Many anglers who buy soft plastic lure worms, grubs, and minnows are not aware that worms just as soft, just as good, and in variety of colors and sizes can be made at home for a few penies each. And although worms and molds for making them are popular, it is also possible to (Some molds and materials, along with pots that are sold for the purpose of molding soft plastic lure) make a wide variety of soft freshwater and salt water plastics that include worms of all lengths and styles like curved-tail, worms, grubs, shrimp, tails, frogs, salamanders, lizards, crayfish, egg sacks, and some larger saltwater soft plastic lure. In addition, you can make your own molds for lures for which commercial molds are unavailable. Only a few tools and parts are needed, along with some easy-to-obtain molding plastic, colors, and scents. The procedure is simple and quite safe and makes it easy to produce quantities of fishing soft plastic in any color and style desired.
Tools
The tools needed for making soft plastic lures include molds, injectors, pots, and stirrers.
Molds:- Molds for making soft plastic lure used to be available only in one piece styles where you poured the molten plastic into the open mold, filling it and making a worm or other lure with a half-body molded on one side but with a flat surface on the open side of the mold. These were (and still are) made in a shiny hard plastic, a more flexible shiny plastic, and aluminum. These one-piece molds facilitate the direct pouring of molten plastic from the M-F and mail order tackle companies that carry rod and lure components and parts. Two piece molds to make round lures by using an injector are available from suppliers such as Net craft, Mud Hole, and Hagen along with other companies that sell component parts for making lures and rods.
Open-face molds are just that open on one side of the mold cavity. While most commercial worms today are injection-molded in round multiple-cavity two-part molds, originally they were made using the open-mold method. The results from one-piece molds are semiround worms, although the molds are designed to make a worm as close to round as possible.
Two-part molds are made with registration pins and locking plastic C-clamps to hold to two sides together. The molds will form a completely round worm. These are available from Jann's Netcraft and Hagen's as well as many tackle shops and mail-order companies. Most require an injector tool to squirt the soft plastic lure into the sprue or gate of the mold. Those that do not require a separate injector have a built-in reservoir on one side of the mold into which a fitted plunger inserts to inject the plastic. Some of these are fitted together with wing nuts to hold the two parts together. Those by Jann's and others have a built-in injector; the molten plastic is poured into the injector, a plunger is added (almost like a medical syringe), and then the plastic is injected into the mold without under or overfilling.
Injector:- These are used only with two-piece molds to inject the http://www.lurehq.com.au/. They work like a simple medical syringe, with a cavity and a plunger that pushes the liquid plastic through a small spout and into the mold.
Plastic-melting store:- Some companies sell these stoves for melting plastic in pots. In most cases they are identical to small single-burner hot plates. Most have an adjustable rheostat temperature control and will plug into standard 120-volt outlets.
Pouring pan:- Any type of small flat-bottom aluminum pan can be used for melting plastic. Inexpensive cookware pots are fine, but some companies offer similar or smaller pots for melting smaller quantities of plastic. It is important to have a flat bottom on these pans, as well as some form of lip for easy pouring. In some cases it helps to use pliers to further accentuate this spout for easy pouring and cleanup.
Stirring Stick:- Stirring sticks can be anything from popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, and plastic straws (although usually these are too weak for good stirring) to scraps of wood or short sections of round wood dowels. The main thing is to have a stick that will allow you to stir completely and thoroughly as the plastic is being heated. It also helps to have some long stirring sticks to stir the liquid plastic in its container before it is poured into the pan for melting.
Glue Gun:- Glue guns used for regular hot melt cement are useful for molding plastic lures. With a short "stick" of colored plastic inserted into the open end of the glue gun and with a followup "push stick," it is possible to dress up soft plastic lures with spots and stripes of different colors using the heated gun to melt and deposit small amounts of the colored plastic sticks in specific spots on the lure.
Repairs Tools:- Fly tiers use cauterizers to sever and shape some products used in fly tying. Lure makers can use the same thing to modify or repairs fishing soft plastic. These small, battery operated tools have a fine tip like that of an electronics soldering iron. It instantly becomes red hot when turned on to allow melting, sealing, and welding parts of soft plastic lure to make them more useful or to repair them when damaged by a striking fish.
Tools
The tools needed for making soft plastic lures include molds, injectors, pots, and stirrers.
Molds:- Molds for making soft plastic lure used to be available only in one piece styles where you poured the molten plastic into the open mold, filling it and making a worm or other lure with a half-body molded on one side but with a flat surface on the open side of the mold. These were (and still are) made in a shiny hard plastic, a more flexible shiny plastic, and aluminum. These one-piece molds facilitate the direct pouring of molten plastic from the M-F and mail order tackle companies that carry rod and lure components and parts. Two piece molds to make round lures by using an injector are available from suppliers such as Net craft, Mud Hole, and Hagen along with other companies that sell component parts for making lures and rods.
Open-face molds are just that open on one side of the mold cavity. While most commercial worms today are injection-molded in round multiple-cavity two-part molds, originally they were made using the open-mold method. The results from one-piece molds are semiround worms, although the molds are designed to make a worm as close to round as possible.
Two-part molds are made with registration pins and locking plastic C-clamps to hold to two sides together. The molds will form a completely round worm. These are available from Jann's Netcraft and Hagen's as well as many tackle shops and mail-order companies. Most require an injector tool to squirt the soft plastic lure into the sprue or gate of the mold. Those that do not require a separate injector have a built-in reservoir on one side of the mold into which a fitted plunger inserts to inject the plastic. Some of these are fitted together with wing nuts to hold the two parts together. Those by Jann's and others have a built-in injector; the molten plastic is poured into the injector, a plunger is added (almost like a medical syringe), and then the plastic is injected into the mold without under or overfilling.
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| A two-piece mold from Hilts Molds for making round fishing soft plastics. The black spring-loaded pins lock the two parts together; the plunger (right) is used to push molten plastic into the mold through an injection system. |
Plastic-melting store:- Some companies sell these stoves for melting plastic in pots. In most cases they are identical to small single-burner hot plates. Most have an adjustable rheostat temperature control and will plug into standard 120-volt outlets.
Pouring pan:- Any type of small flat-bottom aluminum pan can be used for melting plastic. Inexpensive cookware pots are fine, but some companies offer similar or smaller pots for melting smaller quantities of plastic. It is important to have a flat bottom on these pans, as well as some form of lip for easy pouring. In some cases it helps to use pliers to further accentuate this spout for easy pouring and cleanup.
Stirring Stick:- Stirring sticks can be anything from popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, and plastic straws (although usually these are too weak for good stirring) to scraps of wood or short sections of round wood dowels. The main thing is to have a stick that will allow you to stir completely and thoroughly as the plastic is being heated. It also helps to have some long stirring sticks to stir the liquid plastic in its container before it is poured into the pan for melting.
Glue Gun:- Glue guns used for regular hot melt cement are useful for molding plastic lures. With a short "stick" of colored plastic inserted into the open end of the glue gun and with a followup "push stick," it is possible to dress up soft plastic lures with spots and stripes of different colors using the heated gun to melt and deposit small amounts of the colored plastic sticks in specific spots on the lure.
Repairs Tools:- Fly tiers use cauterizers to sever and shape some products used in fly tying. Lure makers can use the same thing to modify or repairs fishing soft plastic. These small, battery operated tools have a fine tip like that of an electronics soldering iron. It instantly becomes red hot when turned on to allow melting, sealing, and welding parts of soft plastic lure to make them more useful or to repair them when damaged by a striking fish.
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