Vodkaman

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.

Tater and Dean, well said. Haven't seen all the other sites yet, but from what I have seen, for lure construction, TU is by far the best. This is down to Jerry and all the mods. I refuse to soak up any more of Jerry's personal funds. Pay the subs, it is the right thing to do. As for the rambling issue, as Jerry said, an error of judgment was made. I've made LOTS of those, I learn from each one and try not make the same mistake again. Some times I have to make the mistake two or three times before I finally learn. Most of you guys have always cut me some slack and TU life moves on, better for the experience. It's time to drop it and move on. Maybe this post is another mistake, but it is my opinion, we are all allowed those.

What a great idea. Hand tools only, nothing pre-cut or molded. Battery power only, could be an option. Could even have rustic version, where the body wood has to be collected locally, back to basics. Good one for the Clinton meet. My fastest from first cut to swimming is about 20 min, sealed with 5 min epoxy, no paint. But I'm sure that could be topped.

Dramone. re - post 15. #1. Well I never knew that! #2. excellent idea! Thanks Dramone & Husky.

The hidden talents of Daimei! Happy birthday Braided Line.

Epoxies are exothermic, they generate heat while they are innitially curing. This is not so obvious on the slow cure epoxies, compared to the 5 minute epoxy. But when using balsa, which holds a very high proportion of air, even a temp rise of a vew degrees, will cause significant air expansion inside the body. This explains why the bubble usually appears when it is too late to fix, because the epoxy has already thickened. If this theory is true, then one solution would be to coat warm baits, then move to a cooler room to cure. Sorry for theorizing, but it made sense to me.

BrianB, two methods. #1, the box is rectangular, so the volume can be easily calculated by multiplying the length x width x height. You might want to subtract the lure volume, but I wouldn't bother, too deep is better than too shallow. #2, More accurately, fill with water to the level you require. Pour the water into a container and weigh the water in grams. This will give you the volume in cm3, 1 gram of water = 1 centimeter cube. But now you have to dry the setup, as drops of water will probably leave pockets. I use method #1 for RTV, method #2 for PoP.

You've taken lure vids to a new level, great job. Nice lure too, but the fish already complemented you there.

To be honest, I didn't notice a twisting in the swim action. But, when the lure halts, the last two sections do twist up. Because you have used balsa, a very buoyant wood, any sections without ballast will try to lie flat. This takes up the slack in the hinges and twists. You cannot solve this problem at the hinges, the play is required to keep the movement free. The only solution is to ballast one or both of the rear sections. Maybe just the second to last section alone will reduce the problem to your satisfaction. Of course, this might harm the action you have now, only a trial will reveal.

Thanks Gaboon1. England extends a warm welcome too. We have a team of experts waiting for your question as I type (not me though). I am confident your solutions will be forthcomming.

Hi Gaboon, Welcome. Where's BFE?

That thing really swims! I thought the tank was fine, just big enough. Vid was good too.

Do you have any photo editing software, like photoshop? They usually have pallete options that you can experiment with. This might give you a clue.

Gunnie, I wouldn't worry about them. Most buyers would be worried about being ripped off or the quality. Generally, you get what you pay for. You don't really want the type of customer that shops in the gutters. Hand pours are a quality product and discerning buyers know this fact.

I didn't see the closing bid. If the winner pays up, I'll be puttin' up my Y fronts.

Given your clamping constraints, your choice and options make sense.

Robalo01, have you done any 2 piece resin molds? If so, what release agent do you use? Having trouble splitting the two halves. Kind of a hijack, but all relevant. This could turn into a good thread.

Golfball dimples and boundary layers. Related subjects, baseball - picking seams, cricket - polishing one side of the ball, table tennis - new and old balls, American football - throwing technique, UK football - bending. Wing theory. All favourites of mine. How many pages do you want? None - good decision. Thanks Pete, very interesting.

Sealed properly, any wood will last a lifetime.

I like to add lots of ballast, to control the results. So only lighter woods for me.