cadman

Donnie, I got your Pm. I'm a little confused here . If the website says it uses a 730 hook, a 730 Eagle Claw hook is a 60 degree hook, similar to a 32786 Mustad hook. By looking at the 1st pictures, the 60 degree hook looks correct for that mold. Like others stated, a 90 degree hook would look odd on that shape of head. Now looking at your mold pics, the first one looks like a 60 deg. hook will work. But looking at the second pic, a 60 does not fit. You said that 630 was marked on the mold. Are you sure that 630 stands for a hook number and not something else? Maybe the marking on the mold are a misprint or an error or maybe that is the 630th mold of that series they made so far (Just guessing here). Also maybe it is a dual hook mold? That would be nice. Does the 60 degree hook fit the mold and can you pour it without any problems? How about a 90 degree hook does that fit better? I have a couple of Do-It molds that are marked incorrectly on the inside as far as sizes go. So anything is possible. The 60 degree hook looks better, and if it works I would use that one.

What special color are you interested in? Some of their vein colors are a two part process. i use a 1 part process, much easier and faster. Protec has a lot of colors and you can buy most at BPS. I sent you a pm.

I use a lot of their skirts and no problem.

Jason, Like gon2long said you can powder paint in the basement. No problem at all. There is no extreme smell in powder that's why everyone uses it plus it has a lot harder finish than anything else you can put on a lead jig, in my opinion. If you are going to use a fluid bed, depending on how the powder fluidizes, you might need a dust mask. Some powders don't push a lot of powder in the air like others do.

The way I would clean your pot is like this. Empty all of your lead into mini muffin pans or something where it will fit back into your pot again. Unplug your pot and it will slowly start to cool. I then wait a bit for the cool down. I try to work with a warm pot as it is easier to clean, so don't wait till it gets cold. Also wear cotton gloves to protect your hands. Unscrew the plunger and set it aside. Take some abrasive steel wool and clean out the inside of the pot walls and the bottom of the pot. Next clean out the hole by gently rubbing steel wool into it. It will come out really well. Once that is done, clean the tip of your plunger by rubbing it with steel wool. Empty all contents of pot. Screw in plunger and then fire it up and put your lead in. Should be as good as new. I do not recommend drilling the hole open in the pot, as you will damage the relationship between the plunger and the hole, in which it may pour way too fast. Just my opinion.

Are you looking for a red wine or a white? On white you could use a transparent gold which if done correctly will give you a champagne color, on a red you could use a transparent raspberry.

I do like it as a buzzbait as you are correct you can burn it and it tracks really well. I never thought about using it as a spinnerbait, but I can't see why not. BTW nice looking spinnerbait.

Wow ain't that the truth..

One other thing about the mold and that is the top edges do not come out crisp and clean, they seem jagged. Maybe that is because it is a sand cast mold and it seems like it would be pretty hard to get this feature at the edges. pic #1 Left to right Side profile pic #2 Bottom View pic #3 Top View pic #4 View looking head on You also have a PM from me.

I will tell you a couple of things I do not like about this mold if you are going to be the one that pours them. #1. You can only use the listed size hook for each cavity. Reason being, Is the hook eye has a tendency to be too big for the body, and you get voids in your pours. Unfortunately I like the design of the head, but it needs to either be bigger at the top or wider. This is a pourer's nightmare, not to say it can't be done. I will also tell you that you get much better pours, if you use a small ladle and hand pour it into the cavity. I seem to get better pours and more complete pours. #2 Make sure the lead and the mold are extremely hot and I mean hot to the point of where you cannot touch the mold. #3 If you can deal with a hook that is one size smaller, then that is half the battle. #4 The 1/8 and the 1/4 oz cavities are the worst. However since you are not going to pour that then it won't be an issue. In all honesty, this is one of the molds I really hate to pour . It is a P.I.T.A. There are many re-pours to this mold. Maybe since I sell jigs I'm too picky, but voids in a head look horrible and when you paint it, it accentuates it and makes it look worse. Finally, I think if I switched to a spinnerbait hook that had a smaller hook eye, that may solve some of the problems. However I am using a Mustad #32608 hook. If you need more info let me know.....I will upload pics in a couple of minutes

There is no right way or wrong way to achieve what you want. It's all up to you on how you want it to look. We all have our specialties on how we achieve our creations. As mentioned, the only way to learn, is to ask questions and above all as my signature reads "Practice, practice and more practice." I cannot emphasize this enough. All of us that have been doing this awhile have put in hundreds of hours painting, with many aggravated days and a lot of mistakes. This is the only way you will learn.

Wow didn't think of that great idea. Erik, That would work really well. Spinnerbait has two eyes, so do you. You could make yourself look very colorful. Also I would like to see that skirt around your waist. Now that would be colorful, a bit drafty but hopefully it would be warm on day. All kidding aside, there are some great guys on this site that I have learned a lot from over the years as well. It's all about helping each other out and making our hobby a lot easier and to avoid making any mistakes if possible.

Erik, Well I'm flattered. I'm glad that in this vast forum, I make a difference in someone's life. As far as a Cadman's costume, I don't know if that is a good choice as I don't know what that would look like. Maybe a guy walking around with fishing jigs hooked all over of his hat, pants and shirt and who knows what else. If you ever find a costume, send me a pic. LOL.

BLT, I 've tried it my way with a hot jig and accidentally touched the brush, and the brush got stuck to the wet hot paint, which in turn screwed up the paint job and damaged the brushes bristles. Now the only way I see touching a brush to a jig is if the jig is cold. I have tried this and yes you can tap on powder paint on a cold jig and then swirl it around and then heat it. However that is not the way I do my jigs. Now I would like to see this guys work. I just can't grasp myself around the fact that someone can actually touch a bristle brush on a hot painted jig. I would really like to see this done and the final outcome of the finished jig.

A simple version of the tap method is two colors of powder paint. Let's say you want a white and yellow/chart jig, with yellow chartreuse being on top of your jig. The way I would do this, if I had more than 20 to do, is this way. Get all your supplies ready. What you will need is a fluid bed with white powder paint in it, a jar of yellow chartreuse, and a small artist brush(es) #2 and #1 #1 Take your hot jig and swish it in a fluid bed with white powder paint. #2 As soon as you take the jig out of your fluid bed, take your artist brush and stick it in the yellow chartreuse powder paint. Then take the brush and lightly tap the powder onto the hot jig. DO NOT TOUCH THE BRUSH TO THE HOT JIG. #3 When you feel like you have the correct effect you want on your jig, put it on a rack to cool, then when you are all done, put everything into a toaster oven to cure. That's it in a nutshell for two colors. Multi-colors take a lot more planning in what color you want where and which ones go on first.

Basstriker, There are several ways to achieve multicolored jigs. #1 The tap method which I have been using for years. See my avatar, it has 6 color on it, #2 Any spray can method, which you can spray on and tape off. You might have to use a clear coat to keep the paint from chipping off. #3 You can apply powder on with a special air brush and achieve beautiful multi colored jig/spinnerbaits. Smalljaw a member here is the man that has that process down. He may chime in here. #4 A fluid bed quick and easy. As you can see there are many ways to achieve beautiful painted jigs. Find what works easy for you and practice till you become efficient at it. Everything take time and patience.

Who made that spinnerbait looks nice? That is a stock Do-It mold.

If you are referring to the WCK-5-AWG, then yes . I had my mold re-cut, so I can use a different hook and not pay the special hook price for that mold. I can actually use two different hooks the original and my new one if need be.

Curt, Question on entries. Can the entries be of spinnerbaits posted here before or on another site? These were not contest entries? I would like to submit my Chicago Bulls Spinnerbait I made.

The skirt shouldn't move or the wire. My skirts are really tight with three wraps. If you have a double collar jig then I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless you have certain colors on top and certain colors on the bottom and that is the way you want the skirt to stay. Now if you have a jig with a ball collar, well those are less forgiving, as the ball collar doesn't trap the skirt really well if it is too loose. I fish a Snootie a lot with a ball collar, and my skirt doesn't move or slide around.

I believe the .018 diameter is the thinnest which makes up the FG-30 (30 strand weedguard bundle. I myself do not like stiff weedgurads, so I take my 30 strand weedguard and cut it in half and put in 15 strands. If that is still too heavy for you glue in 1/2 of that which you would have 7 or 8 strands of weedguard.

Snootie is a jig mold made by Do-It mold corporation, which you can make your own lead jigs. See link attached. http://do-itmolds.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_8_24

Well this morning it doesn't work. Alsworms, I tried your idea and it doesn't work for me either. I tried installing Chrome and no luck with that. Oh well.