I just gotta say. I absolutely love alumidust for coloring the soft plastics. That stuff is amazing and it's so crazy to see how the different shades are affected by what color plastics you're painting. It just really brings everything to life and has that iridescent shimmer. I love this stuff.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 43143b.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 17c588.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... a9ae56.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 6f4e71.jpg
Alumidust
8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Alumidust
by RhettWheeler » Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:39 am
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
- RhettWheeler
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:42 pm
Re: Alumidust
by Mike - Alumilite » Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:38 pm
Nice work. How do the lures work? Have you been able to throw them yet? Our ice is close to melting so another week or two and we should see what some of our winter projects actually look like in the water.
Mike
Mike
- Mike - Alumilite
- Posts: 575
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:15 pm
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Re: Alumidust
by RhettWheeler » Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:00 am
Hey Mike!
I actually got to throw them in a local pond the other day just to see how the action looked. Overall they did everything I hoped they'd do! They look great! I haven't gotten to test my 10.5" model or my 12" model yet. I also made a blue gill I haven't gotten to try yet. I'm interested to come out and see if you can help me with a mold for a lure I'll be working on. It's basically a big bullfrog tadpole that I'm going to pour in the softest plastic I can get away with. The tail taper is pretty thin and I want to see first hand the best way to make sure that detail gets filled in fully. I also have several other questions to ask regarding what's the best way to heat alumisol among other things. Do you think I"d be able to make the trip out to Kalamazoo from Chicago? Is that something you'd be open to mike?
I actually got to throw them in a local pond the other day just to see how the action looked. Overall they did everything I hoped they'd do! They look great! I haven't gotten to test my 10.5" model or my 12" model yet. I also made a blue gill I haven't gotten to try yet. I'm interested to come out and see if you can help me with a mold for a lure I'll be working on. It's basically a big bullfrog tadpole that I'm going to pour in the softest plastic I can get away with. The tail taper is pretty thin and I want to see first hand the best way to make sure that detail gets filled in fully. I also have several other questions to ask regarding what's the best way to heat alumisol among other things. Do you think I"d be able to make the trip out to Kalamazoo from Chicago? Is that something you'd be open to mike?
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
- RhettWheeler
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:42 pm
Re: Alumidust
by Mike - Alumilite » Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:04 pm
Would love to help. Have also been considering putting a shot out to anyone wanting to work on lure projects to come to Kalamazoo on a Friday in April. Was thinking about doing a workshop type program where we can help anyone looking to mold and cast anything as well as learn techniques and tricks of the trade to help people dial in their creations.
Your thin long tail would probably require a slit mold on the top edge of the tail. This would allow you to flex the mold and open it up to ensure it fills completely. Many times when you have a long or thin area to fill the Alumisol will cool and solidify before it gets all the way to the end. Therefore we have to be able to open it up enough to fill it completely before allowing the mold to close back to the shape we want it before it hardens.
The preferred method of heating Alumisol is by microwave because I'm typically not pouring a ton of baits at one shot, so I can custom color my Alumisol and then heat and pour only as much as I need which typically doesn't take very long. If I was doing production, I would probably look into a day pot that would allow me to keep a larger batch at a consistant temp for an extended period of time without having to introduce any more air by mixing it which would keep the material much more dense and have a lot fewer imperfections in the batch. If possible, with the amount of Alumisol you are mixing, try not to stir the material any more than absolutely necessary and none if possible. This will allow you to have perfectly bubble free Alumisol ready to pour in your molds.
Mike
Your thin long tail would probably require a slit mold on the top edge of the tail. This would allow you to flex the mold and open it up to ensure it fills completely. Many times when you have a long or thin area to fill the Alumisol will cool and solidify before it gets all the way to the end. Therefore we have to be able to open it up enough to fill it completely before allowing the mold to close back to the shape we want it before it hardens.
The preferred method of heating Alumisol is by microwave because I'm typically not pouring a ton of baits at one shot, so I can custom color my Alumisol and then heat and pour only as much as I need which typically doesn't take very long. If I was doing production, I would probably look into a day pot that would allow me to keep a larger batch at a consistant temp for an extended period of time without having to introduce any more air by mixing it which would keep the material much more dense and have a lot fewer imperfections in the batch. If possible, with the amount of Alumisol you are mixing, try not to stir the material any more than absolutely necessary and none if possible. This will allow you to have perfectly bubble free Alumisol ready to pour in your molds.
Mike
- Mike - Alumilite
- Posts: 575
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:15 pm
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Re: Alumidust
by RhettWheeler » Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:08 am
Mike - Alumilite wrote:
> Would love to help. Have also been considering putting a shot out to
> anyone wanting to work on lure projects to come to Kalamazoo on a Friday in
> April. Was thinking about doing a workshop type program where we can help
> anyone looking to mold and cast anything as well as learn techniques and
> tricks of the trade to help people dial in their creations.
>
> Your thin long tail would probably require a slit mold on the top edge of
> the tail. This would allow you to flex the mold and open it up to ensure
> it fills completely. Many times when you have a long or thin area to fill
> the Alumisol will cool and solidify before it gets all the way to the end.
> Therefore we have to be able to open it up enough to fill it completely
> before allowing the mold to close back to the shape we want it before it
> hardens.
>
> The preferred method of heating Alumisol is by microwave because I'm
> typically not pouring a ton of baits at one shot, so I can custom color my
> Alumisol and then heat and pour only as much as I need which typically
> doesn't take very long. If I was doing production, I would probably look
> into a day pot that would allow me to keep a larger batch at a consistant
> temp for an extended period of time without having to introduce any more
> air by mixing it which would keep the material much more dense and have a
> lot fewer imperfections in the batch. If possible, with the amount of
> Alumisol you are mixing, try not to stir the material any more than
> absolutely necessary and none if possible. This will allow you to have
> perfectly bubble free Alumisol ready to pour in your molds.
>
> Mike
Awesome. I think I have your e-mail or I can e-mail the company and try to set up when I can come out on a Friday. Next month is a little busy for me, because I have a beta testing trip I'm taking for smallies on lake erie, then at the end of the month I'm testing for my blackbelt. I could probably come out early may sometime.
-Rhett
> Would love to help. Have also been considering putting a shot out to
> anyone wanting to work on lure projects to come to Kalamazoo on a Friday in
> April. Was thinking about doing a workshop type program where we can help
> anyone looking to mold and cast anything as well as learn techniques and
> tricks of the trade to help people dial in their creations.
>
> Your thin long tail would probably require a slit mold on the top edge of
> the tail. This would allow you to flex the mold and open it up to ensure
> it fills completely. Many times when you have a long or thin area to fill
> the Alumisol will cool and solidify before it gets all the way to the end.
> Therefore we have to be able to open it up enough to fill it completely
> before allowing the mold to close back to the shape we want it before it
> hardens.
>
> The preferred method of heating Alumisol is by microwave because I'm
> typically not pouring a ton of baits at one shot, so I can custom color my
> Alumisol and then heat and pour only as much as I need which typically
> doesn't take very long. If I was doing production, I would probably look
> into a day pot that would allow me to keep a larger batch at a consistant
> temp for an extended period of time without having to introduce any more
> air by mixing it which would keep the material much more dense and have a
> lot fewer imperfections in the batch. If possible, with the amount of
> Alumisol you are mixing, try not to stir the material any more than
> absolutely necessary and none if possible. This will allow you to have
> perfectly bubble free Alumisol ready to pour in your molds.
>
> Mike
Awesome. I think I have your e-mail or I can e-mail the company and try to set up when I can come out on a Friday. Next month is a little busy for me, because I have a beta testing trip I'm taking for smallies on lake erie, then at the end of the month I'm testing for my blackbelt. I could probably come out early may sometime.
-Rhett
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
- RhettWheeler
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:42 pm
Re: Alumidust
by GMan » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:03 am
Nice work, Rhett! Did you heat set the dust with a heat gun or dip the lures in clear alumisol?
-
GMan - Posts: 38
- Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:59 pm
Re: Alumidust
by Mike - Alumilite » Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:41 pm
Lake Erie Rhett ... I love it.
Jason Cheney, owner of the Michigan Musky Shop, and I are also planning on doing a follow up Seminar in April and probably May at his place in Detroit. I'm also scheduled to run some quality control testing on a number of batches in April and May for smallies and walleye on the Detroit River and St. Clair. Jason has a new facility, somewhere close to 7,000 sq ft, in which he has everything needed for his lure making skunk works laboratory and lure customization shop ... vent hood, vacuum, dusting stations, rubber, resin, microwaves, heat guns, etc. Looking forward to seeing his new place this Friday.
I'll post here when the 2nd and 3rd lure making seminars are going on over there and hopefully it coincides with your trip.
Mike
Jason Cheney, owner of the Michigan Musky Shop, and I are also planning on doing a follow up Seminar in April and probably May at his place in Detroit. I'm also scheduled to run some quality control testing on a number of batches in April and May for smallies and walleye on the Detroit River and St. Clair. Jason has a new facility, somewhere close to 7,000 sq ft, in which he has everything needed for his lure making skunk works laboratory and lure customization shop ... vent hood, vacuum, dusting stations, rubber, resin, microwaves, heat guns, etc. Looking forward to seeing his new place this Friday.
I'll post here when the 2nd and 3rd lure making seminars are going on over there and hopefully it coincides with your trip.
Mike
- Mike - Alumilite
- Posts: 575
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:15 pm
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Re: Alumidust
by RhettWheeler » Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:14 am
That would be awesome thank you!
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
- RhettWheeler
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 5:42 pm
8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 135 guests