# To all you bucktail makers



## PlankCaster (Oct 22, 2001)

Haven't been on here in awhile and I see we have a plug making forum so thought I'd toss this out there. Has anybody heard of or had experience with Pour It Custom Mold Works? I've given up on that guy in Smithfield who supposedly makes custom molds and my buddy no longer works at a machine shop to make what I want so I'm stuck trying to modify some existing molds I have. What I need is a way to put pins in the mold for some 3D eyes with a stem. Any ideas or suggestions?


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

No idea. What's wrong with 3D/2D eyes and epoxy?


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## Hollybrooke (Nov 18, 2008)

Not sure where you're located, Altist Welding in Poquoson Va, has a machine that is mold capable. check them out at www.altistwelding.com


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## PlankCaster (Oct 22, 2001)

Smooth, these are 3D eyes and they will be epoxied in. The eyes with the flat back though don't hold up near as well as the ones with the peg. Couple slams on the deck and they're done. Never had many that lasted through a whole charter season.
Hollybrooke, I'll have to check them out. Not too far from Poquoson. Thanks for the tip.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

PlankCaster said:


> Smooth, these are 3D eyes and they will be epoxied in. The eyes with the flat back though don't hold up near as well as the ones with the peg. Couple slams on the deck and they're done. Never had many that lasted through a whole charter season.
> Hollybrooke, I'll have to check them out. Not too far from Poquoson. Thanks for the tip.


Hmm. Have you tried a mold with a recessed eye? Might help.


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## PlankCaster (Oct 22, 2001)

I have a number of molds with recessed eye sockets. 2 issues.. One, they don't accommodate the size of 3D eye that I need and two, even with a massive load of epoxy they still don't hold up through the season. Thought I had a lead on another guys used mold but that fell through. Probably just gonna have to modify the mold myself and gripe about it till I can get a machine shop to do exactly what I need.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Maybe you could do it yourself with a drill press?


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## PlankCaster (Oct 22, 2001)

Yep, been there done that. Aside from the agonizing amount of time it takes to do it when you've got 50 or 60 heads to do, theres really no good way to keep the head still and oriented in such a way that you get the holes in the exact same place from side to side and head to head. Leaving the head in the mold to try to keep things equal while you drill the other side wasn't effective because theres really not enough there to keep the head stable as you drill. Even if there was, still a major P.I.A. Like I said I think I'm relegated to either pinning the mold myself or just getting heads from somewhere and just doing the painting and tying. Preciate the ideas.


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

PlankCaster said:


> Yep, been there done that. Aside from the agonizing amount of time it takes to do it when you've got 50 or 60 heads to do, theres really no good way to keep the head still and oriented in such a way that you get the holes in the exact same place from side to side and head to head. Leaving the head in the mold to try to keep things equal while you drill the other side wasn't effective because theres really not enough there to keep the head stable as you drill. Even if there was, still a major P.I.A. Like I said I think I'm relegated to either pinning the mold myself or just getting heads from somewhere and just doing the painting and tying. Preciate the ideas.



I've got well over 300 molds & have modified many of them myself. Mostly my mods have been for heavier or larger size hooks. 
If you have a drill press available you could cross drill the mold for either a pull rod or the pins that Do It provides, the type used for making the weed guard holes. Depending on the stem diameter on the eyes you want to use, you might have to make the pins yourself. 

If you drill one side & insert one of the pins with a little paint on the end, it will show you if the eyes are aligned, provided you don't drill it crooked. 

Drill from the inside of the mold so you get the eyes lined up perfectly. They should be aligned already across the mold, but if not, they're probably only slightly off. You can detail the eyes a bit with a Dremel tool & cutter if you have a steady hand. After the paint is applied no one would know the difference anyway. And, I mean the mold itself, not the heads.

Pull pin would be easiest, but the inserts might give you a better job with the eyes. You simply insert the pull pin, pour your heads then pull the pin from the mold. Should leave a hole all the way thru the head. Only thing is the hook can't fit behind the eye sockets with a pull pin. If it does the pin inserts are what you would have to use. That way you can insert them in the mold from both sides, until they touch the hook. You'll want the holes in the mold to be only slightly larger than the pins diameter. As the mold heats up it expands & the pins will be tight. You'll want to be able to remove them & replace them quickly & easily, but not so easily it creates flash that has to be removed from the heads. That could also bind up the mold, making it hard to open after pouring. 

When I was selling lures I bought a bunch of those pins so I could load my weedless molds faster. Otherwise they're too hot to handle when pouring which really slowed things down. I even made some of them from steel rod I got at a hardware store.

I'm not recommending any one supplier, these are what came up when I Googled the parts. Only for reference.

Pull pin:
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/do-it-mold-parts/410530.aspx

Base Hole Pin Inserts:
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Do-it_Jig_Weedguard_Base_Hole_Pin_1_8_50pk/descpage-DTJBSHLP.html


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

PS you guys should post pics of your jigs on here. I'm about the only one that does. Always like seeing new things. Minnow patterns and jigs are what got me into tying.


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## bigjim5589 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think I've posted some of mine before, but not sure. Be glad to post what I have pictures of.


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