Vodkaman

YJ, looks like it was a great trip. Especially good as both the boys got hooked up with some nice fish. Great pics, thanks for sharing.

Diemai, your quote from another thread, http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/13538-new-banana-lure-9.html#post106342 re-post No88.I wouldn

KB, welcome back and happy that you are feeling better. The handles look great. I particularly liked the spiral job. Dave

Sorry Pete. Since the pic, I have had a good tidy up session and dumped all the rubbish. Bench and shelve building next.

May have over done it with the ballast a little, but nice even distribution. Should get down deep.

I just can't find a thing in this mess.

Crankbait Maybe there is more to it than just a photo finish. The baits certainly look amazing. But I have seen photo finishes Done by TU members looking pretty good too. I'm not a patent expert by any means. But if it is just a photo finish, I would not have thought that a patent on the method would be possible, as surely, it has been around for years. For the same reasons, how can you patent a picture of a fish? There must be more to it. The patent guys are not that dumb. Has anyone found the patent?

Salmon smolt

Keep applying the 50:50 mix. It WILL take several coats. Be patient, expect the first two or three to get soaked up, but eventually, you will start to get a smooth, shine. Then you are done. Applying a thicker coat, you are risking losing detail and possibly separation of the seal coat. This method does take more time compared to other methods, but the results are quality.

Piscivorous. Now your enthusiasm for pouring is renewed, might I suggest that you attempt some difficult pours. Now that you have broken the ground of vacu-venting. You will find that this method will pour shapes that are not possible with normal gravity pours. Leggy critters, skinny tails, etc. You need only search the word difficult in softbaits forum to understand what I am talking about. It was because of the plethora of threads about difficult pours that I developed the system in the first place. Also, multiple pours in one shot. Think about a double funnel arrangement for two color pours. The two sprues merging into one. Should produce interesting effects. It could be even taken further by intruducing a vane after the merge point to 'turn' the flow for a different mix. Use your imagination. I feel sure that you will have the TU plastics community gasping at your lures in the near future. Take it to the next level. PM me if you want to discuss any ideas further. Good luck.

The one thing missing from Hazmails shop, is the tool outlines on the wall, with no tools attached. That made me grin.

Great post. I learned a few things while reading it. Thanks for sharing.

Finally, somebody tried it! Thanks Piscivorous Pike.

True words and in my opinion, the best way to learn. You might want to consider making your first one without paint and use it as a learning tool. Still apply the top coat and hardware (hooks et), as weight distribution is important. I usually make the tow eye a little longer on prototypes, so that I can bend up or down and test the effect of shifting the eye position. Once again, true words. But if you've done the reading, you won't go far wrong. If it does go wrong, DO NOT THROW AWAY. This should be seen as an opportunity to learn. Post a pic and explain what happened. The answer will be forth comming. I addition to the above answers, any moisture inside the bait after top coating, will be trapped. It will give poor adhesion and before long, the paint/top coat will separate (delaminate). Always keep the baits out of direct sunlight. This causes expansion and contraction of the trapped air and moisture inside, which makes things worse.

As you are just starting out, I am not going to tell you to buy half the hardware stores tool infantry. I have managed perfectly well with just a Dremel mini drill and an assortment of attachments. Doesn't have to be dremel, but do not skimp on quality, the cheap drills will not last. Tackleunderground - Search Results The above link is a search result on 'tools dremel'. The list of results give a comprehensive selection of articles on tools and lure construction. Read through some of these and you will find most of the information you are looking for. Other search words that will bring information are: sealing, top coat, devcon, etex, propionate, createx, nites, acrylic. A final warning, lure building is addictive and there is no known cure, so beware and be safe. Good luck.

Both the above replies are valid. If you go for a cheaper digital stills camera, it is vital that you make sure that it has the macro facility. Without it, the closest you'll get to your bait is 3 - 4 feet away. This will make a poor photograph. The macro is usually a flower symbol on the camera display. My video camera is a fairly cheap enviro. It is digital with a built in hard drive. It can take 7 hours of vid (I think), about 2 hours on a single charge. BUT, the picture quality is not brilliant. For better quality, you have to pay a lot more. For stills or video, you will need a tripod. Does not need to be very fancy, but will make life much easier. A cable release would be nice too, for the stills camera (not expensive).

Thankyou LKN, the picture along with the video has helped a lot and clarified a few things for me.

Mark, would be happy to discuss the subject. But first, I am confused about terminology. Please explain the difference between glider and swimbait. I know what a swimbait is (well I think I do!), but on LKN's recent vid, he referred to his bait as a glider. This discussion possibly belongs in a new thread.

LKN. Congratulations on your creation. I totally agree with you, this slower, less pronounced action seems a lot more life like. I would like to see a side view picture, if you don't mind. Frome the vid, it appears to be symmetrical top to bottom. This contradicts some of the current thinking, that a big difference, top to bottom is required. Again, I learned a fair bit from your excellent video. Many thanks. Dave

I have used it before. It is useless as a normal solid type mold, it would take years to go off. It is used to make what I would call 'skin molds'. You paint on about 20 very thin coats, letting each one dry thoroughly before adding the next. When done, the mold is pealed off the master and is ready for casting. A thickening agent can be added after the first couple of coats, this will reduce the total coats required. Hairbrush drying helps too. It is generally used for casting resin or similar. Being latex rubber,I doubt it would take the heat of plastic. I made a mold of my thumb, as a novelty keyring. I received lots of comments from it. I then molded an old thumb drive into it, for fun. It produces very fine detail well, including finger prints etc. Casting, it has a very limited life, I only managed to cast half a dozen, before significant loss of detail. Also, being rubber AND using resin, there was a large shrinkage problem. For casting lures (hardbaits) it is not very practical, as the skin has to stretch over the casting to remove, therefore the pour hole (sprue) has to be large enough to allow this. Works well for open bottom items, like chess pieces, figurines, small garden gnomes, etc. Hope this helps. Dave

Just started with an airbrush myself. Already it has taught me that I would make a terrible brain surgeon. I'll be going the stensil route myself. Good luck with it. Dave

Mark. Very nice lure, like the tail. I suspect that if you cut lexan to the dimensions of the original divider, it would have similar flexibility. Cut short, it should be well stiff enough. I've started doing a lot of thinking about swimbaits and how they work. your honesty about this one has helped me learn some more. Many thanks for posting it. Dave

Love to see a vid. Lots going on, a front lip, paddle tail, pincers and legs. Scares me. Looks alien!

I used to sell life assurance too. That'll thicken up anyones skin. Commission only, you literally don't know where the next car payment is coming from. I now sell sand to the Arabs, much easier.

Design is usually a flat fee, as stated above. An exception to this could be if the designer has come up with a new innovation or invention. It is a very difficult situation, discussing the designs worth, expecially after the job is done. Cadmans point about friends and relatives is a valid one. I suggest that you both consume copious amounts of happy juice, then discuss it.