Homemade Senkos

[acwatkins]

So I've been toying around with the idea of pouring my own plastics for a while now. Given the price of everything for the start-up I was hesitating and kept putting it off. Well, I guess my girlfriend got tired of hearing me talk about it so she went ahead and got me the kit and a senko mold from Do-It! We poured a batch last night to play around and test it out, and man is it satisfying! I can already tell it's going to become yet another fishing addiction of mine. Here's what they came out to. Definitely went a little too heavy on the glitter but I like the look, they're extremely stretchy too. I can't wait to test them out Friday and pour new combos!


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[DanMarino]

Outstanding purple-metal flake! Or is that pink? haha. In either case, I can see how that would be fun.

[azmdted]

Reminds me of a toy/kit I had as a kid called 'Creepy Crawlers' where we could melt and mold our own critters. Of course that was nearly 50 years ago. Have fun.

[Mark]

Nice job.

I've never made soft plastics.

How do you prepare the plastic? Do you heat it?

Thank you,

[Big Mike]

Can you remelt the overflow or is that just part of the cost of making them? Can you buy different texture plastics?

Pretty cool. Now if they had a paddle tail mold that would be awesome.

[mike o]

I saw a video on making your own molds. I'm thinking about trying to make a mold for bkd's

[bignose]

Baitmold.com carries a very complete line of molds including swimbaits and paddle tails.
Below is one of their models.

DSC00054-300x300.jpg

You can reheat and recast scraps and waste pieces.

I tried doing the soft plastic thing, once, heating the liquid plastisol on a hot plate in my school shop. I made a plaster mold of sluggos when they first cam out.
I didn't control the heat properly, and the shop ventilation wasn't up to dispersing the fumes.
The smell was so bad that that the Home Ec teacher in the room next door gave me hell because it ruined her cooking demo. Be aware the fumes were brutal.

Buying soft plastic lures suddenly seemed to be a lot better, and safer option

You got much better results than I did! Your lures look very professional!

[suicyderider]

If u cut the bottoms off and leave about 3/4" in the mold u can shoot another color and have tails i used to shoot my own plastics

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[Memory Maker]

BE REALLY CAREFUL with breathing burnt melted plastic....... IT IS DEADLY !!! .......... it will burn your lungs and give you chemical pneumonia. I wear a mask with a canister filter if there are fumes or any burning. I also have a hooded exhaust fan above the heating pots. It is recommended that you use a little heat stabilizer and a little fresh plastic if you are remelting plastic.

That said ........ making plastics is fun

[mchottie]

^ someone already said it above, you can do dual color if you cutoff the "tail" and excess from the pour spot, and get double-color style!



since i know you are local to me, i'll have to research getting some paddletail moulds and stop by for a DIY demo or offer to buy you the raw materials if you have the workshop already setup!

[acwatkins]

Nice job.

I've never made soft plastics.

How do you prepare the plastic? Do you heat it?

Thank you,

i heat the plastisol in a pyrex cup with a spare microwave. It worked well for me, i know others use hot plates and such. Im sure its just preference.

Can you remelt the overflow or is that just part of the cost of making them? Can you buy different texture plastics?

Pretty cool. Now if they had a paddle tail mold that would be awesome.

you can certainly melt the overflow. in fact the last 2 molds i made were mostly over flow and scrap! as far as texture they sell hardeners and other additives. Im just learning but these had a good texture to me, similar to a Yum Dinger, which is what i use exclusively.

^ someone already said it above, you can do dual color if you cutoff the "tail" and excess from the pour spot, and get double-color style!



since i know you are local to me, i'll have to research getting some paddletail moulds and stop by for a DIY demo or offer to buy you the raw materials if you have the workshop already setup!

we can most definitely do that! Do-It sells paddle tails, thats where all of my stuff came from. Im no pro though lol, you may want to gove me a few more runs before i teach you.


As far as safety goes, i will say that I was extremely dumb my first go around. I did not wear any type of mask and was in a poorly ventilated area. NEVER AGAIN. I had a cough the next day, woke up with a headache the next morning. I also got the 300* melted plastic on my hand... more than once... holy crap, it still hurts. Ive got alot to learn, and definitely will be making a plastic making "station". However, i wont be that dumb again! It was extremely satisfying and ill be making more this weekend. Ill continue posting about the craft as I learn. Im looking forward to the next session!

[nhunter344]

This looks like it would be crazy fun to try. It would also be extremely dangerous. I can handle the fumes but its the wife that's ticked off for bringing even more fishing stuff into the house that scares me!

[Mark]

Thanks for the reply, acwatkins.

Do-It makes quality products. I use their jig molds.

Ventilation is critical when pouring lead also. I pour in my garage with the doors open and use a fan to direct the fumes away from my workbench toward the outside.

[acwatkins]

Well they work! I went out for a little night fishing with the intentions of a buzz bait bite. When that failed to produce I figured what the hell lets try one of these things. 2 casts later and bam! Just a dink but boy was it satisfying. Got 2 on it and lots of short strikes. I'm thinking adding some attractant during the melt will help with that. They're very plasticy smelling now.


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[DanMarino]

Awesome!