Richard Prager

Shelts blanks are pretty much garbage along with responding back to negative feedback....I know this from experience Most US vendors carry at best a mixed bag of high quality and garbage.... I only know of 2 US vendors that carry high quality blanks. I buy 2 blanks from one vendor....1 blank from another and the rest I use 2 vendors exclusively. One of them posted here and the other is always out of stock.. I ordered some 1.5's from a vendor here in the states I don't usually order from. In fact, I've done this with all US vendors in the past. This particular order was for 10... 3 had plastic rattles, 3 has two steel rattles and one had 3 steel rattles. I sure couldn't sell all 10 to the same customer. This is a vendor that allot of people speak well of. It is MY experience that if the blanks are super clear, white or if you can smell the plastic before you open the package... they are garbage. High quality blanks should not require any sanding because of sloppy glue work. I rather pay more money for the better blanks than spend the time searching for quality KO's from overseas. wait several months or worry about whether they will get here or not... Some US Vendors buy from Nitro and other middlemen and they are all garbage....Wlure...garbage....I see a great deal and I buy some. Then, I kick myself in the butt and throw them in "The Box" ...... Are the high quality KO's as good as the original? No, but i would put up a good argument for 1.5's and 2.5's and they all catch plenty of fish. If i could carve baits, I would...I can paint, so I do that. Just my experience, but let me say that both Tackleunderground along with,and especially the search engine here and Google are your friends....Rant over....time for my meds! Happy Thanksgiving to All.....even Shelt's!

I use one everyday and so does a good friend of mine...inside! I think mine is 1.75 gallon aluminum tank...Love it! Just checked the link I paid twice the price but I would go with aluminum tank to avoid rusting This is the one I have and is small enough to stick in the closet http://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1610A-1-6-Gallon/dp/B00889ZYD8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1448406179&sr=8-3&keywords=california+air+compressor

How about a cordless drill with a piece of coat hanger bent at 90 on the bottom?

I have the California as well and use it indoors. hard to beat.I have the one with the 2 gallon tank.... make sure you get the one with an aluminum tank. I absolutely love it and use it 4 days a week.... The 1/5hp compressor is quiet and works well for that type of compressor and price. I used one for several years. The key to making it last for a year or maybe 2 is to shut it off whenever you set the brush down. otherwise they will burn out. You cannot use the discount coupons with compressors anymore.

This thing works incredible! Bought it about 2 months ago..... http://www.turbineproducts.com/breathecool-ii-supplied-air-respirator-system-w-half-face-mask/

Dip them in Kevlar

You can also use transparent water slide decal paper over foil...

Home Depot sells 100' rolls of twist tie which worked well especially if you are using a turner. I tried the rubber bands which seems most popular but almost ended up in a rubber suit...just couldn't get the hang of it.

I mentioned the contamination because that happened to me by doing basically the same thing with the DA. I would dip the brush right into the bottle it came in. After a while i started getting little pieces of what i believe is cured epoxy.when i brushed the BSI on. Now i pour a little in a shot glass and dip the brush into it. I only do this for bait # 1 of 2...and for the sole purpose of dispersing the bubbles. The shot glass is about the only thing I don't toss out. They are actually glass expresso cups I bought at Goodwill.....The pink issue intrigues me. I know you have been painting for quite a bit now....you must have changed something

If it is legit i would suggest getting the one with the .035 tip as opposed to the .030 nozzle. I looked through most of them and the price is 1/2 of what the cost at retailers in the states. The least expensive from the states on ebay that I found was $115 with free ship.....Can't go wrong with that brush I have 4 iwatas and 2 are Eclipses. You really would never need to upgrade to another brush......

Sounds like you might be contaminating the LThinner by pouring it back into the container and using it again. When you say alcohol....I assume you are using Denatured Alcohol.. This is just me but i don't clean a thing. Emphysema forces me to use as much oderless items as possible. I use a new plastic medicine cup (maybe .04) a new Great Planes 3/8" Epoxy brush (.15) I do two baits a toss that in the garbage. I pay $21 for 144 brushes. Shipping is less than the cost of gas Not getting any baits back makes it worthwhile. Getting just one bait back could result in several hundred dollars if that particular customer does not come back. Plus even if i could use solvents, I'm too lazy to clean brushes, cups, etc.

I've been using BSI 30 minute slow cure for about 4 years now. This is what I do and works at least 99% of the time. First off, I epoxy inside. I have a shot glass with DA in it sitting right there for me.I don't use the container it comes in because after a while dipping the brush in it contaminates it. I warm up the bottles with a heat gun so it flows out of the bottle nicely. I'm dying if I'm lying but I've said it before and I'll say it again. I squeeze into a plastic cup used for measuring medicine a 5 count of each part. Seriously I count to 5...I mix the crap out of it it with a cordless drill and a piece of wire bent at 90 degrees for about 15 seconds. I dip my entire Great Planes epoxy brush into the shot glass with the DA and and stir it a little with the mixed epoxy This temporary thins it and disperses ALL bubbles. I do my first of 2 baits like this. I apply it the same way every time and load the brush up so the epoxy "flows" onto the bait as opposed to pulling it. As it thickens, any missed spots can be gone over. i also spray my baits with something to cover any oils or contamination that might be on the bait. The second bait, i don't us the DA just the epoxy the way it is. If i rush I can do 3 baits but i am happy with 2. Out goes the .04 cent cup and the .15 brush. I rather spend the money than trying to pick out hairs or miss some and then realize they are now part of the bait. I do 10 baits in 30 minutes, 20 in an hour taking my time. After an hour on the rack, I put a couple of indoor 65 watt flood lights for a few hours. Not really for the heat but for the humidity. BSI is nothing like e-tex and is very forgiving as far as mixing and measuring. I only had issues when I was working out doors and it was either cold or high humidity. I do about 40 baits a week. When doing lipless baits or others with sharp edges, I epoxy these as the second of the two baits because the epoxy starts to thicken and does not pull away. I spend a little more on these brushes but it only takes 2 bad epoxy jobs negate any savings using other supplies plus i would have to repaint and re finish said baits. Like I said this is what works for me and never have any baits coming back.

You want....I can send Uncle Benny over there....save your lawyer money for supplies, dinner and a nice vacation. He's semi retired and bored sitting and feeding the pigeons and/or watching the bikini clad women roller-blade by him on South Beach!

Venutian Lures said that the kid was misrepresenting his baits as hers and others' there was no mention of actual signatures on the baits. I have recently seen somebody selling cranks stating they were painted by this one or that one. I don't remember if it was e-bay or a group on Facebook but either way those items and that person would have been banned almost immediately once brought to their attention. Are these misrepresentations still going on or is it over and done with??

Can you post some examples side by side of what you are referring to? I just can't imagine somebody that can paint well enough to misrepresent themselves does not have the ability to develop their own style. Don't take this personally because I like to play the devils advocate and stir up the pot. Four full pages of this and I still don't see what you are talking about here. Everybody I know had to either learn or get ideas from somewhere, someone and/or looking at others' works. So far all I hear is well....hearsay! If you're going to call out someone out on a public forum, then do it. I do believe that EVERYBODY should develop their own style. Most have, some don't..... some use the foto/foil method and mislead people into thinking they are airbrushed....others use sharpies and when comments are made about how great of a paint job it is, they fail to respond with how they are actually made. By the way if, it hasn't changed, you can copyright your work as a catalog for the same price as an individual piece. Like I said, don't take it personally.....rant over and time for my meds!

Wherever these items are being sold as your work...contact these places, whether it's e-bay, or a group on Facebook and have them removed. End of story

I also use Polytranspar..(taxidermy paint).waterbase and odorless...also very thin Just Google it.

I find that on most of the newer DRS. I only paint them if requested and buy them if there are no rattles available. I would imagine that the problem is that the chamber is too small or the ball is too big. It is suppose to sit loosely in the chamber...What I'm seeing lately is quite a few of the US vendors are going to the cheaper KO's that anybody can buy themselves for 1/2 the price with a little searching around. It doesn't matter how good your customer service is....it doesn't make the cheap stuff run any better....rant over.....have to work!

Ben....I have one medical supply that I originally bought the cups from. They were $5 per 100, but once they run out it takes 2 months to restock. Your price is really good.....thanks for the info..

I thought found out about them here.....If you use BSI it is under their label as 30 minute slow cure. BSI their distributors name on it. You pay about $8 for shipping but it's a wash for gas money. I wish i could find larger containers of BSI, though... The medicinal cups, i pay $5.50 shipped per 100 which isn't too bad. http://www.ebay.com/itm/251172733110?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I rather pay shipping than run around town wondering if they have what i need....

spoonpluggergino....just tightened it a bit and it is no longer sticking...Thank you!

I get my brushes, BSI here...they also have Devcon... https://www.hobbylinc.com/