill the mold
    Advantages: No injector needed. No runner. 2 sided baits with detail on both sides.Great forSenko type baits.  Some molds can use an injector if sprue is modified.
    Disadvantages: Slower than injecting. Bait design is limited. One sprue per bait.

Side Injection: Two piece mold that requires an injector. Typically each bait is filled on the side of the bait with no sprue to hold extra plastic. Nose pour side injection is possible with short runner coming off the injection point and curving into the nose of the bait. Typically these molds do not have a very large (if any sprue) due to the need for think aluminum. Most common side injected mold is a skirt mold.
    Advantages: slightly cheaper than top injection because you don't have to machine a runner, and uses less aluminum.
    Disadvantages: Typically...Cannot do top/bottom laminates but front/back different colors are possible...but look funny! You have to hold pressure with your injector which acts like a sprue/runner to fill for shrinking plastic. Thick aluminum needed to accommodate injector. More expensive due to thicker aluminum and CNC time. Trim mark on side of bait.

Top Injection: Two piece mold that requires injector. Often has a runner to feed multiple cavities.
    Advantages: Significantly better options for bait design since pressure on the flow will fill small cavities and extremities. Two sided baits with very good detail and small appendages. Also allows for top/bottom laminates. Runner allows for multiple cavities with one injection. "Easy" top/bottom laminates. Sprue/runner to accommodate for plastic shrinkage (or cause sucking from the head of the bait when they cool first!).
    Disadvantages: More expensive due to more aluminium (mold) and CNC machine time. Sprue/runner can cause sucking issues on head of the bait if pressure is not held for proper length of time.

I hope this helps. I'm sure there is some debate on my advantages/disadvantages!

[ctom]

All I know is that if there is a hole formed when the two pieces are clamped together, I have to inject it. Top, side, whatever. If its jusy a chunk of metal with a form cut into it, its a hand pour. How's that.

[Denny Welch]

Re CTOM...now that I understand.