cadman

EWG, Basseducer is right. Anything will work. What you need to do is find what works easy for you and what you are satisfied with. We all have our preferences. The biggest thing in jigs is a good lead mix. If you are powder painting, baking your jig is a must on all jigs, especially with multi-colors to cure the paint. At this point you are done. If you want you can add a clear coat to get depth to your paint and extra protection. In the case of the Poison Tail, since you are going to add on 2D or 3D eyes, you must at least clearcoat the eyes to keep them from falling off. When I do any jig with eyes I clearcoat the entire jig. My preference is Devcon 2 Ton 30 minute. If you want to see some pics of some of my jigs, PM me your e-mail, and I can show you what can be done with powder paint.

JSC, I've had to do that with one Do-It Mold. The same concept as you, except, I drilled to holes in the recessed part of the mold where the hooks are. Then I put in two stn. stl. dowel pins. The dowel pins stick out enough, so they are barely under the recessed area. Next I took some stn. stl., slightly thinner about .010 than the recessed area, put 2 holes in the stainless steel to match the center lines of the dowel pins. Make sure the holes in the stainless steel are about .001 smaller than the dowels. Press the stainless steel on the dowels, and there you go. It seems complicated, but it is really not. This way if I ever have to sell my mold, I only have small dowel holes on the inside of the mold. Just another way to skin the cat.

Mike, Wecome to TU. There is a lot of good information here from a lot of good guys that know what they're talking about. There is a lot of info in the wirebait section, that will answer a lot of your questions. I personally use powder paint on all my jigs up to 1-1/2 oz. I make nothing bigger at this time. There are guys here that pour 3 and 4 ounce jigs and use powder paint with no problems. A lot of the powder paint characteristics are based on the mix of your lead. The harder the lead you use the harder it is to pour, but the paint will hold up better, because the lead is not soft enough to dent. That's it in a nutshell. Baking (Curing is must), clearcoting is an option, but it adds depth to your colored jigs and durability to the jig. Powder paint is not indestructable, but I found it to be the best choice for my application. I also have a multi-color powder painting tutorial, that I can e-mail you if you PM me you e-mail. Also if you have any other questions myself and the others in the wirebait forum will be more than happy to help you out.

Travis: Thanks for the info. I'm actually buying all of these tools to start making crankbaits, so I am not going to use this for professional use. However I can see some good use of a band saw, other than cutting wood. YJ: Yep I'm going to jump in and try my hand at making crankbaits. (I finally got a new job that I don't have to work a zillion hours overtime. That's fine with me I'd rather spend time fishing and making baits.) Best case scenario I make crankbaits and they actually work. Worse case scenario, I make a lot of junk, have a lot of firewood, get p:censored:d off and give up. But I'll still have some new tools. You can never have enough tools. Even if you have some doubles. In reality, I am very motivated and driven to succeed at this. It will be a slow process, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel..................Ted

Has anyone used a Performax oscillating spindle sander from Menards? They are about $100, however every Menards brand power tool I buy from them I have had problems with. My second choice would be a Craftsman, money is not an issue here. Also I'm purchasing a Craftsman 12" band saw Model 224000 and a Craftsman 6" X 9" Model 21757 sander. I know this has been covered. Just curious about Sears brand tools, in regards to durability and longevity. Thanks for any and all help...............Ted

YJ, I looked at the link up above, and my jigs don't have what you're looking for. I guess you only have one choice. David, I looked up your site and I saw those jigs that Yankee Jigger was talking about. You have very nice looking tackle on your site. Very nice indeed.

YJ, Those hooks are similar to the ones I use for my live bait jig. The head is different, but I'm sure that hook will fit other molds that take the #570 hook. I'll check for you if you want and report back to you, on if that hook will fit other molds. Let me know.

What do you consider a wacky jig head style. Have any links. Are you referring to the spring in the mold that holds the tip of the worm? Those are shakey style, but some I've heard use the term wacky. Just trying to get an idea to point you in the right direction.

So what you are really after is a spinner jig not a spinnerbait, correct? If that's the case, then that model # that you mentioned is the one that I have, and yes it is available, and yes it can be modified to what I think you want is similar to Do-It's Stand Up Spin jig, model SUS-5-A. So you want to add a slot in the mold for a barrel swivel to the back of the Erie Jig, so you can attach a butt ring and a colorado blade, correct? Now I understand, you threw me when you said spinnerbait.

If you are inquiring about the erie derie spinner, than you're out of luck. Do-It molds used to make a similar mold after market, until they ran into infringement problems. They stopped making the mold. I personallly called them, to see if they had any molds left, and they said that they can't sell them. This is the same scenario with the Blakemore Road Runner, except the pony head jig was around before Blakemore did patents. Don't quote me on this. I do know there is a mold for an erie jig with a spinner on it, cause I have it. As far as the blades go I can't help you there.

YJ, You know before the red hook craze, I powder painted some walleye hooks red, and it just didn't do anything for me. I tried them, and although I caught fish it wasn't like 2 fish to every one. So I never did anything with it. Then the red hook craze came, and then all the other colors. I assume you painted those? I do like them also. I could see them on a crawler harness, or as you said a spinner rig, on the IL River for sauger or walleye.

Definitely a pic is going to be a must here. First of all it may be cheaper to buy these if you can, instead of investing in a custom mold, paint, pouring pot and so on. On the other hand this may be a std item. That's why pics will help everyone here, to give you their feedback.

Benny, I may be of help to you and maybe not. #1 I guess you learned your lesson. #2 How hard is hard powder? Can you break off chunks, and does it crumble, or is it molecularly bonded? If you can not break it apart even with a hammer, and it cracks then it's junk. I've never seen that happen only when you bake powder in the oven to cure it. However it does get very hot in the car. Close the windows, cover the cans with a brown tarp, and you can take a sauna in there. #3 if you can break it apart, then it is salvageable. The question is if it's worth your time.You will have to break it apart in small chunks if possible, and then keep smashing it until you get a fine powder. Do this to a small amount. Once you get it to powder, powder paint a few jigs, bake them, and see if you get paint adhesion, and gloss. If you do, then you can do the rest. If not toss it. Finally if you want to send me a small chunk, I can have it tested for you. Again, this may not be worth your time. Those are your choices. You have proven several things here, which I am now going to post to all the powder guys here. So here they are. #1. Always keep powder paint tightly sealed in a cool dry environment. #2. Never ever try to dry powder paint that has absorbed moisture, by heating it or placing it in an oven. Doing this will activate the powder and start the adhesion process. You are better off taking a clean cloth placing it over the powder container, and put it in a really dry place. The powder will come back to itself. #3. Powder paint disposal. Check with your local ordinance, but in most states, you can not dump powder paint in the dry state. You must bake all the powder until it becomes a big lump of solid mass. The reason being is this. Powder paint is very airborne when it gets blown around. If you dump a lot of powder in a dumpster #1 if it's white, nobody will know what it is, and someone might think it's drugs or some other chemical, which if they see you dump it may call the police, or hazmat crew. This may sound extreme, but it has happened. Our company powder paints a lot of items, and we have lot of overspray. This over spray is garbage powder. By law we have to dispose of it in the way I mentioned. #2 Airborne powder is bad for your lungs and others, so be responsible when you dump this. Hope this helps you on your decision

This is a hard call at this stage of the game, but I am going to agree with Delw on this. You relly need to discuss this before all this starts. Either pay by the hour (that could be suicide), or pay by the project, one flat rate. I design for a living, and I do either or. I never expect anything more from someone else's concept, no matter how much input I give, as long as I get paid. I am there to put their ideas on paper, and then bring their product to the point where it can be manufactured, nothing more. I hope that none of these are family members or close friends, so you don't have any problems down the road with them...........Good Luck

Yes Joe, that is correct. It should look like slow boiling water on.

I totally agree with you on this. If I recall correctly, everyone that posted about that mold in the past had some modifications that needed to be made to it to make it pour correctly. You are right this should be corrected in production. I know everyone's answer is to use really soft lead. Although it's a quick fix, but when you use pure soft lead, the soft lead compromises the paint characteristics. Paint will crack faster with soft lead, becuse it dents or gives more. Take a 1 oz jig of pure soft lead, and drop it on concrete. Do the same to a 50/50 mix, and see what happens. Although this may seem extreme, it is still better to modify the mold to get good pours, and use a 50/50 mix. Just my worth.

OK, here's a secret for all of you lead guys that I use to solve this problem when I pour the Ultra-Minnow spinnerbait mold. Now it won't be a secret any more. If you've tried everything under the sun to remedy this and it doesn't work do this. Take a piece of hi-temp teflon tape, (paper will work, but you have to tape it or it will fall out, and the tape may not withstand the heat) that's why I use hi-temp tape. Cut a small piece of tape about 1" roll size x 1". Take the tape and stick it to the inside of 1/2 of the mold, by the cavity that you are going to pour. Once you have the tape in place, close the mold and do some test pours. What this process with the tape does, it opens up both mold halves by let's say .005 of an inch. This lets more air into the cavity, which will let the lead flow and fill complete. You're now going to say, well that's fine, but am I going to get flash. The answer is yes there will be a minimal amout of flash, which is easily taken off with a file. You are now going to say, welll that's an extra step. Yes it is but think of it this way. If you can get perfect pours with the above process with a little flash, isn't that better, than pouring 10 bad ones, re-melting it and re-pouring it again, and hoping the next one will pour good? To me this is more than a justified solution. Just like everyone else here, I try to find solutions to a lot of problems, and sometimes the solution isn't exactly what we want. Remember, that the closer you put the tape to the hinge, the bigger gap you will get between mold halves. If one piece of tape is not enough, stack on another, until you get complete pours with minimal flash. This does work. I have to do this to the bigger of the two spinnerbait molds I have. If you need more help, ask, and I will try to explain better with pics, or PM me. I hope this solves your dilemma. BTW, I use a Palmer Hot Pot and a Lee #4 bottom pour pot. The Palmer Hot Pot works better for spinnerbaits. I use a 50/50 mix, and I rarely if ever get bad pours this way.

Javelin, I'm confused here as well. I'll have to agree with Vodkaman, as far as it sounds, it's like you are letting the lead drip into the mold. If this is the case, this will never work, because the lead will harden before the next drip goes in. I have a couple of questions. Why did you get away from the hot pot? That's what I use, and I have no problem pouring that mold. Secondly, if I recall on that model mold, and that model Lee bottom pour pot, it said not to use that for spinnerbaits, because of clearance between the mold and the bottom of the pot. Why do you use this, when your other process works? I'm just curious, and trying to solve your problem

Why did you get away from using a heat gun? Just curious. I'm not saying it can't be done any other way, it's just that I have been using a heat gun from day one going on 8+ years, and I put on mutiple colors with no problem. I don't have any issues with a heat gun. Good, clean, even heat.

Well that's good to know, I always look for something new from Do-It. I spoke to them about 2 weeks, and they said they had some new items in the line-up but wouldn't say what for sure.

Below are some links to other stand up jigs you can make and buy the mold for. I don't know if this is what your looking for, but I have all of them, and they work fine, especially if you tip it with a leech or fathead minnow. Do-it Molds: Stand Up Jig Do-it Molds: Stand Up Spin Jig Do-it Molds: Tip Up Jig Mold

I had a request for a couple also. This is a custom mold, and as of this writing I don't think it is available anywhere. You can have it custom made. I don't believe Do-It is going to entertain making this. There are lot of problems with people stealing other people's ideas. It's one thing making these for yourself, and another thing making them and selling them. Just my .

Welcome to TU Chuck. You make some realy nice lures. Yes that is a nice size bass for WI. I mainly fish the SE section if WI., Lake Geneva, Lake Delavan. They are excellent bass lakes. A lot of 5's and some 6's come out of there regularly. 2 years ago my wife got a 6.2 largemouth out of Lake Tichigan. Anyway everyone here will be more than willing to help you out with any questions, all you have to do is ask.

I understand what you are saying, and you are right to a certain point. I strongly believe in not modifying molds. But since I sell jigs for a business, I make what the customer wants with-in reason. I have yet to screw up a mold and make crappy jigs. There are guys that are dead set on certain hooks, and their is a reason for that because like mentioned above certain hook eyes do get snagged in different situations. If you are careful, you can modify any mold to what you want. I think modifying molds puts me as a seller in a unique position, because I may be the only one making those jigs, and they would have to come back to me for more. Just my thoughts on this.