Lincoya

Don was indeed a nice guy. I had the opportunity to meet him at Nathan's. I also swapped lures with him a couple of times. Don, for those of you who never met him, is pictured below along with some of his lures. His original "signature" lure is the top one. God bless and may he rest in peace. Gene

Ken, There are a few people here at TU that are working on making their own duplicators. Some are having more success than others. I have had a little experience with the Dupli-carver sold by Wood Carver's Supply. Some of us at one of the TU get-togethers spent several hours working with it with little success. I have written a "How to carve your own wood lure" tutorial and posted it here at TU in the Member's Submitted Tutorials section. Give it a read and see if it helps you. If you don't understand parts of it or have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Gene

Sallystrothers, I'll be more than happy to help you where I can. Just let me know. Gene

I do it almost like shaggy does except I reverse the wire. I put a very small Allen (hex) wrench in a drill. I double the wire and put the loose ends in a pair of Visegrips. Put the loop over the Allen wrench. Turn the drill on and twist. Like shaggy said, keep the pressure tight. Gene

Vic, I didn't know I was going to have to write a disclaimer to put with my tutorial. I've re-read my tutorial three times and I can't find the part about stabbing yourself. If you'll let me know where it's located, I'll remove that part so no one else stabs themselves. I hope you're okay, my friend. Gene

Congradulations Patrick! Excellent recognition! Good luck on the annual award, too. Gene

Attached is a tutorial for making a belly weight mold out of aluminum. Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc Belly Weight Mold Tutorial.doc

Thanks guys for your responses and insights. I already have some syringes and needles so I think I'll try that first. I'm always in a hurry to get them glued in and move on. That's why I use the 5 minute. But they always wind up sitting for a few days anyway. So, I'll use the 30 minute and at least end some of my frustration. Ben, Thanks for the link. I already have accelerator. (Any wood carver that's worth his salt has accelerator to fix those mistakes he makes). There are several places that sell online that sell it. If you have a Hobby Lobby where you're at, they also sell it. Gene

Yes. I have had several people ask.

I'm making my own hook hangers by twisting stainless steel wire. When it comes time to glue these hangers in the bait, I go and find something else to do. I hate, I mean, I HATE gluing these little suckers in place. I drill a slightly oversized hole, put some 5 minute epoxy on a toothpick and insert the toothpick in the hole to get a little epoxy in the hole. I, then, put some epoxy on my handmade hook hanger and insert the hanger into the hole. Does anyone have an easier, less messy way of doing this? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Gene

Ken, Is that really you?!?! Where have you been my old friend? It's good to see you post again. I thought that you had give up on TU. Gene

Diemai, Great video. I agree with Littleriver; the coil spring locks are excellent. Are you going to post the video in the Tutorials section? Gene

You can find it here: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/23075-how-to-build-a-vacuum-former/page__hl__vacuum__fromsearch__1 Gene

Thanks guys! Been busy cleaning my shop, organizing my bait making stuff, and cutting out baits. I've cut out 80 baits and have about 25 of them carved since I have retired. Gene

Mark, I'm not a machinist either and I just used a drill press to make it. You just need to make fairly precise measurements and use the stop on your drill press to keep the depths all the same. I've got to make some more molds so maybe I'll make a tutorial when I make the next one. Gene

Here are the pictures of my mold. I couldn't figure out how to post them in the original post.

I made my own belly weight mold out of 1/4 x 1 x 48-inch aluminum stock available at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. I drilled two index holes at opposite corners so that the mold halves would line up when placed together. Then, I drilled the hole for the lead. Next, I drilled a 1/8" hole for my screw eye (which I twist out of stainless steel welding wire). Finally, I opened the mold and, using a bradpoint drill bit, drilled a shallow hole at the end of my 1/8" hole on both sides of the mold for the loop on my screw eye. When I pour my belly weights, I insert the screw eye into the mold, close the mold, and pour. Before I open the mold, I clamp the mold in a vise and use a flat chisel to trim the excess lead off. When I open the mold, my weights are ready to use.