The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Just wondering what type of mold people would do if they were to make a mold of a buzz blade prop. I've made a 2 piece mold and its working ok but getting a lot of air bubbles and its starring to tare a bit haven't made a really well made one yet just wondering if there is an easier way to make and pour one. Thanks

You're making the prop for a Buzz Blade out of Super Plastic? I'm making an assumption of this because you're making a silicone mold to cast one into. Why don't you just buy some metal ones from Janns Netcraft or Barlows Tackle? You can buy them in bulk in various sizes, for DIRT CHEAP. Super Plastic is tough, but I don't think it will hold up for very long in the application you're trying to use it. The thinner the casting, the more likely it is to snap when placed under a load (like water being forced over it via retrieval of your lure). When fabricating lures, you need to be selective about the battles you choose to be a part of. I don't think this is a winning battle for you (IMHO). I had an extensive talk with Mike from Alumilite regarding the importance of degassing casting resins and silicone rubber. Degassing can completely eliminate air bubbles in your pieces. I'm actually in the process of making a vacuum chamber now. You can make one for less than $150 from Harbor Freight. You should vacuum the gas out of your resin after mixing. This will ensure a bubble free casting. The down side to Super Plastic is the pot life is really short. You wouldn't have time to degass it before the curing process started to occur. You need a casting resin with a longer pot life (say 7-10 minutes) to successfully degass it. Alumilite definitely has them, you just need to go to their website to track them down. However, back to my original point, I think making the blades from super plastic is a losing battle. There's just too much stress on them, and they are too thin to hold up for long periods of usage. Here are some links for Buzz Blades. Notice that NONE of them are plastic. The colored ones are powder coated, not plastic.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/buzz-blades/

http://www.barlowstackle.com/Spinner-Bl ... s-C13.aspx

Well I'm actually trying to make a 3 bladed one thats made out of plastic it was on a muskie lure and they don't make the blade any more or they can't find them so I'm trying to make one for myself its smaller then the quad blade plastic ones. Not trying to mold the metal ones. Thank you for the reply

No reason at all you can't make the blades out of urethane plastic. You can use clear, or any of the other super plastics.
Use high strength 3 for your mold. Make sure to heat the mold to warm in your microwave prior to pouring, be sure to coat your "pin" for the hole with mold release, and give it plenty, plenty of time to set up before you pull it from the mold. the thinner the part, the longer it takes to cure. You could even cast in a brass or aluminum tube to serve as a bearing.
I would cast a few out of alumifoam and make a couple of double buzzers to see what floating blades would do..
Obviously they could all be dyed, painted or coated with clear coat.
Admittedly they are more brittle than polycarbonates etc., but they hold pretty well, it allows you to get something you want, and you can always make more!
best
L

Thanks Larry what type of mold would you make it out of a two piece or one piece if you were going to make one?

Thanks Larry! what type of mold would you do 1 piece, 2 piece?

I think i'd make a squish type mold to out of high strength 3 to begin with.