Plastic to soft, help

[thomas]

Del,
I used 1 cup plastic, 1/4 cup softner, 2 oz salt. My senko's came out like 3x baits. entirely to soft. That was my first pour. Love your mold Del.
Thank you:confused:
thomas

[Delw]

You used too much softener for that amount of salt.

The reason we put softener in there is to make the baits softer when salt is added.


Dont throw it out you can still use it, cook a batch of plastic ( add no softener) and then when its melted slowly add the old formula in it until it is disolved, if you dont add lots of salt add less of the old formula you used.


Delw

[millsryno]

Also, let those sticks sit out (nice and straight) for a couple days. They will stiffen up a little bit more. They always are really soft when you take them out of the mold.

I agree with Del, though, cut that softner back 25-50% with that salt quanitity. You always put your softener in depending on how much salt is in there. You don't have a lot of salt in there. You might want to almost double your salt quanitity. Those sticks are going to fall real slow.

...just some food for thought

[thomas]

When adding the salt, are you still using liquid measure or weight measure?

thomas

[Delw]

I pour it in a clean Dry measuring cup to measure it.

[millsryno]

Thomas,

I use weight measurement for my own worms, it is more accurate. I'm an anal person, though. Most formulas you run across are by volume measurement, though. So in your example, 2 oz would mean 1/4 cup.

[thomas]

Thomas,

I use weight measurement for my own worms, it is more accurate. I'm an anal person, though. Most formulas you run across are by volume measurement, though. So in your example, 2 oz would mean 1/4 cup.

millsryno,

Just how do figure out weight measure or better yet, what would be good ratio for dry weight measure to liquid measure? Not asking for all your secrets, just a little help. Really enjoying this forum gentlemen.

Thank you all,
Thomas:D

[millsryno]

You will need a digital scale. I have one that is for shipping.

Just measure 1/4 cup of salt and see what the weight is and start with that. Adjust accordingly.

If you're a beginner, I wouldn't even mess with weighing the salt, though. I'd recommend starting off with a formula of:

4 parts plastic
2 parts salt
1 part softener

These are all volume measurements. For example:

4 fluid oz. plastic
2 fluid oz. salt
1 fluid oz. softener

You can easily tweak this formula to your liking.

[bassnfool]

I use 1 cup Calhoun 2101, 1/4 cup of softener, and 1/4 cup of floured salt. Yes the sticks are soft. I've been told they are softer than GYCB sticks, but they really catch fish.:D I guess the question is how soft is too soft?

[thomas]

Mine were pretty soft also, but they sure had a realistic feel to them. I'm going to check them out this Saturday out on the lake. I'll let you know how they worked out.

thomas