cadman

Good looking jigs. How many pours did you get out of that mold? I know that the mold doesn't last forever.

PSV, I get the same thing with the epoxy, it runs down the sides when I lightly heat my jigs with a heat gun when it is cold in the basement. I also just let it run down and then break it off on the hook shank. FYI: For some of you guys that use epoxy. The only time running is a big problem for me is when I use jigs with double collars like the flat eye double collar Arky Jig Mold. If you put too much epoxy on, the epoxy has a tendency to build up on the collar closest to the head. In this case, after about 20 minutes before the epoxy sets up, I take a small brush and keep wiping the excess epoxy just above the collar. Eventually it stops running after about an hour and then you can let it cure or harden. When I epoxy jigs, I usually do a bunch at a time and I watch how the epoxy settles so it's never a problem for me. Like powder painting less is better. You can always put on another coat if you miss a spot.

Ric, Nice looking spinnerbait, I assume that spinnerbait is air brushed and then apoxied?

Speaking only for myself, I do not turn it at all, I apply it with a brush on the thin side and then I clamp my jig with the head up, and let dry. I rarely get any runs. Jigs are small so you don't need a lot of epoxy to cover them. They dry crystal clear.

Just my personal opinion and not to offend anyone that uses candle soot or anything else, but you can not beat Frankford Arsenal mold release for nothing in the world. Ive tried a lot of things and this stuff just plain works. There are other mold release agents out there, but they are very exoensive about $25 per 9oz spray can.

"Can you modify the double collar arky to accept the heavier wire hook?" You can modify any mold if you are careful, have a lot of patience, take your time and plan out what you want to do first before you start cutting. I would get some of the hooks you want to put in that mold and lay them out to see how they will look in the mold, and how they fit and what needs to be done. Just remember you have to use hooks within reason. You can't put an 8/0 hook in a cavity that takes a #6 hook. "also, have you ever tired to modify the arky molds to accept a flat eye hook?" The double collar Arky is made to take a flat eye 32798 Mustad hook.

It is very similar to the double collar Arky jig. As far as fishing well, every jig has its uses and can not be used in every situation. I would not use it in weeds but that is my opinion. It is good in open water and rocks again my opinion. I personally like the double collar Arky over the Sparky jig for the main reason skirts will definitely hold better on the Arky. But to each his own. My choices are as follows. Snootie or Poison Tail in weeds, Arky or Football jigs in open water and rocky areas. Just my 2 cents worth of info.

I will agree with BLT. I don't time myself. It all depends what you want your jigs to look like. I polish my jigs so they are flawless when I paint and sell them. Many guys just cut the sprue really close to the jig, and leave a parting line if any on the jig and paint away. The fish really don't care one way or another. Fortunately or unfortunately I'm really anal about the quality of my jigs, so I would rather have quality. It's a personal choice to each of us and whatever you're happy with.

As far as everyone here on this forum goes. I will try to help any and all. Those that know me know that, that is a true statement. I have mentored many guys here over the years some which don't post any more. PSV among others are some of my success stories. I can't take cedit for his quality of work. That is all done by a lot of passion and perseverance. It takes at least a year or two in my opinion to get excellent quality and consistency. The rest of it is a lot of practice, trial and error and doing it over and over again until you are happy with your product. Also in order to be the best of the best it takes a lot of passion and you must push yourself to do better and better if that is your goal. There is nothing wrong with just painting jigs and leaving it at that. To me good enough is just not good enough I am a lunatic in trying to come up with different things, color combos and ideas but that is me. I have also seen Smalljaws painting work, and again top notch quality work. Smalljaw does much of his powder painting with an airbrush. I believe he has some pics in the gallery. Here again I have tried powder painting with an airbrush, and I can't get the hang of it with the colors I want to use. We all have different skills and that's what makes it so nice to see everyone's work and talk about it on the forums. PSV, that is a nice walleye and your color match on that spinnerbait is excellent for a walleye color pattern. How big is that walleye? Also I think you need to touch up that jig it looks a little beaten up.

apharing As far as gluing eyes on without doing a final topcoat of epoxy, I have not found anything that holds really well. I have tried super glue gel, super glue, gorilla glue, silicone, marine silicone and a bunch of others. With super glue you have to be careful as it has a tendency to wick up and leaves a white powder. The others just weren't up to my expectation. If I'm going to put eyes on I want them to stay on and this also goes to the jigs I sell to my customers. If I use 2d or 3d eyes I always top coat with Devcon 2 Ton epoxy. I have never had one fall off or pulled off by a fish. Also if you haven't tried a top coat, you don't know what you're missing. Epoxy makes your colors pop and gives them more depth along with more durability.

Pete, I do not use high quality brushes. $1 at the most in cost. The hairs are camel hair. Do not get brushes that have stiff bristles, as they will not hold powder as well. There are also kids nylon brushes that I use for epoxy, but they are not good for powder paint. PM me your e-mail and I will send you some pics of what kind of brushes I have.

BLT, I would like to see his stuff as well. I take nothing from anyone as far as talent. We all have things that we are good at and excell in. We all can't be Rembrandt's and in all honesty the fish don't care. It all comes down to what we all want to achieve. All I can say is that like anything, if you want to excell in something you must practice and keep practicing to keep your skills sharp. As far as his quote goes, you can put on powder paint on a warm jig and once you heat it well it will all blend in. The thing I would question myself if I did this is how warm is warm before it is too hot. I personally like to do what 152nd Street Baits mentioned. Load up a brush if you need to cover a lot and don't put on as much if you don't want to. Also it is better to put on less and add, this way you won't put on globs of paint.

BLT, I don't know how others can actually touch a hot jig with a brush. I have done this by accident and the results are horrible. First of all you get hair stuck to the paint, and or you screw up the paint job and or you melt the brush hairs. All of this makes the jig look like c$$p along with damaging your brush. I tap all of my powder paint on my jigs. I'm sure there are other ways, so I can't comment on any other process. I would actually like to see someone put powder paint and touch their brush on a hot jig. If you know of a video, please post it. I'm always looking for new and maybe better ideas. There are many ways to achieve different colors by buying one or two colors. Columbia Coatings has some excellent powder paint in some very interesting colors and shades. There are veins, marbles, imrons, metallics and color shifting paints available now in powder. So the colors and ideas are endless and are left only to your imagination and skill level. More than anything else, when you do multicolors, there is a learning curve that you will have to achieve. That is applying thin coats, and not burning the paint in the process. Take a look at the thread Powder Coat or Paint. Look at Psv's spinnerbait. Now that is multi-color work at it's finest. Clean, even and clear. If you need help on multi-color ask here and there are a lot of guys doing it now with excellent results, along with many willing to help out.

PSV, That is amazing. That's about all I can say. Along with your photography work.

I don't see any reason why not to powder coat. I powder coat all of my spinnerbaits. This way you don't have to clearcoat if you don't want to. On the other hand if you want to airbrush exotic details, then you will have to clearcoat. This is naturally your choice.

Hey guys, Thanks for sharing all of your experiences with the great info and tips.

Pop, I am assuming you are using 570 aberdeen 90 degree hooks. The longer version of that hook is an Eagle Claw #574. Don't know if it will be long enough though for you.

Cranker, Well I'm glad you got your problem solved. There are so many variables in pouring lead, that a lot of it is trial and error until you find the correct solution. There is so much good information in this thread from so many knowledgeable people, that all of this info can be used down the road on other molds. Believe it or not each mold has its own personality on any given day and two identical molds don't pour the same either. Best thing to do if you have any special way of pouring a certain mold is to write it down on the mold or in a notebook so you can refer to it next time. A good way to tell if you have a venting problem in the future is to stick 1/2 of a business card or (2)pieces of masking tape stacked on each other between the mold halves and do a test pour. If the jig pours perfectly with the tape in place you have a venting problem. Naturally always try to pour without tape in between the mold halves, because you will get some flash this way. Have fun pouring and thanks for posting your final results.

Steve187, I have 3 of the old version tools and they work well. I do like the new ones but don't need them since the old ones still work. The tool will not make you a better tyer. The tool was originally designed so guys who bought lose strand skirts can mix and match strands and make color combos of their own. Also at the time this tool was used mainly for round and square rubber skirts. I still today use this tool for that purpose since that is exactly what it helps me accomplish. There is no other tool that I know of (unless you make your own) that can do what this tool does with bulk material. It can also be used for tabbed skirt material as well. This next tip a must for the skirt tool to function easily without (you) or anyone getting p****d off and throwing it in the garbage. When you have all of your strands together, take some 3/4" masking tape (I use scotch transparent) and tape all the strand at one end. Once you do this feed it into the rubber collar that is already on the skirt tool in the open position. If you want to see some pics PM me your e-mail and I will show you what I'm talking about. Once you have all your skirts banded, then comes the fun part of putting them on the jig and then starting to tie your skirt. Enjoy and have fun.

Thanks for all the input guys. It helps me put everything in perspective.

Cranker, I'm going to have to agree with the post above mine by hawnjigs. Also I do believe that a bottom pour pot will fill better providing you don't have other issues. Finally if you did add a spike barb to your mold cavity, make sure it is vented. Otherwise you could be trapping air when you are pouring and it will never fill especially since this was an add on by you. Take a jeweler's file and file a groove on 1/2 of the mold from the new cut out spike barbed you made, to the outside of the mold cavity so air can escape. This may solve your problem as well. Let us know what finally worked for you.

Cranker, I do know that if you go with a bottom pour pot, you will get more pours per hour. It is overall faster. However if you're faster and don't get good pours then at that point it becomes useless. The first thing I would suggest is flux your lead and skim the crap off the top. Then I would spray your cavities with drop-out lead release. These two will definitely give you immediately better results. If you don't want to spend $60 for a bottom pour pot, then a ladle will work. I pour spinnerbaits with a 1oz cheap ladle, and I get perfect pours all of the time. This is the only way that mold pours really well for me. Other time I will use a bottom pour pot. Make sure the lead is hot and like Bob said keep the ladle in the lead and keep it hot as well. I'm sure others will chime in and comment. I you are looking for a bottom pour pot then I would recommend the Lee IV pot.

Ok, so I'm probably the last guy in the world left that doesn't use braided line. Now I bought some to try it out. I am looking for all suggestions good and bad on this. Any and all tips, tricks and ideas welcome. I bought 20lb test green line with the diameter of 6 lb. It will be put on a spinning reel first and then tried on a bait caster after that if I like it. it will be use mainly for casting a jig and pig in semi-weedy areas. So here are some of my questions to you guys. #1 Does the line ever wear out, or get knicked up from dragging on the bottom. #2 Does the line wear grooves in your rod guides especially at the tip top. When do you replace your line and how do you know when to replace it...............Thanks to all who reply.

I had this all typed up and forgot to post it yesterday. But it seems like you got all of your answers. So I'll post it anyway as there are other things you can try as well for the future. My questions: What causes the epoxy (I used Devcon 2T 30 minute) to "seperate" like this, leaving "holes" in the coverage? Several things can cause this. If your jigs are tacky than you did not use the correct proportions, or you didn’t mix it well enough. If your jigs are not tacky and the epoxy is hard an you have holes than here are your causes. #1 Make sure when you put on your epoxy, your jigs are free from oils and fingerprints. Take your jigs and wipe them with a clean rag just slightly dipped in rubbing alcohol. Put on a rack to dry and it should dry in a minute or two. Also when you do this whole process don’t touch the jig with your fingers, use latex gloves on both hands when cleaning jigs and when you epoxy them. #2 Over brushing Devcon(D2T) will do that as well especially when the epoxy starts to harden. To help with this issue when the jigs are first epoxied, take a heat gun and lightly go over the jig that has the epoxy, many times you can see the epoxy flow together and those voids will disappear. Do not hold it there to long as it will make the epoxy run off the jig. I stand all of my epoxied jigs heads up to dry so any excess epoxy will run down the hook shank. I was mixing small batches of it and painting 12 or so at a time before it would start getting to "sticky" to apply right. Is there something you can do to actually get the "30 minutes" of work time out of a batch? It seemed like after 5 or 10 minutes it wasn't manageable any longer. There are some things you can do but 12 jigs is a good number and you should be happy with that many at one time. I do not cut my D2T with anything as I believe it compromises the adhesion and hardness, however I don’t have proof of that and many guys I know cut their D2T with acetone, lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol( do not use rubbing alcohol here, it has water and epoxy and water do not mix). Here is the good and the bad. If you cut it with any of the three above you will definitely get a little longer working time, however I do believe it compromises the hardness of D2T. A couple of drops should do it to a dime size mix of D2T. Also if you do cut your D2T make sure to test it on a scrap jig, as some solvent when mixed with D2T will start to eat away at the powder paint underneath it. I have never had D2T last 30 minutes before it starts to harden, about 10- 15 minutes is max. Here are some other things you can try to make it last a little longer. Mix your epoxy on a piece of tin foil or the bottom of a soda can. Make sure it’s clean. The reason for this is that as soon as you mix the two parts of epoxy they start to heat up and start the curing process. The aluminum will pull the heat away from the mix. You only may get one or two more jigs this way, depends how long you it takes you to apply the epoxy. The other thing you can do is to heat your epoxy after it is mixed when it starts to get thicker with a heat gun this will thin out your epoxy, however when you do this, this makes the epoxy want to dry faster. Here is the consensus on epoxy. The best way to use it is when it is cold as the colder it is the longer the working time; however it does not brush really well when it’s cold. The warmer D2T is the easier it is to apply however the shorter the working time is. So use it in your current working environment and just brush like mad, if you can do 12 at one time than you are doing OK. Also, the brush I was using started to stiffen up about 3/4 of the way through. Should I just use disposable brushes and throw them out every 20 minutes or is there a trick to that too? I use several brushes at a time when I use D2T. I buy cheap kids craft brushes from Wal-mart, 30 brushes for $1.50??? As soon as I finish my batch of jigs I take my brush and immediately put it in lacquer thinner and swirl it around to clean it. Then I take it out dry it off with a rag or a paper towel and let it sit so the lacquer thinner flashes off. On my next batch of jigs I use a clean brush and do the same. I alternate brushes if I have a lot of jigs to do until the brushes hairs no longer are straight. You can clean them about a dozen times at the most maybe more. Do not leave those brushes sitting in the lacquer thinner. It will deform the bristles and make them curly leaving the brush at that point useless. The most important question -- fixing these jigs -- will another coat cover the "holes", or am I going to have to sand these down before applying another coat? Yes you can fix them make another batch of D2T and apply it over the current one. Make sure you clean then first. Your jigs will come out beautiful, just watch how you apply it and if you see it separating try some of the things I mentioned. Maybe cut down to doing fewer jigs with less epoxy. It seems like a dumb idea, but less sometimes is more as you will not get as many done but you will cut your working time shorter leaving the epoxy more workable. I hope this helps you some. Also I’m not the know-it–all on epoxy, so I’m sure you will get other ideas from many of the jigs guys here. Take all the ideas and see what works for your type of conditions.

Andy, PM me your e-mail and let me know if that works. I will get the info to you later on tonight.