Vodkaman

At least you don't tie a rope around her neck and throw her in the river to tease the crocodiles. Dave

I doubt that anything designed for stirring soup is going to be able to cope with a pot of plastic. That casing is holding 4xC size batteries, so the motor must be very small to fit in there. I could be wrong, but $59.95 is not a cheap way to find out. I found this review: http://www.amazon.com/Ardent%C3%A9-Gourmet-whitestirrer-Stirrer/product-reviews/B004HH0U84/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 It seems that temperature would be a big problem. That money would probably buy you the materials to build something better. You need to consider the torque required when the plastic is at its thickest. Dave

It would be possible to build a one piece hollow swimbait mold. It would not be easy and you would still have to seal the tail end. Dave

Rofish is correct, this is not a cost saving exercise, unless you stick with the most basic of tools. This hobby is extremely addictive and after half a dozen lures, you will be thinking about bandsaws, table saws, belt sanders, drill presses, airbrushes, compressors and a host of other tools that make each operation a bit easier, but move any possibility of a break even point way into the future. So why do it? It keeps you occupied and involved in the off season. It is creative, takes practice, but the skills are achievable. The achievement of building something original that catches fish is priceless. Catching your first fish on a homey is priceless. You will feel pride in showing your wares to other anglers when you are catching and they are not. There are plenty of reasons that make this hobby worth while and enjoyable. It is not for everyone. If it is for you, then you will find yourself dreaming about lures, the next creation, new ideas etc. I would like to tell you that this only persists for a year or so, but I would be lying. Build a few and see how it goes, but be warned, once the addiction takes hold, there is no known cure. Dave

A good place to start, is to read all the threads in the hard baits tutorial section. This will familiarize you with the various techniques and jargon: http://www.tackleund...ardbait-how-to/ Next, decide what type of lure you want to make. If you have not decided, browse the hard baits gallery for ideas: http://www.tackleund...y/8-hard-baits/ Do a search on the lure and read all you can. There are very few threads on how to make a particular lure from start to finish. Everyone does it different. For example, take the hook and tow eyes, you can buy screw eyes, twist your own eyes or through wire. For through wire, you can shape the lure then split, you can build two halves and glue together or you can cut slots. The same number of variations go for ballast weights and lips. Learn the different variations and choose one that might work for you. Don’t spend money on special tools until you know that you like the hobby and are going to continue. Start off simple, a piece of light, easy to carve wood, knife, sand papers of different grades, small tennon saw (hacksaw will work, just not as controllable), a pack of 2 part 30 min epoxy to seal, hooks and split rings. Don’t even think about paint. First job is to make a lure that swims. Then you read up on sealing wood, priming, different types of paints and top coats. Dave

I forgot to add the reason why I mentioned the setup importance. I pretty much destroyed my bandsaw within a week, because I did not read first. The cork crown wheel disintigrated (managed to glue it back), broke several blades and the top wheel crashed into one of the side adjuster mounting bolts and sheared it. I managed to get it repaired under warranty even though I did not deserve it. The saw is cheap and nasty (Nesto), but it has served me well since. Cost about $100. As for unwieldy stock, Both bench and floor mounted saws are not going to help. I cut my stock to managable lengths with a hand held circular saw. You can cut gentle curves with the bandsaw. But if you cut too tight, you are stressing the blade by twisting, also forcing the blade to rub the side adjusters. The blade has a welded joint. This will constantly 'smack' the adjuster and will eventually fail. I cut roughly on the bandsaw and take to the line with sanding tools. This is getting away from the original thread subject, but it is good to learn from others mistakes. If I was buying again, I would up the quality, if I could find it locally. But The cheap saws will do the job, as long as you accept their limitations and don't overload. I am happy with mine and don't plan on replacing it soon. Dave

When you buy your saw, pick up a few spare blades too. There is nothing worse than a blade snapping half way through a session. Get to know the saw before starting work, they do not come ready to start. Read the instructions, open it up, remove the guard and adjust everything. There are 8 adjustments on a standard bandsaw, ignore them at your peril. Dave

Before my time Del. If you really think about this challenge, there are lots of solutions, some mentioned above. My solution would be to make a spreader with a pip at each end, to control the depth. Pour plastic onto a ceramic tile and drag the spreader across. This would give a constant thickness layer of plastic. A standard tail cutter would finish the job. Dave

You are right to be cautious with solvents. One of the projects I was considering was sealing lures with propionate dissolved in solvent. To speed up the evapouration of the deeply absorbed solvents, I was considering a bulb heated oven. But you have to consider, what if a bulb bursts. The solvent/air mix could easily reach explosive proportions. You can lessen the chances of this situation by building in a fan and vent holes, so that fresh air is constantly introduced. But then for top coat applications, this could introduce fresh dust and defeat the object of an enclosure. At the end of the day, the top coats do not need heat, just avoid winter workshop temperatures. Once the lures are coated, they can be brought into the house without worry. The vapours from a couple of square inches of epoxy are not going to constitute a life threatening hazzard. JMHO. Dave

If you shield the light, you avoid the direct radiant heat and can raise the general convection temperature. Just a thought. Dave

What BobP said, +1. Check the data printed on the face of your motor. Not all motors from microwaves are mains voltage. Mine reads AC21V 50/60Hz, this means it runs on 21V a/c and it went 'pupft' and a little plume of smoke appeared. I have not heard of anyone else having this problem, so it maybe just the microwaves sold locally in Indonesia. Dave

Maybe you should start a thread with pictures of your PoP molds and see if the membership can solve your problems and improve your technique. Are you talking about a hollow body like a tube, or a hook slot. A belly slot is very doable with PoP, it is just an insert. If I was to tackle the job, I would cut a trough and glue the insert in, then seal the mold. Dave

If you are using the compressor professionally and cannot afford to have any failures or down time, then you really need a backup compressor. You may be lucky and never have a problem, but it is one of those items that can fail, usually at the worst possible moment. If you are not at that production stage as yet, I would buy a budget compressor now and when production picks up and you are going full time, spend the money on a decent large compressor for the job. This way, you have your backup and peace of mind. Dave

I get it from a local shop in Bandung, Indonesia, so I don't think the address is going to help you much. It is only a small store, but it is floor to ceiling metal. Every conceivable bar size, shape and metal. It is my one stop shop for metal raw materials. Also the owner is very knowledgable, helpful and speaks good English. He even cuts the 4m bars down to size for me, so that I can carry then on my little motor bike. I am only making small lures, upto 4" length at the moment, so the wire is 0.035" S304L stainless steel wire. I bought a 5Kg coil, so I am not going to be running out any time soon. Dave

It is strange because Predator have a fairly good reputation. I have never held one, as I only build my own. Is that the lure with the screw plug around the belly hanger. If it is, it sounds like there is no weight inside, or not enough. You could try adding larger hooks, but that is not a good solution. Other than that, contact predator and see what they have to say. Dave

Exactly right. Force epoxy into the hole and work it into the surface. I use a satay stick for this. Apply epoxy to the wire twists and then insert. I use fibreglass resin, but any epoxy will do. Dave

Did you fit the hooks for the swim test? Without the additional ballast of the hooks, the lure would be unbalanced and this could explain the spiral. I could understand if one lure was a dud, with a misaligned lip etc, but all five seems a bit odd. Dave

I use barrel twisted eyes on all my lures. They are quick and very easy to make. Once you have done a few, you are upto speed. They have a very short learning curve. For your lures, I am thinking 16SWG (0.064" diameter), this will fit in a 3/16" diameter hole. Or 14SWG (0.080" diameter) will fit in 0.25" diameter hole. Epoxied in 1.25" or 1.5" length, these will not pull out. I suggest that you build a test piece and test it to distruction. I think you will find that this design (originally posted by Hazmail) will out perform the screw eyes. The epoxy forms a strong key around the loose twisted wire, plus a third more area of contact that a regular tight twist. I thought I had a thread on this, with pictures and instructions, but I cannot find it. Let me know if you need more information. Dave

I remember seeing that post and the thought that alcohol was involved never crossed my mind, LOL. Yes, you can sand the imperfections and re-epoxy coat and it will come out clear. It is better to re-epoxy the entire body, rather than just patches, or the patches will be slightly visible, at least to you. The fish will not be bothered though, for some reason they tend not to pick up on such minor imperfections. This will mean sanding the whole body. The sanding is required to give the new coat something to grip onto. Dave

Sounds like something could be wrong with your etex. From what I have read, etex is fairly thin. Dave

I use a tile wax, that I found locally. It works well. What ever you decide to try, do a test first, so that you have confidence in your choice. Dave

I got your PM okey. I have sent you a reply with more details. Dave

Here's a picture of the members profile green button in operation. Dave

Press the down arrow as shown in the picture below. This gives access to the messenger or PM system. Next to the 'signed in as' menu, is the 'my settings' drop down menu. press this and you can add an avatar or picture to your posts. Next to a members name, you will see a small, square, green button. Press this and you can add as friend. You can also PM this member (the envelope symbol. Hope this helps and welcome to TU. Dave

For a wheel, you are looking for anything between 2 and 10 rpm, 5 or 6rpm being the most popular. The 50rpm is only for the drill with the body inline. If there is a perfect speed, then we haven't figured it out yet. All you are trying to do, is to stop the epoxy running to one end of the lure, by keeping it turning. Dave