Skeeter

All you can do is wash them with alittle hot soapy water. If you have the type with the butyrate lip then the best thing to do is just leave it alone !. The butyrate lip has a little edge that comes up on them. This edge is a necessity for the bait to perform properly. If you take just a little chip out of that lip edge, then the true action is gone. Butyrate is really a crapy thing to make lips out of. It will crack easily. It is not so much what the lip is made of, but how it is made. My suggestion to you is to just paint the baits and let him worry about the lips. Skeeter

You Rule LP. Skeeter

Heck Coley, LP is like you...... Ask him to build you a conoe and you will get an aircraft carrier. Beautiful work LP. Skeeter

Excellent Tally. Skeeter

Gee Coley Guess that sums it up! Skeeter

Anytime that you alter something from its original state, it is custom. Anytime you create something that is not being made, it is custom or new. What I expect from an excellent baitmaker is work above the rest. Whatever your specialty is, I expect work that will display true craftsmanship and a higher degree of precission. Otherwise, why would I pay the higher prices of a hand crafted lure? We need to get off of the word custom. Heck, I even used the word in an article that I wrote on this site years ago. "Choosing a Custom Crankbait." It is used too loosely like the word "hero" or "professional." How many of us has heard the phrase "if you are paid for something, then you are a professional." Bull !!! Here is the bottom line....... If you truely do Outstanding work then it will be noticed. There are too many idiots out there calling themselves custom lure makers. No one here has ever heard me call my crankbaits custom. I am just a crankbait maker. I strive to do something to better my skills and my crankbaits every time I am in the shop. In 5 years, I have never been completely satisfied with my work. I always see something to improve on. Therefore, I am not a professional. I have made many mistakes, and I have really made some crap in my time. But I truely love this craft and desire to make the finest crankbaits that have ever been made. I expect that kind of an attitude out of a luremaker. I expect his skills and his end result to be above the others. Otherwise, I will not pay for his services or his lures. Skeeter

Don't get me started on this...... if you think I am bad about Devcon..... Well you aint seen nothin!!!! This is why I no longer post pictures of my work. If we can't respect each others work then it is a real sad day. You did right. There is not a crank that I cannot copy. There is not a crank that I cannot make perform better. (including my own). But I make my own from scratch..... including on the paper. If you make a bait that is no longer made then that is ok by me. But to take someones work and flat copy it when that person is still making and selling that bait is just a plain lack of morals. I hope that you and Rich both do well. My hat is off to you. Skeeter

Acrylic will crack once it gets cold. So if you throw the bait in cold water or cold weather it is not the best choice. Get some polycarbonate from a good hardware or glass store and you will have no problems at anytime. Skeeter

Kevin, To start with.... No clearcoat will hold up to being thrown into concrete. Some clears may take a few more casts than others untill they are breeched, but they will all fail. Also, remember that most clears will crack on sharp edges. If you have sharp edges on a tail or other part of the bait, just touch it with some sandpaper. Lightly will do. Just take the "knife edge" off and dull it. If you have any questions about applying Dick's clearcoat, then send me a PM. Good luck. Skeeter

Devcon will only crack and chip if the bait is not completely coated, it is applied incorrectly, or the bait is just plain abused. It is just that simple. Another clear that you might want to try is Dick Nites clearcoat. www.dicknite.com Skeeter

No. If you have a thick build up of paint you might want to sand it down alittle. But it should not hurt the bait action at all. Just make sure that the surface is smoothe. Skeeter

Createx is water based paint. That is why the clear came off. Skip the clear. If you mess up just shoot another white base coat and shoot your paint again. Skeeter

Good grief fellas......... just eyeball the thing. Skeeter

Well from the looks of things, he is already painting better than I am. Looks like the secret is in the way he holds the gun. I will have to give that a try. Skeeter

Jed is right Mossy. What I said was not directed at you. You didn't step on any toes. Tons of people that I have talked to and sold baits to have asked me if the reason that I make flat baits is because it is easier and I can make more money by making more baits that way. I just feel like handing those folks a block of wood and telling them to get busy since it is so easy. It seems to me that people treat flat sided baits like a red headed step child. But I guess that is ok because alot of folks from Lexington have taken money from many tournament participants with those flat baits. Jed is also right about me getting older. I will turn 49 on the 19th. I guess it is time that I step up to the plate, stick with tradition, and get crotchety. Don't ever listen to Jed about clearcoats. He will lead you down the wrong path. He is evil I tell you. Skeeter

http://www.tuktupaddles.com/tuktu_paddles_wood.html Skeeter

The big advantage of making a flat bait over round one is that you don't have to worry about keeping everything in line from nose to tail when you make them. As you probably know, keeping the nose and tail in a striaght line is a pain when making round handmade baits. Even the big manufactures can not consistantly do this. Take a DBIII, Poes, or any other wooden round bait and sight down the bait. 90% of the time, something will be crooked or out of line. It really yanks my chain when folks assume that the reason I make flat sided baits is because it is just plain easier. You can weight and modify flat sided cranks just like you can round ones. Figuring out special weighting and lip techniques is every bit as hard on a flat bait as it is on a round one. I really like flat baits because I feel that the flat sides give off more vibration than round ones. The largest mistake that people make is that they think that all flat sided baits have a tight action to them. I can make a flat sided bait have any type of action that I want. Lip design and placement control the largest part of this. Flat sided baits are superior to round ones at achieving maximum depth. They slice through the water column much better than a round bait. There is less water resistance to the flat bait. I have fished ALL kinds of deep water crankbaits. The most productive ones that I have ever fished are the flat sided ones that I make myself. I rarely throw a round deep crankbait anymore. I have modified tons of DBIII's and Poes 400's for people. While they are good crankbaits, they will never out perform my flat ones. Skeeter

Turn the bait in the house also. If it is too cold then the devcon will not turn and level out evenly. Skeeter

First we need to make sure that you are using the long cure and not the 5 min. epoxy. I have been using Devcon for 5 yrs. and I can tell you that it is best to just use it straight out of the package. No thinning or heat is needed. I use a brush that is used for model cars. It is a testors brush and you can get them at Wal Mart for $1.00. It has a meatal piece that holds the bristles in. One of the problems that most have is that they use cheap super flexable brushes. The brush has to have some stiffness to it to spread the Devcon out. Get some on the brush, spread it on the lure and then continue to go back over that spot once or twice to help thin it out and spread it. You usually have to put a blob on the brush and then spread it out. This will keep the coating from being too thick. Devcon is a thick clearcoat to begin with. But don't panic and just keep spreading untill the thickness suits you. Then spin it. Don't worry about brush marks, they will spin out most of the time. Just have all of your stuff ready and lined up when you go to apply it. Have everything right there so you do not have to hunt anything when you need it. You will find that you have more than enough time to apply the Devcon. Skip the heat and all of that stuff and just pay attention to what you are doing. It takes some practice but you will get the hang of it. I still have my mistakes time to time, but in my opinion, Devcon is the best clearcoat for the average lure builder. Have a small jar of acetone for your brush. After you are finished take a paper towel and wipe the excess off of the brush and put the brush in the acetone for about 15 min. or alittle longer. This will clean the brush. Then take the brush out and let it dry. You can get the bristles back in action by working them alittle with your fingers. I have clearcoated over 50 baits with one brush. If you have any other questions, just ask. Skeeter

What were you using before? If there is one piece of advice that I can give you is to make sure that it is a double action gun. I use a VL and am very happy with it. Skeeter

Glad to see you stopped by for a visit Herman. We missed you. Skeeter

Jmc, If Blackjack says that he has some originals then you can bet that they are. Personally, I would just buy his and forget it. Blackjack is one of the few true crankbait makers in the country that really works hard at his craft and knows what he is doing. He is not a crack pot or a fake...... he is the real deal. His shallow water crankbaits are some of the finest that I have ever fished. As a matter of fact I only know of one crankbait maker that is better than he is. Skeeter

Send me an email or PM. Skeeter

What show ? Skeeter

http://www.sellerscustomlures.com/ But you can't go wrong with having Blades paint them for you either. They are both very tallented. Skeeter