Just getting started

[ctom]

For the last month I have been ordering plastic, colorants, molds....everything I will need to do this injection stuff. In the meantime I have been watching videos on several sites and last night was my debut. I mixed up some purple transparent, hot orange transparent, chartreuse transparent and some clear with glow purple pigment and set myself to work. I found it easier to keep the oven on 300 degrees and kept my readied plastics in it until I needed them again and an occasional stir kepth things running smooth for me. The microwave did the initial cooking and the molds sat atop of the stove to stay warm. And I had a ball.

I had ordered some eyes and thought perhaps after I got schooled a bit on all of these processes I'd attempt to apply them and dip them similar to what Keith from Microspoons does, but I found the confidence right away and I think I turned out some very nice looking plastic baits. Our camera is out of town with the wife but I will get some shots later and get them up here.

I will point out that I have been making lead jigs for years....try almost fifty....and the idea of injecting plastic almost scared me. I don't know why because the two processes are so similar. Its just a matter of adjusting to a different pouring medium. Honestly the room for imagination will be almost endless with the plastic. One thing I tried right away [using Keith's recommendation of a matchhead size dab of it] was the hi-lite in purple. I mixed this in after I shot a couple batches of stinger type baits and then tried a shad stinger in the purple and WOW, what a difference that stuff makes.

Having sites such as this to help school beginners is a great asset. The number of very professional people who have answered simple questions for me by pm also made this transition an easy one. To all who took the time to reply, Thank You.

I left my "dishes" out from last night. I'm off to play again, before the wife gets home. I live in Minnesota and have an unheated garage so now I see the need to quarantine a corner of it, heat it and buy another microwave to cook with. The heater can double as an oven [ I have a camp oven box] to hold my cooked plastics at temp and to help heat the molds. Lots to do, but before anything....thanks again to all who have helped this old man out!

[pjmcla]

Welcome to the wonderful world of plastics injecting.  
Be careful is the main thing. But you already know that from pouring lead.  I find "playing with plastics" more addictive than pouring lead ( blending colors, glitters, hi-lights, more diverse molds ).   Hi-lights really do add to the look of the baits ( at least to me ).  Ventilation is really important;  to me plastic requires much more venting than lead.   

[Jason]

Welcome.  Can't wait to see your baits and some fish pics!

Jason

[pieterbez]

Welcome Welcome

[ctom]

I'll see if the pic takes here, but the link will show anyway.

I spent some of the weekend playing and getting acquainted with techniques and such. Developing color has been a fun one. At any rate, I'm in with both feet now.

The shad at the bottom right has a glow purple belly....when hit with the camera flash it golws the prettiest purple a guy could ever imagine.

[knifemaker3]

looking good!

[Jason]

Dang!!! I would say you hit the ground running.  Those are some super looking baits.

Great job.

Jason

[Dave]

Tom those look outstanding!

[ctom]

I have set my sights on quantities per color for the little ice stinger bait I have been mentioning, that forced me to work on colors. Last night I shot 26 molds full of black, with a twist. The black was easy to mix up. I used 25 drops of CCM colorant to 3/4 cup of CCm super-soft and was dead on to what I wanted. Then I added blue hi lites. BINGO.

As I plucked these little baits off the casting stem and put them on a pile, the pile actually appeared to be moving. The bigger the pile the more it looked as such. It was that blue cast to the baits that was catching ever so slightly the light. Un-real.

These stingers are super small baits. The CCM super-soft plastic is performing flawlessly. I keep the plastic above 330 degrees but under 360 and things move right along. Injection to un-molding time is roughly 1.5 minutes. The plastic gets  additives in the solid colors, but the transparent colors are getting 4-5 drops per 3/4 cup of stabilizer. Thus far I am getting colors with some super depth and clarity.

In less than nine hours from the time I posted the first pics of that two color shad I started out with, I recieved over 100 pms from people visiting 4 different Minnesota-based websites inquiring as to whether these would be for sale. Even with a fuzzy picture, the small ice stinger got 4 TIMES that kind of response since that pic was put up. The people who have had these in their hands are almost universal in their reactions....first they smile that
little trick smile and then they say "oh, man.....".

I have another plastic that I have tried and will say that CCM plastic is a better product. The colorants seem to be very consistant and the stainless nut in the jar trick works great for those colors that pack.

I'm knocking off the 1.75" shads for a while as I get loaded up on quantities of these little fellas. When the rush begins to ease up I'll do the shads again and see what color creations I can muster up.