Skeeter

The guys are right Cougar. Nice site. I enjoyed the stroll. Skeeter

If there is no chalk in the product then why do they say it on the label? It is the long cure epoxy that I bought that had it. Not the 5 min. Maybe they just did it to the syringe packages. Maybe the larger quantity bottles don't have it added. However, I know that they will loose some money from me. Lord only knows how much Devcon I have bought in 15 yrs. I have a few baits that have been waiting for a clearcoat. I am about to order and try something else. Hopefully, it will work just fine. Skeeter

Devcon starts curing quicker below 50% humidity. I wrote this in 2012: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/24488-how-to-apply-devcon/ I also posted in December about the chalk. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/29134-chalk-in-devcon/ Sorry it all blew up on you brother. You are not the first and won't be the last. Happened to me too. Welcome to crankbait making. Skeeter

Bob is right. You are better off cutting your own lips. One of the reasons is that the line tie is not always situated where it needs to be. Depending on the lure, the line tie placement greatly affects the action. Moving the line tie forward or backward 1/16 of an inch can mean the difference between good or a great lure. Skeeter

Point taken. Skeeter

Stan I'd love to see what you do married to some of these fellas custom tweaked balsas, OK.... what the heck does that mean?

There were some comments early that I didn't agree with and this thread to me kinda took a side track. that's all I was referring to. You are right Matt. There are times when we loose sight of the actual question and it happened here. Good catch. Skeeter

I would imagine that not all baits from China are bad. The problem is that you just have to purchase them and see if they are any good. You will just have to spend the money to find out. Many times you have to buy in large quantities. Additionally, you need to make sure that if you find a good bait the manufacturer will be around to keep you in a sufficient supply. If you just buy a bunch of bodies and paint them up to sell without knowing if the baits are any good, then you, your name, and your business may not last long. Personally, I don't see any real future in doing this. Just read the forum. There are so many people doing this exact same thing. They're a dime a dozen. Skeeter

"Lol I don't know why im even commenting on what's turned into a pissing match...." Probably because you have an opinion and you just have to spit it out like the rest of us. "But I have caught fish on sealed wood baits that are un painted and resin baits straight from the mold." Maybe they were just the right color. No one has been rude. No one has been nasty. It's all just food for thought brother. And in my opinion....... that is what forums are all about. Skeeter

A lot of folks say that fancy paint jobs only catch fishermen. All I have to say is I hope so. Otherwise, none of us would ever sell a bait. So the next time anyone says that they don't get caught by baits..... tellem to look in their tackle box. There was something about every bait that I have bought that caught me. From a crankbait down to a worm. As a baitmaker you have to appeal to the fishermen as well as the fish. It is all part of the game. So my question is to you guys is..... how well do you play it? Crankbaitmaker

I believe that color does matter. I have been throwing crankbaits hard since 1998 and I feel that I have proved that to myself. However, that is just my opinion. As far as paint jobs are concerned….. that is just the fisherman’s decision. So many fish have been caught and so much money has been won off of simple paint schemes (Homer, Dolphin, Carp, Black/White, Black/Yellow) that I feel super HD paint jobs are not necessary. HOWEVER, I do look at these beautiful lures as a work of art. It is complicated and takes a lot of talent to create these beautiful objects. I appreciate the effort and talent of those that make them. To me it is what separates those that just want to make and/or paint a bait to use or those that are truly passionate about the craft. I have bought some of these baits for my personal collection. I just appreciate the exceptional skill and craftsmanship of others. I have said forever that if you are going to make well made crankbaits you have to “love the craft”. You have to be totally ate up with making the best crankbait that your two hands can possibly make. To me, this means going the extra mile to develop your skills and knowledge. You have to be willing to make countless mistakes to develop your personal talents. I constantly push myself to reach a higher plane than any other bait maker. I am willing to make the mistakes and put up with the failures to make the finest crankbaits that God and my two hands will allow. And I doubt that many people have spent the time studying crankbaits in a pool as much as I have. I don’t care about how much time it takes, how much money it costs, how many I can make at a time or how much money I can make. I just want to make the best. In other words…..I don’t care about the money…. I want the name. I don’t judge my work by showing my lures to fishermen. I just watch the reactions of other bait makers when they see one of my crankbaits. Bait makers know how much work it takes to make them. Therefore, it is their reaction to my work that I want to see. When I hand a fellow craftsman one of my baits and I see their eyes widen in the first two seconds of seeing the lure then I know I have done good work on the appearance. If the bait knocks their socks off then they have to react, they don’t have to say a thing. However, that does not necessarily mean that the lure is any good. If I sell a lure to someone, and they come back for another, then I know that they are catching fish with it. For me that is enough proof that my work is acceptable. But when it really comes down to it, I am the best judge of my work. If I am happy with the way a lure looks and performs then I am satisfied for the moment. I set my own standards very high and I know that I am my toughest critic. I don’t lie to myself. I don’t need the approval of someone else. I know in my guts that a particular bait is the best that I can create. But….. we all have to do a little “showboating” now and then. There are two quotes that I have always remembered and believed in. Rick Clunn : “A lure is nothing more than a tool” to get the job done. Bill Dance: “The number one lure in every fisherman’s tackle box is confidence.” I feel that if we believe that we have the right tool and have the confidence to fish it properly, the only thing left is to find the right fish to present it to. I think that this is the number one factor that most of us fail at. So this year, that is what I will be working on. Skeeter

LOL! If Hughesy's patterns are "basic"...I wish I could do "basic". Well said Saltshaker. Skeeter

Ok...Ok..... I give. LMAO..... that will work. Skeeter

You're right Travis..... you would probably be homeless in short order. Skeeter

If you lost your job right now and someone told you that you HAD to make you living and pay all of your bills by fishing bass tournaments....... would color matter to you? Skeeter

If you didn't have a lot of prep time and the durability is good, then $10-$15 is fair. Skeeter

Benton, Coley gave me this link long ago. http://www.balsausa.com/#/balsa-wood/4553934074. I just went to it and it still works. According to Coley you could specify whether you want hard balsa (like the bagleys were made of) or soft balsa like is used in kit plane building. There is a rating system for balsa. Coley knew all of that stuff and taught it to me.... but that was a long time ago. There is a customer service number on the page and I am sure they would be glad to help you. That is where Coley learned about the grading system. Hope this helps and works out. Later buddy. Skeeter

I use a Paasch VL. It was my very first airbrush. It is 15 yrs old now and still shooting just fine. It is a double action gun. In my opinion, that is a must no matter what brand you buy. I use the #3 tip. It is not an expensive gun and it is not a cheap one either. It is good equipment. I used this gun exclusively for 8 yrs. to shoot everything. It is very easy to break down and clean. Plus tips and needles can usually be bought at the local hobby shop. It also accepts nipples on jars and cups from many other manufactuers. Skeeter

Just wipe on some polyurethane with a rag. That will seal the wood enough. It will penetrate into the wood real well. Let it dry overnight and then lightly sand the lure. Just touch sand it with fine sandpaper (320 grit or greater). The wood will be really smooth and ready for painting. Your details will still be nice and sharp. I have been using it for 15 years on all of my wooden baits. Skeeter

Dude... it sounds to me like you just need to cut your losses and use something else. Go to the jig forum and look up powder paint and fluid bed. That is the best way to go. Powder paint is really tough. Skeeter

Dwain has worked hard and never let up. He's just a class act. Skeeter

Dwain is the real deal and a great guy. He is one of the original group from the old days. He is one of the few that have stuck with it and made a name for himself. I remember when he first came on tacklemaking.com and was learning how to paint. His site is Baitwerks. Send him an email and ask him. He just may tell you. Tell him Skeeter says hi. Skeeter

There are a lot of beautiful high end guns out there. I think the reason most of us use paache or iwata is because they are available locally and the stores usually carry replacement parts as well. Plus they do the job. Skeeter

rhersh, I try to respect eveyones opinion here on TU. Your opinion matters to me. And, I agree with you about the Iwata. Great gun. However, I use a Paache VL for shooting large amounts of paint. The coverage is much better because of a larger tip. My baits are bigger than most. When I coat a bait body with a base coat or shoot the main body color the VL is hard to beat. I use the #3 tip for that. But for shooting scales and back stripes I love the Iwata. But the small tip on the Iwata does not handle paint with small glitter well at all. Again, that is when I go back to the Paache. Skeeter

Looks like you have plenty of suggestions to choose from. So, the one thing that I can suggest is that you get some white PVC pipe to practice with. It is already white so you can play with different color combinations and practice shooting your scales and back stripes. It is inexpensive and can really help with learing how to control the gun, mixing and thinning your paints for shooting, and finding the sweet spot for the pressure needed to shoot different brands of paints and colors. Skeeter