January 27, 2022 at 11:19 a.m.
Fish Like a GIRL
How did a small hobby come to this?
Fish Like a GIRL
By Beckie Gaskill-bjoki@lakelandtimes.com
One cold winter day, I was surfing through social media and saw a friend of mine had a couple open pour bait molds with which he was willing to part. I bought them for a few bucks ... and that was when the trouble started.
Looking back over the last three years, it really did sneak up on me. I went from a few little open pour molds - think of that somewhat like filling muffin tins with batter. You simply pour the hot plastic into the mold and let it harden - to now having almost 90 injection molds, many open pour aluminum molds, air-driven clamps and cutters and more colorant and glitter than I suppose I ever knew existed.
Let me back up, there was, and is, definitely a learning curve to it all. On the surface, it is pretty simple. Take cold plastisol, heat the white liquid up until it starts to thicken and become clear. Keep heating it until it is clear and runny, but do not over do it. It can scorch. When it scorches or burns, it is a bit toxic and you need to clear the area until it cools. As I read this in my research, it seems as though, as long as a person is careful, they should be able to attain the proper temperature without too much worry.
Even at that, respirators are recommended. I agree. Just like working with any other medium such as plastisol, it makes sense to protect your lungs. This was where part of the learning curve started.
There are many, many different types of plastisol from many different companies. Everyone has a favorite, and everyone will tell you the one they use is the absolute best. Huh. Okay. Definitely file that under, "figure it out for yourself." In about a year-and-a-half, I had found what worked best for me. There. Issue is over, right? Um, no.
Now we need to think about what glitters and colorants to use. Again, on the surface, it seemed fairly simple, but, especially with glitters, that was not the case. Some colors do not do well when they are hot. The purple glitter I bought from a certain company was a really pretty purple - but turned blue in hot plastic. Other colors showed certain colors of glitter better than others, which I expected, but I did not expect some of them to disappear altogether.
Another thing I did not realize was the interactions between both finished plastics and scents with random other things in the universe. After talking to a few friends who had been making soft plastic baits for years, one of whom is still in business doing so, I decided to get a small container and put all of my small scraps into it, just to see what color they would make when I remelted them someday.
Fast-forward a month or two, and the little plastic container is getting pretty full. Obviously, I understood, by this time, that bait making is chemistry. What I did not understand was that the cheap dollar store plastic container I was putting scraps in would somehow have a chemical reaction to the cured plastic - learning lesson number one. Most of the plastic was now tightly adhered to the cheap plastic container and actually eating into it. Fascinating and somewhat creepy at the same time.
Another chemical reaction I was not aware of raised its ugly head more recently: those who fish know that some baits are scented. Scents range from garlic and anise to shad and crayfish. Even strawberry and grape have their place. Long story short, when cutting the tails on tube baits, it goes easier when you apply a scent, which is like an oil. However, that scent apparently needs to be kept in a specific grade of plastic container. I put my unused garlic scent into a 4-ounce portion cup like one you would get from a restaurant. I capped it and left the bait room for the day.
I walked back into my bait room a couple days later and instantly wanted Italian food. Something smelled good - strong, but good. I looked at the top of the microwave, where I had left the garlic scent in the small container. It had melted through the bottom of the container and oozed across the top of the microwave and down both sides. The stench was not bad at first. I like garlic, but the longer I was in the room, the worse it got. I opened a window (yes, this was in December), just to get rid of the smell, but it lingered. In fact, it lingered fairly strongly for over four days. Note to self.
It should go without saying that there is always a risk of hurting yourself when you are dealing with 350-degree liquid plastisol. This is the temperature at which it becomes plastic and I can add colors and glitters to achieve my desired result. I wear welding gloves when dealing with hot plastic. They are a bit clunky, but they work. I also wear long pants and shoes - just in case, but of course things still happen. I take my gloves off to remove the baits from the excess plastic in the injection molds, known as the sprue and to complete other tasks that require more precision. So I do not always have my gloves on.
I am sure you can see where this is going. Hot plastic is very sticky, for those who may not know. Up to this point I have averted total disaster, but I have come away with some blisters and burns from time to time. When removing baits from the molds too quickly, I have found the "molten lava" inside of the sprues to leave nasty marks, another "note to self," but as we used to say in the restaurant industry, "burns build character."
Every day is a learning experience, and every day it gets bigger and more diverse. It's a fun undertaking, to be sure, but it is also one that requires a measure of caution and care.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached at bgaskill@lakelandtimes.com or outdoors@lakelandtimes.com.
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