bojon

I sent written instuctions,as well as the diagram, by email,to you and I hope that will help.It is not complicated.This will make you the long handled version.If you look at the components you will find out it is easy.

Matt, First did you get my diagram on the cutter?I emailed it to you.If you didn't get it I will send it again.

The tail cutter is made of rotary blades bought at Wal Mart cloth section.I was helped with making it by the members of this forum.I sent you a diagram and parts list by email.You should get it soon.Keep me posted

The hot plate I use is one from Wal Mart.I used to use the kitchen stove when I started but if you drip on the burner it will make a stink.The lady of the house would object.There fore the hot plate. The rods shown in the email picture are made of aluminum rods from the hobby store.The handle is a piece of coat hanger wire glued into a hole drilled into one end of the 1/4 inch rod.Use JB WELD.Bend the wire prior to glueing.Usually the rods come in one foot lengths,and I make 3 or 4 dipping rods.I have Made six inch tubes with tails on each end to fish wacky style.Use a bunch of salt,and you will get a nice fall rate that the fish like.I use the tube type plastic from Lure Craft.

The pictures have been sent.The full cup is why I dip mine in a small heated bread pan.

Matt, Don't forget to lub the rods.I use garlic Pam,but there are other options.

You can use bolts,aluminum rod,brass rod,I have even used heavy electric wire.Don't use wood,or plastic to dip.Wood bubbles,unless coated with Devcon two ton epoxy. Plastic is a mess.You can do as you mentioned,with good results.Making tubes is a lot easier than pouring most lures. I use aluminum rods with coat hanger wire handles bent at a 90.I melt my plastic in a microwave,using a Pyrex measuring cup,then pour it into a small loaf pan,that is setting on a small electric hot plate to maintain the tempature.The rods are dipped horzontaly.then set aside to cool.This is a very fast procedure.It is a nice setup for making small,or large runs of tubes.You can use a small amount as 4 oz of plastic to make a couple dozen of tubes. Let me know if you need further help.I can send you photos of my setup,and how I do it.Really not too hard to make a bunch.I have helped a bunch of people over the years.Photos are better than the written word for me. Ron

I've made a bunch of tubes using the blue for the first dip then follow up with the second dip of a brown that is made by adding a small amount of black,into LC yellow,with large black,and small gold glitter.Nice lure color when the tails are cut.I usually do the second dip at a angle so that the bottom color (blue) shows more on the underside of the tube.This is my best smallmouth color in Colorado during the summer.

Forget the mold.Much too slow to make any amount of tubes,unless you have a lot of molds,and a lot of help. Horizontal dip using rods would be a good start.Much faster!!Less plastic,much less investment. There are a lot of articals covering this method on this site.

My soulution was the same as doomdart.Used washer vent hose,and a fan to funnel the fumes out.This was very noisy,so I would turn down my hearing aid.GOOD OLD DUCT TAPE.

Years ago I poured hundreds of three color split tail grubs,when I noticed the first few came apart,I set them out on a cookie sheet and placed them in the oven for a few minutes,till they took on a shine.Never had one seperate.Made a great looking lure.

My dyes,mostly LC,settle a whole bunch.Solved the problem by using a small paint shaker that I bought from Micro Mart.I place the small container into a snack size baggie and give it a good shaking.Use this for all my dyes,and they are forever consistent,making a color more exact.

I agree with Nova.The only way I could come up with the thinner tail.The thicker tail really didn't seem to hurt the action as far as the fish were concerned.

I have used dehydrated shad,ground to a powder,to dip tubes.I was dipping a white,so the color came out a very light tan.The fish loved them.This was at Guntersville,Alabama.Havent tried to make a batch since I moved to Colorado.They did retain a oder of shad,but not as much as I had hoped.

Many years ago I tried a wood dipping mold with fair results.The wood was covered with JB Weld (not the KWICK),and the entire suface of the wood was covered,then sprayed with Galic Pam just prior to dipping.I still prefer metal,but if you want to mess around a bit you might try the wood.I'd like to hear your results.

I have found that when using the pans to heat the plastic,if I lightly spray the inside of the pan with garlic Pam type spray,then remove the excess with a paper towel it seems to help to keep the mess to a minimum,I forever have to keep removing the small drip,at the pour spout with a piece of cool plastic.I have always been a bit messy.

The plastic has a scent with or without adding scent and salt.I contend that feathers,hair,and fly flotation oil,plus line floatation,silicon or oil,all have oders,so really it is a matter of amount of oder.If this is the case then the use of flies(heaven forbid)should also be banned.All metal spoons,spinners,would have to be sanitized too eliminate human oder.This should allow the trout to die of old age.Can you imagine tying on a flie with rubber gloves(Oh wait,Latex has a strong scent) O'well??? It is a stupid law.and I have faith in our DOW that it will change.This is a law that was pushed by the pure fly fishermen that can't compete,even when using a $500 rod,$300 dollar reel ,and $50 line to throw thier precious little smelly ball of preseved hair,and feathers,dripping in the scent of all types of oders. This is much the same way that warm water fish were almost put on the back burner for many years.The attitude,in Colorado,if it was not a trout,it was a trash fish was held by the DOW,or at least the public, for many years.Thank God they finnaly came around. The only way that this whole issue can be resolved,would be if warm water fish can survive the water temp,then trout shouldn't be stocked.They would be in the high country only.I really wouldn't like to see this because when they stock the rainbows,the bass,and wipers go on a feeding frenzy.The really get fat on stockers. Sorry about the long post.

I use the #10 flat steel washers.The tails come out at about the right size for my liking.

Years ago I wanted a color that I couldn't make with my dyes.I cut thin pieces of oil pastels,Hobby Lobby art section,and made a yellowish brown color. Melted these chips into the hot plastic.and it worked just fine.I prefer using the dyes,but if I can't make the color I want then off to the oil pastels I would go.

I use a breadloaf pan,on a hot plate,to maintain the heat of the microwave prepared plastic,then dip the large rods horizontly.The rods are made of copper pipe,with a handle that it is 90 deg to the pipe.Simple,and you don't need a lot of plastic.It is faster than it sounds,and color changes are a snap.

I found out years ago that to test these iridiescent type colors,the best way to get a idea of what type of effect they will have on the final color was to paint flat black on a paper plate,then smear a small amount on the dried paint.This gives you a good idea what you are working with.This trick helped me a lot when painting duck decoys.

Micro Mark has a great small paint shaker.I put my small containers of dye in a snack size baggie,then let it shake it really good.The colors are more consitant drop by drop,and the batch of plastic does'nt vary as much. The only brand of RTV I have ever was from Micro Mark,and it has been flawless,so I can't compare to other brands.[/b]

Thanks for the tips guys.I will keep you posted how I make out.

Sorry I was not very plain.I have a balsa crankbait that I caved and I want it to go deeper.I don't want to remove the existing lip because I really see a mess trying to get it out.I thought I might be able to make a larger lip and fit it to the original.Also ,maybe one could make a 2 pc lip with a slot on the under one,to allow for the forward lead,and wire line tie.

What cement or what ever could laminate Lexan?