Handmade fishing lures - Mold making - Prototyping plastic

I just discovered my new favourite substance.

It's even better than PVC.

Maybe it is PVC.

I don't know.

I was in my local electronics store checking switches, and was sold some of this stuff.

It's plastic that you can warm up and shape.

You need to get it to around 65 degrees c before it melts into itself.

Once hot, you can shape it into anything you can think of.

Pictured here is a bit I squeezed.

It retains fine detail like fingerprints, and when dry, it sets white like the beads again.

It sets to a strong plastic with a little flex, a lot like a soft drink (soda) bottle cap.




My first use was to make a very specific battery pack that didn't exist as far as I could tell.  It's great to work with, and totally recyclable. You just drop it back into hot water, and it re-melts.

I would guess you have around a minute to work with where you can press two bits together and they form one. And perhaps another minute where you can still shape it, but pressing two bits together wouldn't quite become one.

If you need more time to work it, you just put whatever you've half made back into hot water and it softens again.

Very cool stuff that I think I'm going to need to buy in bulk.



120 Things in 20 years is excited about making handmade fishing lures, and just general prototyping  In reality, I have no idea what I'll do with it, but it's exciting just knowing about it. I'm easily excited.