Cast resin lures

[skinhead]

Just started trying to cast resin lures. Not as easy as I thought. Made the molds without too much trouble, except for my 1st attempt vulcanising as I was pouring the RTV silicon. Second time around and I'd made a 1pc and a 2pc mold. Starting with the 1pc mold the resin pouring went fine, gave the lure overnight before de-molding. A lesson here was give the lure a couple of days to loose tackiness. Next was drilling for the line tie and hook hangers. First go and the drill bit snapped inside the lure . So, cast another and and one from the 2pc mold. After trial and error using the first wrecked lure, found that slowly drilling maybe 1/8" and withdrawing the drill, cleaning it,and then going back in another 1/8" and repeating worked. Drilled all necessary holes in both of the fresh lures. Next job was screwing in the hangers etc. Easy, or so I thought. Mixed up some Z-Poxy, added to holes and a smear on the eyes. First eye going in and there's a crack, the lure fractured internally, I thought weakness in lure. Second eye same deal. Cleaned out epoxy from third hole and just left a smear on the eye. This time success . Now I'm left with just one lure from the 2pc mold. Carefully, with just a smear of epoxy on the threads, I screwed in the line tie and hook hangers. I now have a cast lure, factoring in my failures in mold making and drilling etc., a very expensive cast lure. Next job is to see how it swims, it could be a disaster. The body measures 80mm and it weighs in at 26g.

Pic' below is the end result. Will post a pic' of the lure from the 1pc when it's completed, I de-molded this morning and hope to finish it mid week.

[adyy]

That thing looks terribly good. Almost like a Salmo Slider lure.
Does it have any "action" with straight retrieve?

[skinhead]

That thing looks terribly good. Almost like a Salmo Slider lure.
Does it have any "action" with straight retrieve?

It's a cast of a HRT Silver Fox, but I have just cast a couple of 10cm Sliders . The Slider is an all time favourite of mine, one of my go to lures. Not had a chance to test the lures yet due to work and weather conditions . As they stand they are sinkers, I'll see how they run, but will also cast some more bouyant versions when I get some micro spheres.

With regard to drilling, have switched over to diamond drill bits. I spoke to the resin manufacturer and was advised that a standard twist drill bit is unsuitable, as holes in resin need to be ground rather than cut. Invested in a Dremel Workstation, pic' below, for total control and accuracy. Just waiting for a drill press vice and a Dremel Multi Chuck to arrive then I'll be working on a Slider.

[ninjaman]

How did it swim?
This looks like a future wintertime project!

[skinhead]

That one didn't go as hoped. Have one Slider cast that does what I wanted, but yet to catch on it due to not being able to fish as all the waters are in flood.

Have cast a few more that are yet to get wet and finished another two an hour ago, including a BellyUp Slider with re-positioned line tie and belly hook .

The other shoal ready for testing. Top are Salmo Sliders, the two at the bottom are HRT Silver Foxs, the left one rigged BellyUp.

[cjtoad]

Great looking baits skinhead! I just ordered everything I needed to make my own Slider copy. Good winter project, between supertuning and making rods. Keep us updated as to how well they work for you.

[ninjaman]

They look really great, but having no clue about resin technique...
Don't they need weighting?

[skinhead]

They look really great, but having no clue about resin technique...
Don't they need weighting?

Yes they do, and that isn't my strong suit. I use self adhesive window lead externally, which I can add / remove at will. I'm also still playing with line tie positions in the hope that I can find one that repeatedly works for each type of lure.