My CA swimbait mold

Made this for another OG NCKA member.

Damn Bill, nice work! Looks like it was fun to develop the molds, too.

Yep always fun! I am hoping to donate some to the AOTY raffle this year.

Maybe he won't notice if you sneak a few in? 

SO BADASS! Nothing a big Lingcod loves more than a little blue rockie.

Nice vid Bill, and so great to see you on here!

SO BADASS! Nothing a big Lingcod loves more than a little blue rockie.

Nice vid Bill, and so great to see you on here!

I get drunk and wander in every now and then, good to see you man!

I just watched a few of your videos...good info. 

I've been looking around at 3D printers, I don't know much about them yet but have been looking at the Creality Ender 3.  I've read a few pretty good reviews of it, including this one.... https://howchoo.com/3dprinterreviews/creality-ender-3-3d-printer-review.  [edit] i just noticed you mentioned the ender.  That might just settle it for me... [/edit]

Creating molds isn't what I initially had planned for it, but it would be more fun than re-printing the same dog hundreds of times

I'll have to watch your videos again, I think I missed the type of material the mold was made of so that it could deflect the heat of the plastic.

Very nice work.

Nice work 

I just watched a few of your videos...good info. 

I've been looking around at 3D printers, I don't know much about them yet but have been looking at the Creality Ender 3.  I've read a few pretty good reviews of it, including this one.... https://howchoo.com/3dprinterreviews/creality-ender-3-3d-printer-review.  [edit] i just noticed you mentioned the ender.  That might just settle it for me... [/edit]

Creating molds isn't what I initially had planned for it, but it would be more fun than re-printing the same dog hundreds of times

I'll have to watch your videos again, I think I missed the type of material the mold was made of so that it could deflect the heat of the plastic.

Hey man good to see you again!

There are 2 main types of printers - FDM and Resin. FDM printers are great for printing out masters that you make molds from, mostly silicone molds. I cover that process here -

For resin printers I use a high heat resin, Siraya Tech Sculpt that has a deflection temp of 320F but I have shot it with 360F plastic without an issue. That is what all my 3D printed molds are made from.

I know some people make molds out of PLA but it melts at a pretty low temp, like around 200...

Thanks for the info about the 3D printer guys.  I am also doing research to buy one to make my own design swimbaits.

Thanks for the info about the 3D printer guys.  I am also doing research to buy one to make my own design swimbaits.

2 things to consider:

1. Do you want to design your own lures? If so find a program you like to design with. I use Fusion360 (free for hobbyist) some people like more sculpting tools like ZBrush ($$$) or Nomad Sculpt on the iPad. Download those programs and try to design some lures BEFORE you buy a printer just to make sure you like that process, it was/is a steep learning curve for me.

2. Then pick your process, printing on FDM printers then making silicone molds is the easiest and cheapest but you are somewhat limited in your designs. For swimbaits though it is totally fine. If you want to go injection molds, you will want a resin printer. I have and use both but I am an addict

Thanks for the tips Bill.

2 things to consider:

1. Do you want to design your own lures? If so find a program you like to design with. I use Fusion360 (free for hobbyist) some people like more sculpting tools like ZBrush ($$$) or Nomad Sculpt on the iPad. Download those programs and try to design some lures BEFORE you buy a printer just to make sure you like that process, it was/is a steep learning curve for me.

2. Then pick your process, printing on FDM printers then making silicone molds is the easiest and cheapest but you are somewhat limited in your designs. For swimbaits though it is totally fine. If you want to go injection molds, you will want a resin printer. I have and use both but I am an addict

Nice work--those came out great. I don't dare watch too many vids about making my own lures. I have Solidworks and several 3D printers, but I can't handle another hobby. I'd be stealing the measuring cups out of the kitchen within a week...

Have you ever looked at your costs in making any bigger baits? Senko worms and the like are so cheap that I'm never tempted to make those, but the big bass swim baits are $$$...

Really impressive and inspiring work there. Been wanting to make my own swimbaits using the cheapo method (clay/silicone mold) for a long time now , but after seeing this I’m going about it all wrong