perhaps an odd question

[bearwithfish]

so i am debating pouring my own plastics... biggest obstacle? no idea how or where to get the things i need and i would like to make as much of my own gear as possible.. i am starting to research and i think the forms are not a big issue.... where to get the plastic though?? i know you can get a ton on line but i am looking at more of a local market thing .... can you get stuff at Micheal's? wally? that type of place and where to look.. also can you melt down your old stuff to recycle? just asking........

[javelin225ho]

dude, its a pain in the ass.....do your research and the more money you spend on equipment, the easier it will be....promise that!

[Pro Reel]

I checked into it once and found that as a hobby it's OK, but if you are trying to save money, just buy your baits when they are on sale. Bears baits is the best place to buy all your molds and supplies.

[bearwithfish]

yeah i was getting the impression that it was more of a hobby than a money saver.. that said if in the long run i can get some cool stuff made though whats the harm right? LOL well again at this time i am just looking and trying to figure a lot out before the investment if i decide to pursue it .. thanks for the input .....

[bearwithfish]

thank you soo very much the more i look the more inclined i am to try it out...

[biggun]

All that sam posted is great info, just becarful it gets real addictive real quick, Three years ago I was just goin to do it for a hobby you know give it a try. Now I dont even own but one bag of store bought worms and when there gone thats it. BEAR is great to deal with and has some great products, also take a look at del-mart molds del makes some nice stuff to. But like i said becarful, i started little over two years ago couple molds and a quart of plastic thought i was doing somthing, now I have over 2K in molds and average 2.5-5 gallons of plastic a week. It sure is fun though.

[bearwithfish]

 

[SenkoSam]

Just my opinion, but Delmart has higher prices for standard molds and other supplies and his service is, well ...... crap!

[biggun]

I was just giving him some places to look at, bears baits, del mart molds, bass tackle molds, bobs tackle shack, caney creek molds. Or my favorite is make your own mold but there in lies an whole other addition to the lure making sickness

[bearwithfish]

SenkoSam... you are not far from me do you have any local places you shop for gear to make your own?

as for an opinion of a company i am grateful for any suggestions on places to shop and find that each person has a very different experience dependant on how you handle people... not saying that the customer is always the problem but often i find that if you take a hard line to fast you get a hard line from them forever....

any how back on topic if we may.... i have checked out a few vids and sites about making my own molds and to be honest i kinda dig the idea at least in the beginning as its much more cost effective to get POP versus an aluminum mold that i may end up using 2-3x.... again if it gets going good and i really enjoy it that will be a far different thing all together... at this stage i am looking for the following
cheap
small amounts
easy to use
cheap
fun to use
not going to kill my love for DIY
cheap
ummmmm
yeah thats about it..... LOL

[biggun]

Give bearsbaits a shout tell him what you want to do he can set you up with an kit with everything you need, for less then $200.00 bucks you will have top of the line stuff and be pouring in a few days. As for finding plastisol locally no I dont think you are goin to pick it up in wally world. For glitters and such becarful adding craft store type glitter some of it will discolor at high temps that the plastisol needs to be at an ruin a good batch of plastic, but there are other cool things you can find in the craft stores. Told ya its a sickness.LOL

[SenkoSam]

Bearwithfish, I hope you got the info you need from my post before it was deleted.
As for Del, many on tackleunderground have expressed the same problems year after year for eight or more years and nothing has changed. You take your chances when ordering from him. Truly a nasty individual to deal with. JMO

Any other questions, pm me.

Frank

[bearwithfish]

i appreciate the heads up and again at this point i am simply looking so not a big deal.....

looked around Bears and its a bit above the beginner experimentation stage but i really like the products there so if i really get into it and get to the point where i would need that type of gear i will certainly consider it..... i do like the price on that Qt bottle of plastic though...

hmmmm the wife is gonna kill me LOL i just dumped $150 in fish for my tank.... perhaps i will just research more and give her a month before i say "hey look what i ordered" LOL...... thanks guys...

[javelin225ho]

Sam, ive delt with Del and April for quite some time and never had an issue.  i mean, when it comes down to it, you have to realize that Del is doing the work and Ap is the customer service.  so, if you do get to talk to Del and start bitchin' at him, im sure its not the "customer is always right" mentality when he's the one in there doing all that work....i know i wouldn't be. 

please dont quote TU, as far as I am concerned, MOST, not all, of those folks have a "Holy-ier than thou" attitude and they are all "Know it alls".  its a place where Ego's run rampant and ideas are stolen at the drop of a hat.  again, this is Just My Opinion.

Sam, what problems have you specifically had with Del?

[bearwithfish]

ok so before we get derailed please let me make a few observation statements......

i am really hear to learn and in order to learn anything new one must be open to multiple points of view. i try to be as much as possible. there are timew when i feel it is really the personal decision of the person asking questions to try or not try something based on what ever they have learned from others. that said i will be more clear in the future about being thankful for peoples opinions. i am thankful have no doubt but my intention was to gain information not open the floor to a pissing contest of who is right/ wrong/ better etc.... let us drop the costomer service for now as it is completely irrelevant to the conversation at hand IMHO.

now what are some other ways to get or make molds that are pocket friendly and potentially available on a local level? i now know that i will need to order the plastic and gather some materials (safety gear, pyrex etc..) but i wonder what things can you use from a typical craft store and if using old plastics to recycle what challenges am i likely to encounter?

to the Moderators - if there is a need to edit or otherwise modify this post please PM me after you have done so just so i am aware of the changes.

[javelin225ho]

man, i did the pyrex route but have found that just spending the money on a small melting pot is way easier....again, its a "Time is money" kinda thing for me....there is also alot of leftover in the pyrex that is just more time dealing with. 

as for molds, i tinkered alot with this and used automotive fiberglass.  it was a pain and did its job but again, not very time friendly when you have trim every worm or frog....the 2 part molds are better for saving time due to not having to trim the bait with an exacto knife.....

another heads up, i found this out the hard way....Glitter is not Glitter is not Glitter.....if you go to hobby lobby and think you can use that glitter opposed to the glitter sold by other places that are geared toward bait making, dont do it.  the color will not stick to the glitter when it reaches the high temp.....so, dont go cheap on glitter. 

[bearwithfish]

[/color]

man, i did the pyrex route but have found that just spending the money on a small melting pot is way easier....again, its a "Time is money" kinda thing for me....there is also alot of leftover in the pyrex that is just more time dealing with. 
would a small pot from say big lots work that way i can put a bend in it to pour?

as for molds, i tinkered alot with this and used automotive fiberglass.  it was a pain and did its job but again, not very time friendly when you have trim every worm or frog....the 2 part molds are better for saving time due to not having to trim the bait with an exacto knife.....
what about one part molds? so that you get that flat bottom worm look?

another heads up, i found this out the hard way....Glitter is not Glitter is not Glitter.....if you go to hobby lobby and think you can use that glitter opposed to the glitter sold by other places that are geared toward bait making, dont do it.  the color will not stick to the glitter when it reaches the high temp.....so, dont go cheap on glitter. this is great info some one else posted as well... and i agree based on the heat but what about things like dye?

i replied with in the quote if i did it right its in blue if not i will try to fix it....

[SenkoSam]

Just to clarify what to expect from a tacklecraft supplier for all of us tacklecraft fanatics:
1. quality products, especially plastisol and glitter
     Bad plastic from wholesaler to wholesaler can be a big problem for the tacklecrafter that buys the stuff and tries to use it. My friend, owner of Bear Paw Baits, usually buys 55 gallon drums of the stuff and had a bad batch from Del. He gave me a quart to test and the stuff lacked something (most likely hardener) and the lures came out gooey.

2. Ability to communicate with the business you buy from and notice given when the company is closed for whatever reason (vacation; emergency, etc.)
  Again, Bear Paw had difficulty getting phone calls and e-mails returned after reporting our results. Both of us had been pouring plastics for four years and know the three grades and the characterics that define them.

3. You expect a good return policy for defective products and a prompt replacement, credit or refund, including shipping
Bear Paw waited weeks to resolve the issue and it was inferred that he was the problem, not the plastic.

4. Products listed on line or in a catalog should available within a few weeks and if not, the customer should be given the option of canceling the order.
I waited almost two months for aluminum molds from Del and got no reply to my e-mails or phone calls.  Excuses don't cut it after that period of time (including, "my e-mail was down"). When I get excited about a lure design and am willing to pay a c-note up front, I WANT MY TOYS NOW! or at  least a prompt reason why they're not coming in a timely manner. Communication prevents ill feeling and pent up rage and extends one's patience.

On-line Consensus
Lure craft site forums tell the whole story over a period of YEARS! If you or I sell  lures and get orders, your component supplier is a big part of your business success. Customer complaints pile up over time and excuses don't cut it if you want to stay in business or sell a particular item. Lurecrafters (sellers and hobbyists) and anglers confer publically after not getting satisfaction over time from the same source. We praise constantly those that do right by us and condemn those who constantly screw us.

To be fair, the molds and dyes I've order from Del (except plastic) are top of the line in quality .... when I finally received them. His prices are less competitive though than the new suppliers that are now offering the same things.

Tacklecraft is a discipline, creative, at times obsessive and very satisfying, especially when I or another use my creation(s) to catch different species of fish.
Maybe superstition, but the end user wants more of the same to catch more of the same and we understand.

Frank

[jesse1378]

it's super addicting. i make my own molds...POP, Resin, Durham's water putty, and soon RTV Silicon. most of my molds are 1 sided. the only 2 part molds i have are a frog and a stick bait. after a few trys you can get it down where you dont have to trim that much, if at all. i have TRIED to deal with Del, but have since changed my mind. i have dealt with Lure Craft and Bearsbaits. both of which are awesome. i have yet to buy from bass tackle and the other mentioned. i too started with 1 mold, 3 colors, 3 colors of glitter, and a quart of plastic. i now have roughly 30 molds countless colors and glitters. I am still a hobbiest and only been doing it for i think maybe 10 months or so. The amount of plastic i order has increased as well. i will say this. if you try it and you are not sure if you like it. When you catch that first nice bass (or whatever species you fish for) you will be hooked. for me i was hooked when i took my first bag of baits fishing and caught over a dozen 2lb bass in about 3 hours. after that i went full retard and bought all kinds of crap lol.

[SenkoSam]

Jesse, we and many others are on the same page!
One of the greatest things about lurecrafting is that when you can't fish (weather, work, illness), you can use your imagination to create or copy lures.
I do so on a daily basis.  The problem is having to wait until ice out!!!
As time goes on, I realize the many lures I can custom make that have different actions and functions! Sure beats watching the tube or blowing money on overpriced lures! LOL

Just remember to take pictures of the lure and the fish it catches. You neve know when a mean ol pickerl will eat your prototype!

[jesse1378]

Down here the bait eaters are mudfish (bowfin/grenal) they are beasts lol. bear, check your PMs.

[SenkoSam]

We have bowfin up here too, but their not caught that often. I've seen their teeth but still not as bad as the 10 lb snakeheads we grow in some local ponds!

[jwfflipper]

dude, its a pain in the ass.....do your research and the more money you spend on equipment, the easier it will be....promise that!

You know it my brother!!!

[javelin225ho]

You know it my brother!!!

Whats up Jeff? 

[jwfflipper]

Whats up Jeff?

same ole stuff. Looking around, trying to learn. Haha. Baits are in the mail.