Skeeter

Very very nice. If he isn't pleased, he's got a problem. Skeeter

Beautiful work. Excellent painting. Skeeter

Excellent work on the lure!!!! I really like the dressed treble. It really adds to the bait. Your scale pattern in the foil and putting the foil on is top notch also. Skeeter

Try this: http://tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=927&highlight=fixing Skeeter

Sounds like you made one good investment to me. Skeeter

150 grit will do. I like to use a bastard file. It keeps the edges straighter. Skeeter

You can do that. The bodies look good. Most flat baits are the same width from nose to tail without tapering. Finish them up. You may have something there. Skeeter

Look in the phone book under engraving. Many of these places use lasers. I check it out once but the guy wanted .40 per lip to cut them per 100. Many of these places pay alot of money for the laser and have down time. They are happy to keep the thing working and making money. Skeeter

I will have to agree with Art Brush. Nothing has to be like everything else. Your bait does not follow the norm. That is how things are discovered. My hat is off to you for completing the bait and not just tossing it. My understanding of the hunting action is that the bait will run straight and then jump to one side or the other and then go back to running straight again. The bait just keeps repeating this pattern. If your bait is staying straight up and not leaning on its side as it is shifting, then I would say that you have something that is unique and should be tried out and explored further. Sounds like a possible winner to me. Skeeter

It's a flat bait dude. The top and the bottom are just a 3/8 radius. Skeeter

Learned alot in this post fellas. You can get the plastic dip at Lowes in the paint section. I was going to get some to redo the handles on some tools. They have it in different colors too. Cody, Everything except the scales I freehand. I use to use a mask for eyes and dots. But now I just dot them with a small steel rod that I found. Art Brush, You are only dead meat for the hairdryer thing. You and FF probably work in the same salon. However, clear nail polish is good stuff. I have used hard as nails for several clearcoat projects. The stuff is tuff. I found this out last time I had my nails done. Tim, Really good idea. I have had trouble with shrink tube tearing sometimes. Guess I better develope a touch. Skeeter

Blackjack, That is the best illustration I have ever seen to build a bait. You have given anyone everything that they need. If someone can't build this bait with this information, then they just might as well just throw their tools in the garbage. Plain killer. Skeeter

What is a frisket? Skeeter

Even though I have not made anything out of basswood, I would think that 1/2 oz. of weight it too much. You might want to try 3/16 or 1/4. But I would trust BlackJacks schematic. It is probably the most accurate data that you will find. Skeeter

Well that is just if you want it to be as close to an exact copy as you can get. I am sure that I can help you get pretty close. I believe that he has the size of his lures on his site. Pick one and give me the size and I will try and help you with it. Alot of his baits are wire through construction and 3/8ths thick. Lurehead03 Pretty damn good. Looks awful close to me. Skeeter

Nice try Art Brush. Won't work. Skeeter

1/16 Lexan is all you need for any crankbait made for bass, shallow or deep. Skeeter

I don't own any of his baits. To get the thing exact, you will have to buy one and dissect it. Skeeter

Geeeeeez, My hands are already reaching for throats!!!!!!!!!!! Al... your problem is that the devcon was not turned long enough before you hung it to dry. You were close, that is why you had the rolls and not runs. I spin for about 20 min. or so at 75 deg. In the winter add at least 10 min. for every 5 deg. cooler. Artbrush had it. I'll deal with the rest of you hairdressers with hair dryers later. Skeeter

You do not have to own an airbrush or make your own baits to contribute. There were quite a few articles on that board. I learned alot. And I appreciate you sharing it with me. Thanks again, Skeeter

Thanks Clemmy, I learned alot from this one. Skeeter

I think Funny Farm has a pretty good grip on this one. Skeeter

Your problem is several fold. But ol Skeet has been working on Pop Rs since 1986. We can get ya fixed up. First, are you a Pop R shaver? Shaving the lip is fine. It really only affects the popping action of the lure. If you sand the sides of the lure, then you are giving yourself alot of unnessary problems. Sanding the side of the lure thins the profile of the lure as it sits in the water and REALLY decreases the bouyancy of the lure. You are actually removing bulk that the lure needs to float. It also will kill the walk the dog action that you can get out of the lure. Since the sides are flatter and shoving more water, then the lure will not move from side to side as much as it is capable of. If done properly the face of the lure will give you all of the splash that is needed for this bait. Devcon probably did cause you the problem that you are experiencing. If you put a thick coat of it on the lure then you did add alot of weight to the bait. Use clear fingernail polish. It really is very tough and will hold up to abuse. It also works well on plastic cranks, thread on dressed trebble hooks, fishing rod wrappings, etc.... The next thing was the water temperature. Cold water is denser than hot, therefore, the lure sank. I will bet that the lure that sank will float come april or may. I will bet that there are alot of bait makers out there that have baits that will slowly sink sitting in there box right now. It is just that most folks don't fish when it is 16 deg. outside. Most of them will ever know it. I have taken all of my lures to extremely cold water to test them to know what it takes to make a lure for a customer that is either an all season crankbait or a seasonal crankbait. But for now you really do need a thinner, lighter, clearcoat. The sagging is caused because you are not spinning the lure long enough. I have posts on the site covering both temperature and spinning times of Devcon coated lures. Skeeter

I use either water based or lacquer. If you have a real good clear coat it doesn't matter. If you have doubts on your clearcoat, use lacquer. Skeeter

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEN !!!! Don't feel bad, mines next month. God Bless Skeeter