Vodkaman

I used to have one of those! The booth looks great. Sitting down to work in front of a quality booth, nicely finished, should inspire you to do quality work. Dave

The depth/thickness of a mesh could be enhanced with a few coats of latex. This is just an idea and has not been tried. You might have to start of with a slightly larger mesh to achieve the scale size that you want. This could work. Dave

Their is a post about 'soldering' plastics together, that would suit your application nicely: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/16733-problem-attaching-skirts.html post No8 even has a video of the process. The bulk problem could be addressed by making a large and small diameter tube and inserting one inside the other, prior to soldering. The only down side to all this, is labor time. Dave

I just don't get it! I just read a thread that was basically all about location, yet FOUR of the participants have written very silly locations in their user CP. What is the problem? The location is obviously not a secret, as they have already revealed the locations in the thread. The location information can be very helpful and gives the readers at least some insight to the author. True, the location field is not compulsory, maybe it should be. If you are worried about people tracing you, then just put the state. Even your country is better than nothing. This is a lure constructors site not a terrorist discussion site. Other than me sneaking into your man cave, to find out which top coat you are using, no one is going to track you down. TU is a community, not a blog. Feel free to step on my neck now, but this is how I feel. Dave

originally posted by spidergrub6 Those sound like stress cracks. I don't think the method of application affected anything, but increasing the thickness of the top coat might help. How many coats did you apply? Being water based, how did it hold up to a few hours in water. Did the coat maintain its rigidity, or go soft? Read this, particularly post 12, but the whole thread was interesting: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/12842-safer-topcoat-please-help-2.html Dave Is it the vinyl paint? Dave

Did you ask the IRS man about starting trading now, or do you have to wait? Sorry to read about your day job, this could be fate. I wish you the best luck with this potentially life changing project. Dave

In the UK, they are called quiver tips. They screw into a threaded tip eye. I don't know what they are called on planet "???". Modern materials allow the sections to be made super thin, so I understand the problem. If visibility is that important to you, consider a small balsa bead to carry the color. If it does not work out, just slice it off. Dave

With that huge surface area of glue, I doubt you need any cross fixings. Rough up the web surface with 80 grit, apply epoxy or your choice, hold in place with screws, remove screws when dry. I would probably use 5 min epoxy, so as not to hold up the process. Dave

I'm getting strong D

The netting idea is great, no one ever mentioned that idea before. Dave

Here is a link to a post that discussed the subject 16 months ago: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/11010-drying-wheel-orientation-speed.html Lots of good comments. Dave

Spider, envirotex (Etex) can be dipped, brushed or sprayed. If you are coating a lot of baits, say 20+, then it would be worth dipping. If you are only doing one or two, then dipping would be very wasteful, so brushing would be better. Some members do spray Etex, but again, has to be large numbers to make it worth while cleaning the brush out, also it requires many more coats. I've never used the stuff, I cannot get it in Indonesia. I guess it all depends where "house" is!!! Dave

Dubs, thanks for the feedback. I am not saying 60rpm would work, but at the end of the day, it is only 1 turn per second. The ultimate drying wheel experiment is on my list, half way down the second page. If I find a suitaable motor and some D2T, I would probably bring it forward, as it is an easy experiment to do. Dave

LMAOROF! I cannot respond to that. Phil is a novelist, I am an engineer. Dave

Visitors to the UK have the same problem, telling the difference between a Yorkshire man and an English man. Dave

Tools required can be as simple as a tenon saw, drill, file and sand paper. A vice would be handy too. Or you can go full tilt with a bandsaw, drill press, belt sander etc, but it is not necessary. There are so many good threads here on swimbaits, solving specific issues, like hinges, joints etc. Even threads on how to get it to swim! But this link (by Diemai) is very comprehensive and a good place to start reading: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/13713-swimbait-very-first-attempt.html After that, you should search specific words for specific questions. If you go advanced on the search function and select 'hardbaits' forum, then this will eliminate the soft plastics swimbaits. Go with the 7" swimbait for the first attempt, as fiddling about with a 4" bait with 2 joints is a real pain. Your first decision will be what material to use. Dave

I like Chris's thoughts (MrBilky). What method did you use to dry your molds (oven, air dry etc) and for how long? What did you do to the top half, that it is better than the bottom half? I am thinking that the top half was poured first and has had longer to dry. Dave

Try a loose barrel twist. In my pull tests, I found it much stronger than a regular haywire twist (thanks Hazmail). I could not find one on my desk, so just nipped down to the cave and made a couple. Dave

John. Finlander was the first to mention epoxy + sawdust as a filler: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/12618-thru-wire-holes-2.html see posts 1 + 13. It also mentions silica (microballoons). I have seen CA + silica used in a hobby shop, also CA + sawdust mentioned by Redg8r: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/1316-thru-wire-lure.html post No4. Elmers + sawdust got a few mentions too. I like this one, but you have to give it time to dry and it is no good for filling big/deep holes. Also it will need sealing. There are lots of old threads on this subject worth reading. But it is good to air the question again, to get updates and new ideas. Dave

WOW! some serious bubbles going on there. You have to swallow your pride and post the pics, then members can see exactly what is going on. Think of it this way, if the bubbles are not in the plastic when you pour, then they must be comming from the mold. PoP is a grainy lattice work of gypsum and is full of air. Take a lump of cured plaster and drop it in a jug of water, see how much air comes out of it, looks like a fish tank aerator. When you pour hot plastic into the mold, this heats up the air inside. The air expands and finds any holes and forces its way out, vigorously apparently! Give another coat and let it dry thoroughly, before pouring again. Repeat until the bubbles stop. The clue is that you stated that the finish is patchy, this indicates that the mold is not fully sealed yet. Dave

This link is to a thread that covered this subject comprehensively: http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/soft-plastics/15558-dents.html You should find something in the reading to help you. Dave

So many different varieties of cedar. Most are around 0.49 to 0.57, which is why I did 0.5gm/cm3. But the best cedars to use for lures are the lighter colors, as they are lighter in density too, getting as low as 0.3gm/cm3. For a density of 0.35gm/cm3, the ballast would be around 2.5oz. These are very approximate, based on a shape that I put in my computer, it will be slightly different to yours. Also, I don't know the density of your wood. If I knew the density of your wood and the weight of your body, I could get closer. Dave

Longhorn is correct, it is pin holes. Just give it another thin coat, if you cannot locate the holes. You are almost there! If you just start again, you may have the same problem. Dave

Bob is correct, it is all about the density of the balsa. Unfortunately, balsa comes in a wide range of densities, from about 0.07gm/cm3 (model aircraft balsa) up to 0.2gm/cm3. The heavier stuff will take twisted eyes, but the lighter stuff will NOT. To have confidence in your lures, you have to do a pull test. It is very easy and costs nothing. Length of string, test piece and a bucket of water. Just my opinion, but if the lure cannot hold 20Lbs, then you should seriously think about through wire. Personally, I have set myself the standard of 40Lbs for 24 hours. It is not just about the fish. Fighting a record breaker fish is not going to even aproach 10Lbs load on the lure. Your rod will probably snap before the eye fails. But if your bait hangs and you have to stress the tackle, it would be nice to get the bait back and just replace the hook. If you sell the lure and an idiot pulls the eye out on a rock, then your reputation as a lure builder is in the gutter. Dave

In light of your previous posts, I think you should slow down some and concentrate on getting a bait to swim, learning from the experience. I do understand the enthusiasm you feel, but flitting from one extreme project to another is going to teach you nothing. Dave