bladesandbaits

Cool Jed! I thought it was interesting that the fish were almost shy or scepticle(sp) of the jig on approacing it.Then when the hook was set in the one that ate it,seemed none of them were alarmed when it was lifted away so quick. Very interesting indeed.Thanks for sharing. Blades

LOL Terry,LMAO Does she paint lures?? cesport can you post a link to a picture? Maybe take a picture of it and get a free account at photobucket.Then download it to the photobucket site and post us a link here.That way it wont take up space in the forum. If we can get a look at it there is a good chance someone here has seen it. BTW,it's kind of odd the shop guy wont tell you who did the work.Obviously he thinks people will contact this guy or girl privatly.I have stuff in four stores and the shop people have no problem giving customers contact information. Blades

Welcome sgt.There is a wealth of information here for sure!I have been here 2 years now and still find myself doing search after search. Blades.

Mr B,give these guys a call. http://www.shortyshooks.com/ They will tell you what you need.If you dont have a tax number check out there sister site devoted to retail sales. http://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/ Hell,I talk to Jim at cast once a week.i will ask him next time we talk what the Gammy equal to that mustad is.If you call him I am sure he would tell you as well. Regardless of what the advantage or disadvantage is to a cross eye or straight,I would do the same thing and atempt to get what the people you are making them for wanted. Blades

hoodaddy,you are welcome! I am glad you were succesfull with it. Thanks again for the compliments.I cant wait to see some pictures. Blades

http://www.arkiejigs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AJ&Product_Code=JR-500-BULK&Category_Code=JR Ricky they are both correct.i have 500 on order should be here by Friday or Monday.I can spare a few if you want. Blades[/url]

Brad,I use lacquer so am not familiar with createx (sorry) But if it will help I will tell you the way I do it in Lacquer. Keep in mind when I mention the color "Bagley Brown" it is a color I have custom mixed.Almost 90% of my colors I custom mix myself from red/blue/yellow and shade with black or white. I hate the fact that you are color blind.It must be very trying to say the least. Prime all White all Brite white pearl all Yellow sides (not the belly!) high on the shoulder to the belly Bagley brown light mist to kill the yellow and make it look lightly rusted cover the yellow Tamiya dark green (water base) back blend to the sides Red Orange (i mix start with red and add a little yellow) bottom of side to the belly turn and blend but leave a pearl stripe down mid belly Black heavy back With stencil add the black side marks Remove Stencil and shade face and blend the stripes back to the black back Red under chin Hope this helps maybe you can find a rust color in createx to shoot over yellow Blades BTW Pm dwain (cullin8s) he can give you the code in createx I bet!

Scoop,a little of both.I may not explain this right but retarder can be considered a type of thinner.I really cant speak for water base paint as to what retards the drying process. In respect to acrylic lacquer I use PPG lacquer retarder.In this case I cut the paint with about the same amount retarder as I do primer grade thinner.(keep in mind I am using a 2 oz siphon jar) The best way to explain how much retarder to start with is to already have the paint thinned to the consistancy You want to shoot.Then add a little retarder and do a test shot. You are actually thinning the paint more when you do this.I guess I am kind of like a "jackleg" chemist. I always have a bottle of retarder handy any time I am painting.I add a little here and there just by feel and experience. lacquer starts to dry the instant it leaves the gun! If you use a "fast thinner" then it is very fast to start drying.Depending on the humidity,you get some very dull effects and a hell of alot of overspray. Retarder sort of "lubricates" the paint and gives it an oily appearence when it is sprayed on. When you are able to control the the drying you can control overspray.Of course it is important to have the paint thinned properly and get the technique of aiming the gun and rolling the bait in order to aid in controlling overspray. There is a product called (Zylene SP) or (xylene SP) that can be used as a retarder.I believe it is available at lowes or home depot now.I used it for years and it works especially well on Luremaster chartruese and all the colors like strike green and orange. If you use water base paint I am sure there is a way to retard it as well.I am sure there are others here that would share this information.Sorry to ratttle on here but hope this answered the question. If not pm me I can go into more detail. Fatfingers,thank you.This is why I love painting.The possibilities are endless.Believe me for every one that you come up with that works,there are a ton of them that would make you puke to look at LOL. Thanks,B&B

Cool Pics Danny,sounds like you enjoy what you are doing.Just be carefull and don't get frieght trained on the side lines Hey,I got an idea :!: I can be your lookout you may have to twist my arm but I guess I could set a little time aside for the superbowl Blades

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b258/bladesandbaits/goodssup.jpg You are correct fatfingers.Make the middle of the back dark and just fade it down the side.I use a lot of retarder to cut down on the overspray.I usually have to make 4 or 5 shots with black because i retard it so much.The first shot looks very transparent. Just make sure you let it flash dry a bit before adding another layer. On this one i was jacking around with some different mesh I had around the shop.If you just lightly shoot the pearl scales on,then they will dissapear at certain angles and just the faded violet shows. When you fish this rogue in clear water,and are able to look at the bait when twiched or jerked,the pearl over the violet does some funky stuff when the bait rolls and the light reflects from it. I started doing this pattern on Lucky craft Stacy's and Pointer minnows.The guy's that used this one on those baits say they have called some smallies up from some pretty deep water.I believe the flash this thing gives off from the pearl over the violet is what draws there attention. Yell if you need more. B&B

I meant to post this in the sticky hardbait cook book. Sorry. Blades

I posted a pic in the lure gallery and hit the submit button before I was finished typng LOL.Maybe the pic will show up in a couple days. Here is the "code of the west"on this one if anyone is interested. Note 1: This pattern was originally done on a rogue for a guy in Tenn. The violet "flops" under the pearl when fished shallow like a a rogue runs.The yellow pearl really gives alot of flash of when the bait rolls. A shallow jerk bait in this pattern is super deadly on smallmouth and spotted bass. I really did not see the reason to paint the pattern on a crankbait that runs 10 feet but the one in the gallery was for a customer.and the customer is always right! Note 2:All of this is in Lacquer. Colors Needed: White Pearl White Chartruese Yellow Yellow Pearl Black Violet Pearl Luremaster Strike Orange Red Instructions: (in this order) White all Pearl All Yellow from belly turn- to shoulder turn (heavy)leave belly middle and back middle unpainted Chartruese belly blend to yellow Yellow pearl all black back fade to sides Violet pearl over black strike orange cheeks Net - pearl white scales Remove net- pearl white down back carefully blend to top of net line Note: be sure not to get too happy with the pearl white,if you get the pearl white to heavy the vioet pearl will not "flop" under the pearl white . After all is dry good stencil black the marks Red accents Blades

Seems I remember funnyfarm showed some pic's once that had some handmade prps that he made!I have not seem him around in a while. I would immagine that you could get something like .18 or .20 alluminum and a pair of tin snips and fasion them yourself. B&B

http://www.blisterpackaging.com/ Call these guys B&D Ask for Bob They are on the west coast so allow for time difference B&B

Hey Pop, Lakeland Premiums! Hildebrant! B&B

http://www.csipaint.com/powderspray.htm Bob and the guys sell some good products but to be honest with you this little gun does ok but unless you want to shake the bottle as you spray,it can be a little aggrevating. I modified mine by drilling a small hole in the top of the gun lid and inserting a 1/8 inch poly flow tube into the jar so that it curled off the bottom. Then I "T,d" a poly flow tubing 1/8 inch fitting off my regulator and added a flow control onto the 1/8 inch ploy line.This way I can choke down the air flow do just a tiny amount going into the jar. This will keep the powder fluffed up and flowing better. Now for the down side to all this. (These are only my findings,someone else may have better luck with this) The problem with shooting powder from a forced air gun like the one at component systems is that the air from the, gun while it does discharge powder,also cools the bait down as you are applying paint.I found myself having to go back to the heat to much to be able to complete the shading. All that said I dont use it anymore for shading. If you negatively(sp) charge the bait (body) as in conventional powder coating it will work ok. There are many ways to shade wirebaits after basecoating them .I have read here of some guys using a container such as a salt shaker type and also dusting with a paint brush. Blades

First for attaching the Blade to the split ring swivel: 1-Try to use a size 2-1/2 to size 3 lite wire ring from worth. 2-If possible invest in a pair of split ring pliers from Texas Tackle http://www.texastackle.com/pliers.htm 3-Lay the blade on its back(meaning cup part laying on it's back) using the texas tackle pliers thread the split ring on the Blade. Laying the blade flat down helps keep the blade and the ring close to the same angle 4-http://www.staminainc.com/wireforms/roundnose_pliers.html invest in a pair of these pliers as well.They help you bend a perfect close loop that will not come open. (i also put a twist in some wires but mostly if the wire is very lite gauge) If you will lay the blade flat and thread the ring on this way you will soon be able to hold the blade in your hand and turn it on the same plane as the ring. I cant stress enough how nice those Texas Tackle pliers are! Hope this will help you!Blades

Munkin, Thanks for asking! 1st Bat.75th Rangers Ranger School/Airborn School "Tabbed out" 1981 Did a 2 year hitch as a pathfinder attached to the 2nd ID in Korea(1985) put retained my 1st Bat. status E.T.S -1999 after last combat deployment. God Bless The USA And Our Troops! RANGERS LEAD THE WAY B&B

Even though Sellers is not from TU I was proud for him to be in there.He has tought me alot over the years. Don Worth is a hell of a guy as well.Don appreciates custom lures as much as anyone out there. Sellers told me a month ago that this article was coming out. Said Worth called him and ask him to send a couple Rogues LOL.Talked to Sellers today and he said his phone was ringing off the hook for orders lol after a slow summer. I wish Worth would call me LOL. Blades

Down here in north east Georgia it kind of goes like this for me.This trend has repeated itself for several years now. On a local level remember most of my business is geared toward bass fishing but am begenning to paint a lot of salt water baits for redfishing and snook. Custom Painting:Year round steady flow but really gets busy from october to Feb. Estimated Numbers.2200 baits a year Stretch 20's are the most popular in the winter month's Jig's(skirted type) are heavy from november to late April Spinnerbaits/Wirebaits October/November Pretty Heavy Feb/march/april All I can possibly make! May thru Sept: Hardly any wirebaits and just steady painting.Mostly for regular clients and the tourny guys that come by the shop. Anglers fishing the FLW on The Big "O" are already getting there wirebait and jigs orders in this month.Looks like the whole cycle is about to start over again LOL (this makes me happy) As for a place to Paint : When I stated out a long time ago I was using 10x10 storage building to do it all in.I airbrushed/powder coated/assembled and even stored my fishing tackle in this shop lol.When I wanted to Powder Coat and cure I would have to put all the airbrush stuff away and get out the powder stuff.Kind of like cooking a 5 course meal on a camp stove in a 4x4 camper lol. It took about as much time to put away one type of equipment away and get out another type as it did to do the actual baits.But in the end it all worked out ok. I remember one time Pat Fisher(FLW Pro)came by late one afternoon to pick up some things I had built and he had his girlfriend with him.It was cold as well diggers rear end as well.Pat wanted to look at few things while he was there .My little shop was so packed full of stuff there was no room.I had to swing the door open and the two of them had to stand outside in the doorway while we conducted some business.It was embarasing! I was blessed with being able to build a shop a few years ago.I had grown so fond of my little 10x10 that I converted it and attached it to my new shop.I use it strickly for a paint room now and it works out great.I upgraded my exhaust system to include charcoal filters and keep a dehumidifier going from spring to the end of summer. As far as recovering cost: For me aquiring the proper equipment and raw material was as addictive as buying fishing tackle.I made the mistake of spending way to much money on materials and equipment.I mean when you talk about RSDS melting pot@250.00 each and airbrushes that eat a 100 dollar bill up to all the containers and siphon lids.Hell it seems like a grand will hardly get you started.Then there's component!By the time you place a decent Blade order at lakeland it's at least $500.00 Then the skirt order comes.A good skirt order at the current minimums that contains enough colors to do about 6 different patterns will run you $300.00 including bands/rattle bands/rattles Worth swivels are high as a cats back as well. When I sell direct to customer I can make about 3.50 cents on a wirebait.(after excise tax )@$5.99 I have three stores I sell to and in order to be competetive I have to wholesale the same bait at $3.89.Why?Because the woods are full of good custom lure builders that will sell for that amount.That cuts my profit down to about $1.99 Figure it this way:In order to build out 500 spinnerbaits you will more than likely have at least $1.50 in the build (not counting what your time is worth) So your out of pocket is $750.00 for materials. Now add your initial start up equipment cost. If you are lucky you can profit $750.00 as well If you are able to put the profit Back in for a while it is possible to recover start up cost but it would all depend on what you purchased initially and the volume you were able to sell. As for Custom Painting:I rarely ever paint a lure for less then $12.00 If I have 6 or more to do for a client I will cut the price.needless to say the custom painting is where the profit is!!!!!!!! I am very fortunate to have a very loyal bunch of clients that return for more each year. If you can do some painting along with the other stuff it will allow you to get ahead quicker. There are those that will discourage and tell you that this is a loosing proposition but I beg to differ.You have made the first important dicision in trying to recognize the market for your area and the season for the market.I think regardless of the market (products) I feel it is very important to be ahead of the season.What I mean is try and prepare for the season.I have sat a couple of different seasons out just because I was not ready to take on the potential business if I got lucky enough to get any. Case and Point:Wire bait season for the southeast is generally feb thru april. after these months guys just dont buy many or use many (Historicaly) This past spring I was fortunate enough to get the design on a hidden wieght spinnerbait finalized.The molds were finalized and manufactured.At this time there was a hidden wieght bait gaining alot of popularity.I felt then and feel now that mine was better but if I had started putting this bait out,I would have missed half the season. So I opted to set the season out. I have started production on this bait and will now be ready to get them on the shelf of several large tackle stores by december 2006 just in time for the spinnerbait craze.This will be my first actually trade marked lure! I am very excited about this one, but would probably have had much less success with it had I hurried it up early this year. I still may not hve the success I am hoping for but it's a gamble I was willing to take. It turns out that the popular one I mentioned earlier has lost appeal to the tackle stores because the guy just sends them in bulk with no packaging or proper packing.These dealers will no longer buy this product from him. Finally all of this is still a hobby for me even though it sounds like a major business.I am very blessed to be able to make a few dollars at it from time to time.It will always be a hobby for me! Sorry to rattle on and on here fatfingers If you need any assistance putting together a simple plan and means of figuring profit and start up recovery shoot me a pm. Blades

Finlander,I have never seen this.Not to say I have seen it all either!I have seen plenty of buzzbaits with clackers though. Can you get hold of a pic or email me the link to what you have read? I have doubled up the front blade,pop riveted two blades together and all sorts of stuff but never tried to get the blade to clack against the arm or the body.This would be very interesting to see! Blades

Count me in ! This weekend I am filling a order for spinnerbaits. I will make an extra half dozen with the glitter coat and red tipped blades (my new hidden wieght know one has seen yet. I also have a bunch of Risto Raps (currently not sold in the US)(and thanks to a trade with Swede) I am painting this weekend as well and will paint up 6 "Johnny Risto's" I will also throw in some flipping jigs. Shawn please keep us posted as to where and when to send the goods. BTW my wife is a reg. nurse. She and her Doctor(General surgeon) will be heading down to the disaster area's Tuesday. Blades Skeeter:Maybe use those plugs we were gonna test as well.We can do the test later this winter.

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Jaime,this is kind of lenghty but bare with me LOL. From what I understood it seems the paint was sitting in the original container for some time. Here is my advice: 1st there are a few things you will need. A-Some lacquer thinner.Not the grade from Lowes and Home depot but some good "primer grade" lacguer thinner(available from auto paint store) I will add that a topic came up some time ago where a member asking what thinner was best to use with Jann's Lacquer.I have never used Jann's but immagine that the thinner I mentioned will work.Maybe Another member can guide you to the best thinner to use. Safety:Be sure to do this in an area with good ventilation and away from any type of flame source.Outside is a good place LOL.Away from the Grill LOL. Use protection for your hands(latex gloves work good)The gloves typical of what my wife uses when cleaning the oven are good as well. B- Some copper coated BB's (don't use the nickel plated BB's) C-Something to strain the paint through(I use the throw away cone filters available from the auto paint store 100 for about $11.00) D-some type container resistant to corrosives to transfer the paint into while straining. 2nd,add the lacquer thinner and about 6 to 10 BB's to the Jann's container and replace the container lid. 3rd,shake the container like hell. 4th,transfer the thinned paint through the cone filter and into the clean container mentioned above. 5th,if you dont want to store the re-vitalized paint in the container it was strained and transfered into,then clean the original jann's container very good and Strain back into the Jann's container. Now your Lacquer paint is revitalized and all the little particles from sitting idle are gone.The paint is clean as a whistle. BTW.What ever container you use leave the BB's in! then ever so often shake the container well to keep the paint in good condition.Add a little thinner now and again as well. Remember the thinner may evaporate over time but the Solid pigments in the paint will last a long time.You can even add a little clear to srtetch the paint a little. Hope this helps.Blades