cadman

Crymdawg, I am so sorry, I checked the number again, and I apparently read the wrong numbers. It should be 1.866.984.3648 I guess when I replied at 12:02 a.m. my eyes weren't so good, couldn't read the numbers correctly..........................It sucks getting old. I do appologize.

Crymdawg, Call Do-It up and explain the situation to them. They will have you send it back and they will look at it and fix it if it is their fault. I have always had good customer service from them. It usually takes about 3 days for them to evaluate the problem. Speak to them first. If they tell you to go back to the store then that's different. Here is there toll free phone number 1.888.984.3648 PS: You may have to send a copy of the receipt, however I doubt it because they know this is a new mold for them this year. Let us know how it goes.

That reminds me of the Ear Ball mold I have from Do-It. It takes two stn. stl. eyelets which need to be pressed onto the pins in the mold to keep them in place when you pour. Everything is fine when the mold is cold but when that mold get really hot, it's hard to press the eyelets onto the pins, with your fingers because you'll burn your fingers. I tried long nose pliers, flat pliers and many other things. I've yet to find an easy way to put those on. Also I have small hands so I can imagine a guy with big hands trying to do this. Makes for some very colorful conversation between myself and the mold when I am doing this.

Sam, E-mail sent.

I have this question that has been bothering me regarding my Lee IV bottom pour pot. Here is the scenario and a test I did. I keep my lead pot in the garage and it has been 40 degrees fahrenheit in there for the past several weeks. During these weeks, I have been using it with no problem. Then one day I thought to myself, maybe if I put the pot in my house, and it would stay at room temperature(68 degrees) then when I decide to use it I could take it in the garage and plug it in. The thought here was that if the pot was warmer, it wouldn't take as long to heat up and I can start pouring quicker. What I found was the opposite. The colder pot heated up faster to melting point than the warmer one did.This made no sense to me. So I did this several times and timed it from plugging it in to when the whole pot was liquid. The cold pot won every time by about 15 minutes How is this possible? The only thing I can think of is that the pot heats more continuously because the t-stat is telling the pot it is cold versus taking it out of the house where it is warm and then putting it in the garage and plugging it in. Can anyone shed light on this subject? I am just curious and want to know.

Dave, Thanks for the info. I guess I won't be pouring yet because I'm waiting for hooks. For those that would like to know, the Mustad 38109 is an ideal hook replacement for this mold in all of it's sizes and in all of the cavity sizes. However, you must modify the hook eye in the mold's cavity.

I just got the mold yesterday and am going to try it in the next couple of days. I will give you feedback when I pour. I will tell you somethings that I did not like that Do-It did. #1 Proprietary hooks. To me that is the biggest turn off in buying a mold and a bunch of C**P. When you can only buy a 100 count on hooks and they all come from Do-It I think that, that is just not right. Yes it's good for the company because you have to buy from them , but it keeps the hook prices high and you then have to pass it along to a customer without any options. # 2 The other thing is that wire weedguard. Again proprietary product, also I think that the weedgurd wire could be a little thicker. With that said, I am having the mold recut to accept different hooks and in a multitude of sizes, also on the weedguard wire you can use a heavier wire, heavy mono, flurocarbon or sevenstrand as well. All my molds are Do-It molds and I don't want to bash them but they have done this in the past with other molds, and I think that it is just not right. Other than that Do-It makes an excellent product and their customer service is excellent as well. JMO Anyway, I will give you feedback back in a couple of days on their new mold.

davesjr I new I'd be late in posting. I have a tendency to write too much. I have sent you a PM.

Dave, Welcome to Tackle Underground and your first thread. There are many guys here that powder paint, and you will get many replies regarding their process. I will give you what I know and then you can pick and choose what works for you from all the info from others. I myself have never used a torch or a toaster oven to heat jigs before painting them so I can't comment. I will tell you to stay away from lighters and candles, they just don't do a good job in my opinion. Candles cause soot on your jig and you can't get good even heat from a lighter. I often see guys on You Tube and at the shows advertising that you can change colors to match what you need with a lighter right on the water. Well I'll tell you what you go in a boat with a jig, a pair of forceps, a lighter and some open powder paint and try this on the water, then let me know how it goes. Honestly it just doesn't work unless you have perfect conditions. So with that said, I have always used a heat gun from day one in an enclosed area. I feel you get the best of both worlds with a multi-temp heat gun. Your initial or base color is fine at any heat setting (just don't melt the lead jig) however if you want to do multi-color, you will have to reduce the heat because you will burn the paint. Especially when you are trying to put on 3 or more colors. As far as fluid beds go, I rarely use them any more because I rarely make single color jigs. Fluid beds are great for a base coat in prepartaion for multiple colors. It is also the best to use if you are only applying 1 color to your jigs. The fluid bed is fast and easy and you get a nice thin even coat of powder paint.. In a two color jig you can dip your hot jig in the second color, or you can do wht a lot of guys do and that is tap your powder paint onto a hot jig from a small artist brush. This will give you more control of where the powder paint goes on your jig. To learn this process it is going to take several months. Nothing is quick and easy if you want it to look good. Also you can spray your powder paint onto a hot jig. I am not an expert at this and I don't use this set-up. However, look up posts/threads by Smalljaw. He uses this system and does exceptional wok with it. He may post here later. To finish this off you have to find what you are comfortable with, whether a torch or a heat gun they all do the job. Good Luck with your painting.

Steve, Believe it or not when Strike King first came out with the bitsy bug they couldn't keep them on the shelf because of the small profile and the finese type character of the jig. I too at that time was loking for a jig that came close, and at that time they didn't make the grass jig. However it is not the grass jig anyway. After trying a lot of jigs for the bitsy bug fall, weight and profile the closest I came to it was the Snootie jig. Other than the fact that it has eyes, I'm telling you this is a dead ringer for finesses type fishing. I believe the 3/16 oz Snootie takes a 2/0 hook which is very similar to the Bitsy bug. If you don't like the hook size you can go up or down one size. If you read my other post, this jig just nails fish, and it's because of its small size. I use the 1/8 oz version with a trailer, and I can't tell you how many fish have hit that jig with a trailer. It is the way the lighter jig falls through the water column. Now if you would like a raw sample before you buy the mold PM me and we can go from there................................................You won't be sorry..................................and you can take that to the bank............................

bassin'75 Glad it all worked out for you.

Steve, If you want to buy cord I believe you have to buy several 100 feet. If you are looking for pre-cut ready to use, PM me I can help you out. I buy 1/8" (31) strand weedguard. The reason being is I can take out how many strands I don't need in a weedguard. I never use a full 31 strand weedguard, it is way to stiff for me. I always cut it in half. JMO

I don't have a problem with the Snootie jig. I use it for swimming and bouncing off the bottom. To me it's a confidence thing. You can swim an Arky or a football head if you chose, as long as you catch fish who is to say what is right or wrong. Yes some jigs like the football are better suited for rocks. But a friend of mine swims them and he does quite well. A bobbin is a tool that holds the small spools of thread in place. Also it has a tube which the thread goes through. On the tag end of the threrad, is where you tie around the jig body. The bobbin holds your spool of thread with the thread coming out of the tube , so you can tie and make wraps on your skirt. I will e-mail you the thread size I use as it is easier to explain and show you through e-mails.

OK guys the small blade is complete. See atached PDF file. For those of you that asked for the .DXF files I am sending you the small one as well. As mentioned above, please make sure you have the DXF file checked and proven in your mold for fit and function so that it is correct before you run production. Also if it doesn't fit and/or you get a good DXF file, please PM or e-mail me so I can get a good DXF file for future members. No point in sending out a bad DXF file over and over again. Finally I want to say this before I finish. I want to personally thank Vodkaman(Dave) for doing the entire small blade for me from scratch and sending me the DXF file. Without his help this would not be done in such a timely manner. All I can say is that some members go above and beyond to help others and the members of Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf Small Blade.pdf

It is brushed on. It's a two part epoxy. You must mix two equal parts together. Guys that use it on crankbaits put the crankbait on a turner to keep it from sagging. You can read more about this topic by typing in epoxy or devcon in this forum or the crankbait forum. There are literally pages on this topic. Way to much to list here and explain. Grab a cold one and enjoy the read.

Like Small jaw said. Createx which is a water base paint, and Devcon 2 Ton. Here is a link for the Devcon 2 Ton. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=&FVSEARCH=devcon+30-minute+%3CB%3Eepoxy%3C%2FB%3E+9 . You can also spray your blades with a lacquer paint, but you have to vent the fumes.

I will have to agree with Smalljaw. The three jigs that I use for swimming, is the Snootie Jig, Poison Tail and the Grass jig. These are in the order of my preferance. I have had so much success with the Snootie jig that it is the first thing I throw. Also I like to stay on the small side of the head with a trailer. I think the slow fall and the trailer is the ticket. As far as tying goes. That is a personal choice. I believe that there is no substitute for thread. (JMO) If you use upholstery thread, or uni-thread you can really tie tight without breaking the thread and it will make those skirt strands pop up. I can't give you advice about any other jigs because I don't use them. Hope this helps some.

Maddog, The things I heard about Gorilla Glue is #1, it expands too much and overflows and #2 it doesn't dry clear. If any of this is true than I can deal with #1, however I can not have any glue that dries yellow or any color other than clear. So have any of you guys out there tried Gorilla Glue and does it dry clear?

Tim, I am interested in trying this. I looked on the website you posted but don't see anything like you mentioned. Do you have a pic of the bottle you can e-mail me or a direct link. Thanks in advance

You can also get wire from McMaster Carr and Malin. Both of these places have any kind of wire with any kind of temper you want. http://www.mcmaster.com/#stainless-steel-wire/=azn2qh http://www.malinco.com/

If you use some of the smaller 1/8 oz jigs in the round and football heads, yes there is a problem. Because there is very little lead to hold the weedguard as the head is so small that the weedguard hole isn't deep enough. This is where the nylon pins will come in handy. If you notice that that steel pins that come with your mold have a head to keep it in the mold. Also you will notice that the steel pin doesn't go up to the hook and touch it If it did you would have more of the jig wall to hold your weedguard in. The pins I have will solve that problem. They go up to the hook, making a deeper weedguard hole.

bassin75 Yes that does happen with super glue gel. What's happening is as the glue dries the cyanoacylate flashes off and leaves a white residue. This is normal and there is nothing you can do about it. Definitely do not put less glue as it will not hold the weedguard in place. Wait for the glue to dry thoroughly about 5 hours. Then take your jigs and wipe off the white powdery residue. Your other choices are D2T(Devcon 2 Ton) however it take about 12 hours to fully cure. I also don't use a full weedguard so if you take a couple strands off it will fit in easier. Also I used to drill out my weedguard hole with a drill..... no more. I had a lot of custom pins made out of nylon that I now use for pouring and painting. I will never use steel pull pins again. If you have to use pliers to pull your pins out and I know you do, then you have at times stabbed yourself with the hook point. These pins I have ,come out with no force at all and can be used over and over again until you lose them. I see you have a PM in for me . I will reply shortly and send you some info on these pins as well. There are other glues that guys use on here so I'm sure you will get more info. You may find something you like better. BTW, Welcome to TU, everyone here is very helpful . Just ask and someone will give you an answer.

First of all powder paint won't work because you have to heat the powder to harden the paint. By doing this you will disfigure the weedguard. I guess you can try paint in a spray can. With that said they do sell colored weedguards. See link http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/Search/weedguards.aspx My question to you is why do you want to paint the strands? This would be a very slow painstaking process. You can also take clear weedguard strands and apply permanent colored marker over them. Let us know what works and how it comes out.

You're very welcome. If you need more help you can PM me or post your questions in the wirebait forum. You will get a lot of answers from many of the experts on this site.

Dave, E-mail sent. For all you guys that try this as samples first. Please post the results here of how the fit was of my blade. I would like to make sure it fits correctly so that I don't keep on giving out bad DXF files. Please give me your feedback. Also if you happen to have some samples made. PM me as I would like to get 1 of yours to see the fit in my mold as well. I don't plan on having any made at this present time....... Thanks....................Cadman