jigmeister

Hey Tator thanks for the help!

anyone have experience with copying this color? I am terrible at painting and color matching especially so any help would be appreciated. Thanks - Jigmeister

With the good (US made) flat strand living rubber being hard to come by I have been contemplating attempting to dye some to get the colors I want . I have a bunch of flat strand ,fine , purple rubber that I would like to turn brown . I know from pouring worms that you can combine black and orange coloring to get brown but not sure about turning purple to brown . Anybody have any experience in this dept. ? Thanks -Jigmeister

Go to any autoparts store and get the Red colored hi-temp RTV sealant . It has a continueous temperature rating of around 600 degrees and will be easy to clean out of the mold cavity when you're done.

Here is a link to the foil I use . It already has the adhesive on it and is much thinner than the alum. duct tape many use. It comes in gold and silver and is very bright (shiny) Good luck -Ken http://www.happycraftnsmosaicsupplies.com/MosaicGemTiles.html

Bama Bass , You need a white base coat under the irridescent to make it show up properly so try that - Jigmeister

I have alway dreamed of having my very own test tank set up for experimenting with lure designs . OK actually I'm getting a swimming pool installed and the wife and daughter won't be in it all the time so I can try out some lure ideas . maybe some day I can get a digital video camera and post some movie clips of lures I've made (that would be cool) . My new cell phone will do some video clips so maybe that will would work (I'll have to ask my teenaged daughter to see cause I don't know yet ?) Got a few new lures I have been dreaming of making so once I get the yard put back together we'll see what happens................Jigmeister

The original jitterbug has an aluminum lip . Perhaps the stainless lip is too heavy causing the sinking to occur . You could try making the body bigger for more floatation ?

if you check out Gary Yamamoto's web site he makes a flippin jig head with an offest Gamakatsu hook poured in . I found some jigs in the bargain bin at a local tackle store a couple of years back with the same basic design as the yamamoto head . I liked the design alot and wanted more . upon searching the internet to buy more found out they were no longer being produced .

is that the "round" stranded rubber or did he start getting the flat stranded rubber made in "China" ?

Anybody know where I can find this stuff for sale ? I looked at BPS but it doesn't look like they carry it anymore . I tried the spike it web site but they want $8 shipping on a small 1/2 oz bottle Thanks Jigmeister

I saw Cabelas has a 4 oz. model for marinate injecting . Nickel plated brass and $25 .

oops

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vibrating-blade-converts-jigs-to-chatter-lures-bait_W0QQitemZ7227784487QQcategoryZ31690QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have the mold set up to pour with the sprue end at the top with the mold sitting verticle . as the plastic is slowly poured in the the air escapes by rising upward as it is displaced by the plastic . The first prototype I made was made of hand shaped balsa that I coated with devcon to seal after shaping . I wasn't happy with the outcome with that one so I had my buddy make the next proto out of delrin plastic since thats what he had available . I coated that one with epoxy to eliminate the machining marks

I came up with this idea a while back and puchased some silicone mold making agent and finally got around to trying it out . I had a friend with a lathe turn me down a prototype Senko type bait with no rings or segments (smooth tapered sides) and a cone shaped sprue on the end sized to fit into a piece of PVC pipe 3/4" . I put the proto-type bait master in the PVC pipe tail up and poured the silicone in . After setting up I de-molded the master from the silicone which took more than time than I anticipated . I used dish soap to lubricate the master and was finally able to pull it out of the new mold . It came out a perfect duplicate . Since it worked I am planning on making a rack to hold several of these single round molds in a row for fast pouring . Probably easier just to buy one of Dels molds for stiks but if you want a custom full round mold of your own design this works - Jigmeister

most hardware stores will carry small rolls of copper,brass, and annealed steel (bale'n wire) in various guage sizes . I was tying vast amounts of jigs the pevious two years and needed to step up tying speed . I machined out one side of my jig mold to accept a 4" piece of black annealed steel wire that was then molded into the jighead . Having the wire anchored in the head made tying jigs much easier . Hold the rubber strips on with one hand ,make a couple wraps pulling tightly on wire using pliers with the other hand, and snip off tag end of wire . The wire holds firm and even though its steel wire it doesn't rust . I'll never go back to thread again!

Short answer is " NO" Tungsten has an extremely hi melting point and I think has to be forged rather than poured . Somebody was selling tungsten powder that could be mixed with epoxy as a binder for making jigheads

whats the blade thickness on those things - looks to be brass?

I use clear polyester casting resin so you can clearly see the bait on the bottom after the resin is poured into the mold . After pouring in inspect the bait and look for trapped air bubbles. I like to use a fine paint brush to lightly brush the bubble(s) off the bait and up towards the surface . usually once you get the bubble going it will float up to the surface but if not help it along with the brush . I have made a few zipper molds that came out perfect using this method..............hope this helps

Jason , If you want a small amount to try out go to a music store and buy a single guitar string ( a "B" string in .013 gauge.) It will be nickle plated wire so it won't rust

I tried it and once and it didn't turn out very well . I found some two part molding silicone for casting jewelry that looks easier so I was planning on trying it someday. Heres the link........ http://shorinternational.com/Rubber.htm

I guess the only way to know for sure would be to weigh a bait before and after epoxy coating with a high accuracy scale and compare . I have done the same thing with jerkbaits I wanted to suspend in the water between twitches. If they turned into slow sinkers after epoxy I would drill out a little lead until they the bait just slightly floated up then patch the hole with some more epoxy. You can always add "suspend dots" to a slow riser "floater" but if a bait is heavy and sinks you have to remove lead . I use a balance- beam powder scale since I had one for reloading already and be sure to keep notes for future referance. Good luck- Jigmeister

I would say you should keep the weight directly under the front line tie or maybe just slightly forward of the belly hook hanger for best results. The axis point of the bait will be at the line tie and the further you move the ballast weight away from this pivot point the more it will tend to kill the action. You might be able to find a "cutaway" drawing of a similar vibration type bait for referance

Great job very impressive! Something I discovered to blend the edges of the belly and back when using spray cans is to use a sponge lightly dipped in the the same color spray paint and lightly tap in on the lure body to slowly apply paint so you can control how much is deposited. You can apply slowly drying between coats blending in until you get the desired effect. Keep up the good work -Ken