Vodkaman

Weighinalimit posted this three weeks ago, see post No15: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/18001-help-on-how-to-refinish-a-bunch-of-old-rc-1-3/page__st__-20__p__4__hl__removing%20wheel%20dremel%20black__fromsearch__1entry4 Something else to consider. Dave

To carve a perfect master for the molding process is difficult, even a plain master with no detail. Because it is going to be responsible for the appearance of hundreds or even thousands of your baits in the future, it deserves the time taken to get it absolutely right. The master, as you rightly stated, does not have to be wood, can be of anything that you can carve and/or shape. If you choose to use wood, pick a timber that is easy to carve, like basswood or jelutong. A google search on "carving woods" will give you more suggestions. Just because you get the lip crooked, no need to start over. Use some filler or inset another piece of wood. It is OK for the master to look like a patchwork quilt, how it looks is not important, it is how it casts. You can take the master to an almost finished stage, omitting the really fiddly details that may spoil the master, then make a mold. Then you can work on the cast sub-masters to get your final 'master piece'. This way, if you are not happy, you don't have to start from scratch. You could even continue working on the original master, the mold that you made will be like hitting the save button after typing four pages of text. I have made sub-masters from POP, mixed with a little Elmers. PoP is easy to work with once completely dried out. Sealed with several coats of thinned Elmers and a top coat of thinned epoxy, it makes an acceptable master. I find that making the mold half way, takes the pressure off a little, allowing you more creative freedom. It also allows you to try out different ideas, such as depth of the details. Once the final lure is cast, painted and top coated, you may find that a lot of detail is lost and you wish you had carved it a little deeper. I am not a detail carver, but I have made a lot of wierd and wonderful masters, using the above ideas and I am sure more ideas nurtured from experience will be forth comming. Dave

OK, the wet paint idea has been eliminated. Are you force drying using a heat source, lamp etc? I ask because I have just been experimenting with a drying cabinet for reducing humidity for propionate curing. The heat source successfully reduced the humidity, but the heat also accelerated the solvent evapouration and left me with very slight orange peel. So my next suggestion is to make sure the bodies are at room temperature when dipping and don't use heat in the curing process. Even heat from the hair dryer process could be causing your problem. Let them cool first before dipping. Other than that, maybe the dip is giving too thick a coating, as suggested in a previous post by RayburnGuy, but Mark had no problems dipping.

DSV, I think you are right, if the rapala worked OK then it must be the paint. I don't know if the Smiths needs heat setting, but on the Smiths web site, they did recommend the use of a hair dryer. Have a read of this: http://www.smithpaints.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=67 My guess is that the apparently dry water based paint is still not completely dry and is causing your problem. Try the hair dryer. Dave

I use photoshop for all my photo work. A few users are using PICASA and speak wonderful things about it. I have never tried it myself, but here is a link to a recent discussion: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/17217-gallery-pics-trouble/page__hl__resize__fromsearch__1 Dave

Your post made me smile, because I could have asked the same question 2 years ago. I was having the same issue with the resin, just too heavy for what I wanted. Resin with MB’s does work and lots of members are doing good business with resin casting lures. It works very well for jointed swimbaits. Try adding more MB’s. I managed to get the specific gravity (SG) down to 0.68 (water = 1.00), but the stuff becomes un-pour able. I solved this problem by injecting with a cake icing syringe. Unfortunately, the bubble problem gets worse as the mix gets thicker. Featherlite already has the MB’s already mixed in and has a good working density for lure building, but still too heavy for me, might work for you. I tried the balsa insert idea. It worked, but like you, I decided that it was too much work. Might as well carve the lure in the first place. I tried the half pour and roll it around. I did not spend a lot of time on this idea and got a hint of success. Someone posted a video of this method not too long ago. The bait was a more cylindrical shape, which lends itself to this method. Worth exploring. If I was to tackle this idea again, I would build some kind of rotating contraption to hold the mold, in order to get a more even distribution. Here is the link to the above mentioned thread: http://www.tackleund...__fromsearch__1 Personally, I went full circle and returned to wood. Hope this helps and keep us posted on your trials. Dave

I too used to 'hunt' for my worms that way. people thought I was mad, as they were rushing home in the pouring rain at midnight. Only to see me with a torch strapped to my head, hunched over, creeping around the gardens. If I wasn't a kid, I am sure I would have been arrested. Eventually I built a wormery, using horse maneur. Mom wasn't too pleased, but Dad passed the project providing I fed his roses once a month. Dave

Thanks Bob for clearing that up for me. I really need to make some space and get that tank filled again, I'm getting rusty. Tom, maybe you should post a pic, end on, so that we can see the problem. Dave

I just tested out my microwave motor. It wiggled for about 2 seconds, then when "pup" and died. Obviously not mains voltage. I did follow the wiring to make sure where it got its power from and it was definately the mains side of things. I even found it on the web, but none of the pages would open, so I took a chance. Now I have to buy a new micro and wait six months and a day, for it to fail. Dave

I just finished dismantling my micro. I got lots of goodies from it as well as the motor. The motor has a half moon drive shaft. This immediately truck me as a problem. I could not find what the half moon located in, to drive, until I fished out the three legged wheely thing that the plate sits on, this had the half moon recess. By cutting off the wheels and fixing this item to the side of the side of the drying wheel, you have a perfect drive connection. You still need some kind of central shaft, to hold it all together. I'm thinking plastic pipe. Another source of these motors is 'back street' electronics shops. They usually have a bin full of salvaged motors from different sources and can usually be haggled to the right price. Get the guy to test the motor for you before you buy. Dave

Hazmail put this thread up for discussion a while back: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/17624-top-coat-teasts/page__fromsearch__1 It does not discuss etex specifically, also the tests were outdoors, so the relevance to your query is highly questionable. It will give you an idea of what you are up against and is a very interesting read. The link included by Hazmail links to a second test performed the next year, when two epoxies were included, but not etex: http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.html Dave

I know this has been discussed before, but I too came up dry with 30 minutes of searching. So it is probably worth a discussion. My test tank is currently in a dismantled state, after my recent relocation, otherwise I would have nipped down stairs and done a few tests for you and myself. From what I remember from testing lures, is that you bend the tow eye in the same direction that the lure is pulling or shave the lip on that side. This makes sense to my engineering mind, but I have just read an article that states the complete opposite. So I would wait for a few more responses before attacking the lip. Dave

Don't skimp on the plaster, it is very cheap. Sooner or later you will regret it and the mold will crack in the middle of a pouring session. The 'inch thick' advice appears many times through the posts on TU and is given from experience. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your pics and explanation. Even if a lot of the method is duplicated, it is all good reference material. Dave

Happy birthday Tater. Remember, you are only as old as your jokes. Dave

I have this image of you, sitting on the porch, gently rocking the chair, surrounded by wood chips, sun setting, beer cooler at arms length, awful country music in the background. I'll stop short of the chewing bacci. Dave

It doesn't seem any faster or slower than the other big lure building sites. But it is difficult to judge on my computer. It is like pulling an old cart up hill with square wheels. I need to spend some cash soon. Been a while Milia, welcome back. Dave

Good ideas. Rofish, I take your point with the sand, but it may cause sanding difficulties. When I did foam, I used my landlords best china, he was screwing me anyway. Unfortunately, I found the same as you, it cleaned out fairly easily. Another good filler for small imperfections is icocyanate glue and microballoons. I have actually seen this sold as a kit in a craft shop, with a very silly price tag attached. Dave

Merry Xmas to everyone. No chance of snow here, but will have a good time all the same. Dave

It will need to be UV tested. Paint your wifes toe nails and ask her to sit in the garden for a week. Dave

LOL, I guess the lip works then. Thanks Jamie. Figured it would be something like that. I have been trying to figure out a way to make a stensil like that. The only way is to get it laser cut I recon. Sorry for digressing from topic. Dave

I like the new shape and that scale pattern is awesome! Looks like a mylar net fixed over the paint job. Love to know how you did it, but will understand if you don't want to reveal your secret. Still looks like the tow eye needs to move back. Let us know how it swims. If it doesn't do what you want, try BobP's suggestion. Dave

Thankyou FW. I missed that one, my eyes are not what they used to be. Dave

I found the same problem with the straws. I switched to uncooked macaroni sticks. They hold up quite well, as long as you don't slobber too much. My contribution to global warming. Dave

Some members seem to be having trouble with quotes, so I thought I would show how I do it. When you hit reply, it generally displays the text from the previous post. I delete this text. Copy and paste the text you want in quotes, make sure it is selected and highlighted, on my system the highlighted text is blue. Then hit the quotes button. The attached pic shows all. Dave

1. correct, too fast. 2. correct, thin with a few drops of denatured alcohol. This serves 3 purposes, slows the cure down a little, goes on easier, allows the epoxy to soak into the wood a little for a better bond. 3. I usually cut the slot before shaping. With the blank still flat, it is easier to see any alignment errors. Also, if I really foul up, I haven’t invested too much time in the carving process. I do all my slotting and drilling before carving. 4. I have used a variable speed drill to hold one lure in the chuck and it worked quite well. BUT, you are risking the drill, it could burn out. Never happened to me, but you are stretching the design parameters of the tool. It is best to set the speed and tape the trigger, then switch off at the mains, then coat your lure and insert in chuck. I think the slowest speed of the drill will be too fast to rig to a drying wheel. Try and find an old microwave and salvage the motor, perfect speed. 5. assuming you are now talking about the top coat as opposed to the sealing coat in 1 & 2. I don’t think Vaseline would be a good idea, as the epoxy would cure on top of the Vaseline, leaving a gap underneath. If you tried to peal or cut the excess epoxy off the lip in an attempt to tidy the finish, you would almost certainly damage the seal and allow water access to the paint, causing pealing etc. Some builders advocate fitting the lip just prior to the top coat and lapping the epoxy onto the lip on the final coat. Some builders tape the lip and remove the tape before the epoxy cures. Some fit the lip much earlier in the process. You need to try each method and see what works for you. 6. I think you can buy different nozzle caps for spray cans, offering different spray patterns. I remember reading this or seeing them in a craft shop. There are a few members here that use rattle cans exclusively, maybe they can confirm this. 7. No answer yet, this is a future project of mine. 8. When I did through harness, I fitted steel pins into a piece of ply board. The pins are positioned at the eye locations and the bends. The wire is then wrapped around the pin guides to achieve the harness shape. Once a working jig is made, you have repeatability. Check this thread also: http://www.tackleund...__fromsearch__1 I think we get a bit over fussy with edges, especially when we add a lick of paint on the belly and then add two coats of D2T to finish. Any slight imperfections are well hidden. A good burnishing too will solve most of your problems. These are my thoughts on your questions, I am sure you will get a few more opinions before this thread vanishes into the archives. Dave