blackjack

I am pretty positive that those baits are made from Jelutong or Paulownia wood. The eye screws ,hooks, and bill are probably enough ballast to keep the bait from rolling over, On the deeper diver version there is also a lead tab in the bill that would also help the bait run correctly!! I have taken a couple of these baits apart as well and the wood is definetly not balsa. If you take the Davis bait and the Sisson bait and put them side by side they are identical even the prefabbed lips have the exact same injection molding marks on them. I have brought this up before on another board and got into a pissing match with someone who was "in the know" with the Davis Company and he said that the baits were made by a third party not Sisson Lures. I think otherwise!

Anyone notice the similarities?

Well said DRT, don't think that I could have been any more insightful than that!!

Well here is something to think about, Do not know what kind of clearcoat you are using, but I can tell you that if you are using a moisture cure urethane or an epoxy that is thinned you may get a reaction with the lexan weakening the lexan and making it more susceptible to breakage

Although I am by no means a swimbait designer or guru, I think that if you modify your joints the pinch points or spots where the joints are hanging up will be decreased. I have attached a rudimentry diagram to further explain

Cause they don't make them anymore and they catch fish?

Createx Auto air and my epoxy clear

If you are going to clearcoat with an epoxy finish I would not recommend the minwax wood hardener, many moons ago I tried this stuff and at first I thought it was the cats meow. What I found out was that if the bait sits on the deck of your boat in the sun for even ten minutes ther will be a seperation between the different layers of wood hardener,primer,paint and clearcoat. Once I stopped using it the problem was solved. I know there are some that are using this stuff, but I am not sure of what type of clear they are using. Really sucks to have that happen after all of the work that goes into getting a bait wet!

http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/10963-tu-etiquette-takers-vs-givers.html I think if you review my last 275 posts you will see that I have shared more than enough information, that does not include any PMs that have been sent, my post was meant to inspire those that are looking to keep trying because there is an answer. Seems that was not enough for some I guess next time I will not post. "I cannot teach anyone anything, I can only make them think"- Socrates

Brake fluid is only compatable with certain types of plastic, I know for sure that it does not work with Lucky Craft, Megabass, or any of the major U.S. Manufacturers, the brake fluid will certainly remove the paint but it will degrade the structural integrity of the lure and you can actually see fractures in the plastic. There is an answer to this problem but I can not reveal what it is as given to me by a well known Japanese lure craftsman. It is a chemical that can be purchased here in the U.S. Sorry I can't help you guys any further!

Easy fix that I have done to some deep divers, buy some lead buckshot (#3 size) Drill a 1/4" diameter hole in the bill place the shot in the hole and flatten the shot with a blow from a hammer. make sure the hole is drilled directly in the center of the bill

Arm and Hammer is the ticket, search soda blasting on google and you will find a ton of info, alot safer than using silica blasting media and does not remove the surface detail!!

Why not just buck up and have custom eyes made?

two words, "Soda Blasting"

I guess it would be good for someone that is starting out but why spend the money if all and more information is right here at your fingertips!!

It is a generic silver glitter .004 diameter, mixed with an acrylic clear then sprayed on the bait

Been working with the glittercoat process, came up with this!! Finished with DN's clearcoat, Thanks to BobP for his help with the DN finish!!

Definetly not harder than Devcon, used that as well as Crystal sheen when I was lookimg for a superior product and neither is as hard as the old Devcon

If you ever got to talk to Lee you will see that he is a down to earth type of guy and not stuck on himself at all. He is all about helping other people out. I meet him at a show in Richmond Virginia about ten years ago and talked his ear off. A few years later I called him to purchase some crankbait lips and line ties from him and he even remembered who I was. He started out just like eveyone here making baits one at a time in his shop. He answered every question I asked about his operation and helped me out tremendously. The nice thing about talking to him is that he also loves to fish and is not some egghead bean counter with a slide rule, that designs his baits in a labratory(no offense to anyone that does that type of work!!)

Kinda like a bullseye, Some species of shad and herring have them.

Never had a problem with any wood bait doing that and the reason is I strip all the factory finish off right down to bare wood, this way you know exactly what to expect when it is time to paint and clearcoat, Bagleys and Rapalas are my speciality, Never have painted over any factory finish as all you are doing is adding weight and decreasing the action of the bait

Anyone know anything about this stuff, an oldtimer was telling me about it and said it was the fashizzle!!

As Richard Dawson said, "Good Answer!!"

moisture is usually the culprit, whether it be from an external source or internal. need to know exactly what you are doing with sealer, primer and finish

Well I guess this puts that to rest as i do not have an extra 275K laying around, I thought that plunking down 15k might get me a machine that I could cut lips and rough out bodies with, maybe cut some aluminum molds as well, oh well back to the drawing board!!This is the machine I was looking at: SmithyCNC 1240 Bed Mill http://www.smithy.com/product_home.php?cid=11&scid=16&pid=7