Mylures

Very nice job on the popper. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing. Ken

Hi Jake, first off you won't get a very good edge with a 36 or 60 grit wheel. Thats OK for rough grinding or removing alot of material which you don't want to do. I would say a 120 grit wheel at a minimum. Remember one thing, heat is a tools worst enemy. When grinding always do so very lightly and keep the tool cool by dipping in a can of water. The finer the wheel the faster the heat will build up. If your tool turns blue you will draw out the temper and then it won't hold an edge. I will see if I can get a picture of a few jigs that you can make yourself. Its really not that hard to learn. When I finish grind my tools I always strop them on leather. I have a power leather wheel that turns away from the cutting edge. This wheel turns very slow and when I am done the edge is polished to a mirror finish which is extremely sharp. Your wood will come off in a thin like ribbon. If shipping wasn't so expensive I would tell you to send me a few of your tools and I would gladly do them for you. I imagine two way shipping would cost more than a couple of tools. Just hang in there Jake, with a bit of time and a few replys back and forth we will get a good edge on those tools for you. You can always email me too. Ken Schmitz Jake, the machine I use to sharpen lathe tools has a 12 inch wheel x 2 inches wide. It is water cooled and I think it is 400 or 600 grit. I know they make a 1200 grit wheel for this machine. The wheel probably is $125.00 and the machine was $800.00. I have a small sharpening shop. It comes in very handy once in awhile. The name of that machine is Tormek.

Hi there, I use a belt grinder/sander to do my baits. The first thing I do is to cut the lip slot into a board long enough for two baits tail to tail = an extra 1/2 inch inbetween the baits. The picture should be self explanitory. Once the lip slot is cut in on each side, I then cut a stop cut for each sideof the tail end. Once that is done I slice off the blanks to the desired width. Once they are slice off I trace the pattern and taper the tail end of each bait with the belt sander. Then I trace the top and bottom pattern and again use the belt sander grinder. Then I place a scrap piece of wood on each side of the blank and put it in the vise to hold it for sanding and rounding. If you have any questions please email or pm me and I will try to clarify this for you. Thanks Ken Schmitz

Awesome, way to go Nate. These are definitely off the charts. Keep up the good work. Ken Schmitz

Hey Woodsac, I felt someone pulling on my ear, was that you?? I forgot to tell you when you buy a new chisel they are not very sharp. I didn't say they won't work. If I wouldn't have seen this myself I maybe wouldn't believe how sharp you can really get these. I would be more than glad to help you any way I can. Thats why we are all here, to help one another. Thanks and have a great day. Ken PS one thing I forgot to mention which is extremely important. If you get one of those leather wheels for a drill or drill press You must make sure the wheel is turning away from the cutting edge instead of into the cutting edge like when you use a grinding wheel.

Hey Woodsac, I'm not telling you to buy cheap tools. I am telling you not to buy a whole bunch of tools you might never even use. Buy the best you can afford. What I was trying to get across is that you can make a few tools yourself and they will hold up as good as any expensive tool. I have never used any real expensive tools Just trying to help you save some money. Even good tools need to be sharpened alot if you use them alot. Leather puts the best possible edge on them. Leather can maintain or bring back a real sharp edge if you don't wait too long. Eventually any tool will have to be ground. Heat is the worst enemy. Thats why I use a water wheel. An old timer once told me when you take chisels or turning tools to a shapening shop, if you see sparks flying grab your tools and run. Good Point. I hope this helps and if not email me. Thank you Ken Schmitz

Hi there, I have a craftsman 8 piece turning tool set which I hardly ever use. Its a good set but I made a tool I ground down out of an old file that I use 99 % of the time. Files are very hard and hold a good edge. I use a water wheel with a power leather strop to sharpen my tools to a razor edge. That machine for sharpening the tools was $800.00 You can hand strop with leather and its not very hard to learn or they have a small leather wheel you can put in a drill for power stropping. It takes a little practice but works awesome. I have a small sharpening shop so I do all my own saws, tools, planer knives, dado heads, and router bits. If I can help anyone out to learn how to sharpen something I'm all ears and would be glad to help you out. Thank you. Ken Schmitz

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. Larry, I must say I agree with you. All we want for Xmas is Peace on earth. Wouldn''t that be awesome. I want to say a special Thank You to all the men & women of the armed forces that can't be with their loved ones. To them it is a very sad time of the year. I know, Iv'e been there many years ago. Ken Schmitz (vet)

Hey Nate, sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope they catch the low lifes. This couldn't happen at a worse time of the year. This world is falling apart. In my opinion people like that are lower than Whale Dung and thats at the bottom of the ocean. Let us know if they find the culprits. Good luck and the best to you and your family. Ken

Hi Mallard, I use a belt grinder/sander the most but I do have a dremel. Actually is works pretty good for somethings. When I need to change the sandpaper I use emery cloth or sandpaper backed with duck tape to make it hold up better. To buy the sleeves for the dremel is quite expensive but you can make most of the things yourself. Sure hope this helps and if you have any specific questions please feel free to email me or post away. Thanks and good luck. Ken Schmitz

I too would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and the best always. Thanks for being willing to share the snow Nathan but no thanks. Ken Schmitz

Blue Dragon

Fantailed Worm

Hi Tally, I never tried this yet but I would probably use water slide decal paper and put in on the lip, then clearcoat over the top of it. Just a thought and if you try it let me know how it works. Ken Schmitz

I too have a belt grinder/sander. Mine is a 1" x 42" belt and I use it all the time for rough sanding and some fine sanding. I start out with course belts as they last much longer and wear down quite fast. If you use fine for sanding they clog up real fast and then they burn. Thanks and good luck. Ken Schmitz

There is some real truth to the Saying!!! Different Strokes for Different Folks. I would definitely go with the four stroke seeing they are getting away from 2 stroke for pollution reasons. Ken Schmitz

Hi there and happy veterans day to all even though the day is almost over. Thank you. A viet-Nam Vet.

Hey Grunt, I too own a craftsman lathe for many many years and have not had any problems. One of the biggest things is some people go out and buy a complete set of turning tools and basically you only use one or two. I have a eight piece set of turning tools that I hardly ever use. For poppers and other baits I use a tool that I made from an old flat file that I ground down. Once you play around with a lathe its like everything else, it just takes practice and of course caution. Always make sure to keep your tool support as close to the work as possible. As the piece gets smaller when turning, always move the support and keep it as close as possible to the work piece to avoid the tool breaking off or getting caught in the work piece. Good luck and you will enjoy the lathe. Ken Schmitz

Hi there, I don't own a Opti or the newer 4 stroke Merc but I would if I were younger and could afford it. The Merc engines are built about 15 miles from where I live. I know alot of guys who have them and really like them. Lake Winnebago is where I fish the most and thats mostly what you will see out there is Merc Motors. Fond Du Lac, Wi. is on the south end of the lake and where Merc's are built. I am sure they have a web site and if you need any info someone will help you out. If you can't find the info you need email me and I will have someone from the company get you what you need. Good luck. Ken Schmitz

Hi there, I think that Craftsman compressor with the cast iron sleeve and oil lube would work good. I bought one of those small piston type compressors oil-less and it failed already. It had an aluminum bore and the piston scratched the bore and its shot already. I contacted a repair shop and it would cost almost as much to fix as I paid for it. He recommended not using a oil-less compressor if your going to use it alot. I may go look at that Craftsman today. Good luck. Ken Schmitz

Hi, is there a reason why all of a sudden I have to log in each time I go on TU?? I never had to before. Is this something new or is it just my PC. Thanks. Ken Schmitz

Welcome aboard and yes thats an awesome lure for your first. Keep up the good work and lets see somemore lures in the future. Ken Schmitz

Tally, that makes two of us. I thought it would never end. Its just too bad that all politicians are multi-millionaires and don't realize what the word want is. We are still lucky and this is the greatest nation in the world. It can only get better. Ken Schmitz

Thanks for the compliments guys. I actually spent alot of time on this sucker!! If it put a smile on someones face it was well worth it. I have this hanging in my shop now and when someone walks in and sees it. I wait for the expression on their face. It only takes a second or two and they light right up. Its doing whats it was intended to do. Ken

Just thought I would add a little humor to the site. This is one of my latest creations and is only meant for humor and fun. This isn't meant to offend anyone. Thanks and enjoy. Ken Schmitz