Lincoya

My suggestion would be to get a good chemical paint stripper such as "Dad's" (available at your local Wal-mart). Follow the directions on the container. The paint will just bubble up and you can wipe it off with a rag. Let the lure dry, lightly sand it, and you're ready to repaint. Gene

Here are a few places with some good pictures: http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/fish/nyfish/fish.html http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/index.html http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/species/sunfish.htm http://www.americanfishes.com/

Very nice article Terry. Congrads.

I'm willing to travel a reasonable distance to participate. The get-together that we had at Coley's place was great. I would definitely enjoy meeting more of you in person. If we decide to have it around Nashville, I would be more than happy to help organize it. Gene

Don't worry about your paint jobs at this point. That will improve with time. None of us had perfect paint jobs when we started and most of us, I believe, still screw up paint jobs from time-to-time. Besides, I have caught fish on lures with no paint at all during testing phases.

Here are some more:

Are these the ones that you remember?

I use a rotisserie motor and shaft. I have two 6-inch wheels with sixteen 1/4-inch holes drilled around the edges. It looks like a large tinker toy wheel. I then have several 4-inch long 1/4-inch diameter dowels with small screw eyes epoxied into the ends of the dowels. I use these "painting wands" for holding the lures while painting and applying epoxy. After I put the epoxy clearcoat on I then put the dowels on the wheels and rotate until the epoxy sets up. I quick cut with a knife around the screw eye will release the lure from the painting wand without peeling the paint and epoxy. Understand though, that I make bass lures. If I were making musky or saltwater lures, I would probably use larger dowels. Gene

Thanks for the compliment. The eyes are stick-on 3D eyes covered over with epoxy finish. The lure is 2 1/2 inches long. Basically the same size as the original. I used the stencil material that you get from the craft department in Wal-mart. I had nightmares trying to get the stencil to work. I finally had to make the stencil in three different pieces in order for it to lay right on the lure. Gene

Dale, I don't know of any place that sells those lips regularly. I have seen people sell them on E-Bay or other places occasionally but they typically sell too high for me. I make some reproduction Punkinseeds sometimes. As a matter of fact, I just finished 4 tonight. For the lips, I use modified spinnerbait blades, as you suggested in your post. I prefer to use the painted blades. I remove the paint to reveal a heavier weight steel blade, not nickle-plated brass blade as is typical with most spinnerbait blades. I also like the painted blades because they look more like the original Punkinseed blades. I cut out a "V" shape where the hole is and then bend the points back. Drill a hole in each point and and basically you're done.

Skeeter, Thanks for the kind words. The blades are put into the handles with Devcon 5-minute epoxy. I like it because it sets so quick that I can start sharpening on the knife in 15-20 minutes. I use diamond sharpening sticks in four different grits to put an edge on the knives. After that I strop the blade with a very thin piece of leather glued to a small flat piece of hardwood with a closed grain such as poplar, maple, or cherry. On this leather I have a polishing compound called "Yellowstone" but any good compound will do as long as it is a very fine grit. This will give you an edge sharp enough to shave with if done properly and as long as you don't damage the edge all you have to do is strop the blade occasionally as you carve. The middle blade is Damascus from a pocket knife. The other two blades are Soligen stainless steel morgue blades that were originally 12 inches long. I used my Dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut out a piece of steel to shape into a blade. Gene

Fishbooger, Although Rick Butz makes a good knife here is a link to a knife that is used by hundreds of woodcarvers and costs about half what a Rick Butz knife costs. And Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers is a good place to do business with. http://www.woodcarvers.com/murphyknives.htm Here is a picture of some of the knives that I use for lure carving. I also made these knives.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned (or just old as Coley stated in another post) but I prefer to use a custom-made knife to carve my lures. It has a small 1 1/2 blade that is only 1/4 wide at the widest part. I keep it razor sharp. I can carve a lure in about the same time with my knife that someone else can using a belt or drum sander. No dust! I can carve in the shop, outside, in the house while watching TV, etc. without having to wear a dust mask. Gene

Go ahead and spend the extra money for the variable speed. In most cases you will not want to use the unit at top speed and as you use it you will find more uses for it and the variable speed will come in handy. Gene

I wish all of you could have been there. I had a great time and some excellent food! Of course if all of you had been there, Coley would have had to cook his meal in a dumpster instead of a trashcan. I would personally like to thank Coley for the fine meal and the invitation and Jerry for the T-shirt and the meeting place of our first get-together (TU). Coley, Charlie and Jack are some of the finest people you will ever meet. I hope some day in the future that we can have a larger gathering and meet a lot more of the TU members. BTW, I finally got to add one of Coley's baits to my handmade collection. His lures look good in the pictures but much better in person. Gene

I agree. I have a small but growing collection of handmade hard baits that I would like to expand. Trading is an excellent way to add to a collection. Gene

Thanks Dooge, That's the person that I am looking for. I am from middle Tennessee so I don't fish Fort Loudon. I'm sorry that I can't return a favor and help you out. Gene

Jim, That's what I use and I have had good results with it. However, I use the enamel NOT the acrylic enamel. The only thing that I dislike about it is cleanup. Gene

I'm looking for a lure maker named Mike Bowers from Lenoir City. Does anyone know him? Thanks for any info. Gene

I too, have both but I highly prefer the bandsaw. As Coley mentioned, you can resaw, profile and block off, and it just plane cuts faster. It's also easier on my nerves. All that bouncing just unsettles me. Gene

A lot of people here on the forum use the Paasche VL. It is a double action airbrush. You can find it at Harbor Freight for $59. Gene

Looks like you got the hang of it, Terry. Well done. Gene

Joe, Thanks for the offer but since Ken (Mylures) brought up the subject I think that he should have the first shot. Gene

Ken, If you find them, please let me know. My last order from Jann's got me the same response. Thanks. Gene

Sam, Check your area for any cabinet making shops. You should be able to find some suitable hardwood scraps there and they will probably give you all you want for nothing. Gene