Travis

Custom made press punch and die. Local machine shop or similar should be able to whip one up for you with ease. With about every one's grandmother now having equipment to do this sort of stuff not too difficult finding someone that can do that work.

I don't think the idea is on the table well not until that sort of game becomes more of the norm. The need to push offense probably started late 70's and really got the biggest boost in 2004 due to in a round about way with Peyton. A lot of changes were pushed through to open up the the game and allow for what some describe as a pass happy league. Bottom line they needed wide receivers to be free and QBs (the big draw in the NFL) to be able to make the throws. Result records and a lot of them in regards to touchdowns, yards, etc... They will be meeting next month to make the yearly changes to "better" the game. A few new rules "Inset Player Name Rule" will be created. Whether we like it or not the brain injuries sustained will be a driving force to further "soften" the game down the road. With much of the emphasis to protect they defenseless offensive guy. It will be interesting to see what the game looks like in 25 years, 50, etc.... Already getting the ambulance chaser legal commercials "Are you an ex NFL player that has suffered....the NFL concussion...." .

Denver with any of the "starting" quarterbacks in the league is still a contender as it didn't get much worse. Peyton was really bad this year as in like only 4 or 5 others were lower in QBR (Foles, Bradford, Gabbert.....what a list). Denver will be fine as any team with a legit defense is until the NFL puts a stop to it to allow more scoring.

Still in business and you will get your mold.

They have done it for the past 1.5 years without him. The poor guy just fell apart. They started remaking the team after his first year when it became evident defense and just a decent run game to eat clock would be the way to go.

A fun one to watch with the way the defense dominated. Don't get to see that too often.

I worked out in my workshop this afternoon finishing up a few projects. I finished up my shop last week, well it can easily be worked in again but have a few improvements I want to do but those can wait a little while as time to get some lures made any my wife has asked for some bowls, bird feeders, etc.. to sell at her new hobby craft shows. We are getting ready to sit down and watch the game. We end up buying a ton of junk food and the kids get all excited. I never have been a Peyton fan but changed my tune for a little while, as I thought Indy handled the situation poorly. I was really rooting for him to win the first year at Denver. After last year and this year I hope they don't win. It is horrible for a guy to hang on that long as he is a shell of his former self. I honestly think if he was named John Doe, a 3rd year quarterback with the physical skills he now has he would be holding a clipboard today. I guess it will be a good exclamation mark on his remarkable career.....not winning the big one.

I could have gotten more technical and thrown heat into the equation, differentiated salts based upon composition of the final product, and we can chuck in a few other variables as they will behave differently. To avoid potential clumping or reduce issue get the Morton's or whatever table salt you want as they add plenty of anticaking agents. These also cloud the bait They will also retain a certain amount of moisture (both the salt and the caking agent as that is its intended purpose). Use it as is, only adds small bubbles to the plastic further causing cloudiness. Just as using floured salt "muddies" the colors. I understand that your method works for some just as for others it would be unacceptable. If guys truly want non cloudy baits the glass bead blasting media is the best readily available option. Many guys use different "cleaner" salts trying to escape "cloudy baits" only to find the other issues start to rear up more. I tried to save time and just said salt and only the normal things they may encounter. For example Kosher salts can come without additives and have a much greater tendency to clump. A lot of cheap salt also will skip it (wonder why they are cheap) and wonder for the propensity to find rice in salt at many cheap restaurants. Ground salts versus those crystallized.. if one were to.take a look under a microscope and you can see lots of imperfections, cracks etc...depending on how the salt was processed. Think of a nice sheet of tempered glass in your windshield before and after a few strikes with a hammer. One should consider other things such as what works for their area due to humidity/temperature would not work for the guy making baits in Tampa, Seattle, New Orleans, etc.... Rarely a one size fits all answer. However I can guarantee using better storage, selection of salt without additives, and using fine crystallized salt versus ground salt will indeed always impact color less than your procedure. No debating it just a fact, is it important well that is up to the individual and depending on the guy reading the thread they can follow whatever method they want as it makes no difference to me.

Long term storage of salt will need special storage. Nothing complicated just a good bucket with a gasket seal. Also can easily just cook it in the oven before use if clumping is an issue. Salt is commonly used for calibration of some instrumentation due to the well documented quantity of water uptake in regards to humidity. This also is one of the reasons salt makes baits cloudy also. First they will have anti-clumping agents in them secondly you are adding water to plastic during heating. Finally when guys start to grind to powder they exponentially increase the surface area and defects of the salt crystal. With the increased surface area you also shoot yourself in the foot with storage issue in regards to water uptake. All this makes for less than ideal for the intended purpose. As mentioned you want the finest crystallized salt you can get if you want the least issues with coloring the bait.

You forget the only real important thing with patents and deconstructing..........deep pockets and getting legal to side on your behalf. Outside of this essentially you just have a guy that slept at a Holiday Inn Express the night before.

I think that is what most would do but he already nixed initials.

I agree except I switch the order of importance.

Small dot of color on throat of bait representing species.

Might want to use your normal topcoat and once set spray the lure with Testors/Model Master (whatever they are calling it now) flat lacquer in the rattle can. Might need only a misting to get the effect or maybe a light coat over the entire bait. Adhesion should be satisfactory and any areas that get rubbed will have hook rash anyway.

If you aren't doing a lot of them hand sanding goes quick enough. I used flexible sanding sticks, the foam centered ones shaped like pop sickle sticks and craft foam (sticky) back and make sanding pads to use also.

I have no complaints with my Iwata Eclipse either (HP-SBS model).

I went with LED also but for most of the LED shop lights (big box store) you won't get a good color rendering index. Mine was a trade off for the lack of power run to my shop and the need for light on demand. The CFL I had used more power and put out less lumens and would take a few minutes to warm up (absolutely hate). If I was ready to tackle the power issue in my shop would have likely just used T5HO. Teamed up with good reflectors you can throw a lot of light where you need it and have a lot of options in regards to bulbs. You can mix and match if need also.

Definitely will buy some also.

You can source if from a lot of places not hard to find. The issue is the "natural" has a lot of variance in the color when received from light yellow, light tan, light green, etc.... I believe LPO will be sourcing "white". You can order from the same place later and the color completely different.

I have used LC chocolate brown as the main color and adjusted with avocado green and drops of black to get the muted color. The X2 colorant from Do it in watermelon brown will also get you there and have to adjust to darken. Some floured salt will also help get that "muddy dull" effect.

Just part of the process of trying to wrap a 3D structure with a "2D" material. If it always conformed in the same manner you could make relief but that isn't the case. As mentioned above thickness of material is important, thinner the better as essentially as it conforms and bends you end up with "excess" material the thinner the material the less excess you will have to deal with. Ideally you want to stretch the material over the contours and reduce issues. Also some materials better suited for stencil making than others. Lot of interesting reading on this subject if you enjoy looking into computational geometry..

You are looking at your pricing structure wrong..... You aren't paying anything they are paying for the packaging and at a rate higher than actual cost of purchasing. No one is going to flinch at the cost it adds to a true custom made lure and if they do frankly you are better off without that type of customer.

To be honest their are a lot of threads on the site regarding top coats. You will find that they all really boil down to the individual and what they are willing to except as a top coat. Some guys are fine with dull finish, some guys are fine with hook, some want to be brush product on, some dip, and others spray. Some want one single coat application others are fine with multiples. Some guys want instant cure bait others are fine with waiting a week. Some will deal with topcoats that have storage issues, some deal with reactions with paints, etc....For some I think using something other than everyone else is the attribute most desired. If you are wanting something readily available to most locally that is clear, not prone to excessive hook rash, strong then Devcon 30 minutes is about fool proof. The cons some can't deliver and mix properly, you have a limited work time (two baits easy and should be able to get a third), cost for some, and likely best used with a lure turner. You other option especially if local would be Evirotex Lite (Micheal's and Hobby Lobby both carry it). Will need a lure turner and do multiple coats and slightly longer cure time.

Thermoset elastomer.

I believe it a silicon based product but would have to look up the patent.