Vodkaman

Some cut a slot and epoxy in a lexan tail. Some mold a soft plastic tail, softbaits style, others glue in a set of bristles. The link below is a current thread, to keep your eye on. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/14314-fibbets-alternatives.html

Most finishes are touch dry in 12 hours or less. But, if you have the time, you should give them 48 hours to cure properly. Some of the finishes used by lure builders take a week or more to reach full cure. As stated above, no special tools are really necessary, but a good mini drill would make life a LOT easier. I've been building for about 18 months, in an apartment, so a nice set of tools is out of the question. My only power tool is a dremel. At the start, I choked at the price and went for the cheapest one on the shelf. Three days later, I returned the burned out shell and bought the middle price option. A week later, the switch mechanism broke, I returned it and bought the dremel! But you can get by with a normal electric drill that you already probably have, or even a manual hand drill, although this may involve some extra filling operations. Quality, SHARP drills are important. Money can be saved by sharpening your own. Lots of drill sharpening jigs on the market. Once you have sharpened 3 - 4 drills, the jig will have paid for itself. Hope I haven't damaged your wallet, but don't forget, this is luxury rather than essential. It'll soon be christmas!

So you still have the incomplete pour problem. How are they incomplete? the collar or body? A pic might help. Also you say you have changed the venting?

Smart idea!

Munkin. Do you have a digital scale. I would like to find out what density you are achieving.

Maybe some pics of your setup might help. The solution to your problem WILL be found for sure.

Just about everyone using the foam would be thro' wiring, because it is easier, quicker and neater. Just lay the bent wire form in the mold, pour, then close. But I would say yes to wire loops, epoxy'd in, but NO to screw eyes. The foam is very brittle and the screw threads cut into the foam, would not have much strength to hold the screw in tension. However, the twisted wire loop, inserted into an epoxy filled hole would work very well. Because the walls of the hole would be lined with hundreds of little bubble pockets. These would provide an excellent key for the epoxy, preventing the eye from being pulled out. The above are only my opinions. If you really want to try either method out. You should test the construction. I suggest hanging a bucket of water from the lure for 24 hours. This will weigh about 20 pounds, well in excess of what your rod will take. If the lure survives this, it should be OK.

This reads like you are dripping the lead into the mold.

I second the ventilation thing. Acetone will give you a monster headache that will last all day. So be careful.

I have a trebuchet design, might work for the trout!

The hottest part of the flame is light blue triangle, in front of the nozzle. If you use a cooler part of the flame, there maybe carbon present from incomplete combustion. This may lead to sooting your job. You'll just have to regulate the temperature by moving the flame on and off the jig. Just my thoughts, I don't powder paint.

Just a small related side issue. It made sense to me, to mix the solvent with one epoxy component first. This would buy extra time, allowing a thorough mix. Then introduce the second component of the epoxy and mix. But I remember someone mentioning that this was a bad idea. Any thoughts?

My uncle fished all his life, but was now about 80 ('bout 25 years ago) and both his eyes had gone long ago. After each trip, I would go round to his house, hopefully with a fresh trout. He would ask me a thousand questions, from the fishing to how the heather on the mountain looked. This was killing me, so one day I took him with me. Carried him across the rocks and set him up, constantly. Twas the most rewarding days fishing I've ever had. Can't really remember whether we caught anything, it was irrelevant.

What has not been discussed, is what the angler does with the bait and where he throws it. This is what separates the pro's from the mortals. But probably belongs in another thread.

I think he's back at University. He'll be back, he's already hooked.

Careful with the heat. If the air expands too much inside the lure, it will delaminate and blister. Not trying to scare you, just be aware of any potential problems. The wheel sounds good.

If you are intending to sell, even if it is only part time supplement, Mark and KK have given good advice. The first baits may have taken several hours to make. A lot of this time may have been spent admiring the result or thinking and planning time. This is not part of the equation, as once you have made fifty, it will no longer be valid. I suggest you start to keep a book. Itemise all the individual steps and time them. You would not make them one at a time, if you had orders, you would make them ten at a time. You will be amazed at the time savings that repetition building makes. But don't rush the job. Your main selling point is quality craftsmanship, not mass production. I would estimate an 60 to 90 minutes per lure. Sorry if I am way off. This would make the $75 price tag a fair price. If the photo finish takes a lot of extra time, this must be charged for too. Also, a video of the lure swimming would be a valuable asset. If you don't own a vid camera, you must know someone who has.

Cool story. Next, the lure building tool kit.

You would think they would have replaced the whole lure though.

I agree and they still beat me. Sometimes I think they occasionally jump on my hook, just to keep me interested!

Every trip to the shopping mall in Bandung, Indonesia, I find locals with caged wildlife, lemurs, snakes, baby owls etc. selling for next to nothing. Some stuff you only see on David Attenborough documentaries. I find it frustrating, as they will all be dead in a few weeks. You would expect in a tropical rain forested country like Indonesia, to have a dawn chorus like Australia (just incredible). Not so, apart from cockerels of course, the pain in my butt, I don't like being woken at 04:00 and they always seem to crap on my porch, not the owners. What was the subject, oh yes, good luck with the boat Pete!

Kajan, no one is calling you, from what I am reading. I thank you for sharing your experience. I find it a bit scary that such a small change can make such a big difference in catch. It would explain the vast number of blank days that I have had. I will certainly explore the idea, with a spread of shades, next time I fish. I have noticed that red is essential when I fish for perch, black and silver produced a lot of trout for me. But I have put all my design effort into action, so I was just hoping that the color thing was just for catching anglers. This subject has been aired before. Sometimes action wins, this time color. I guess we have to accept that both are important on their day.

A hot water jacket would reduce the heat loss and increase your working time significantly. But, like you said, you have to find some way of keeping the two mediums separate (and cheaper).

I agree Mark, they are terrible. I just hope I get that bad myself one day. I fear I may have lost my bag of lures from the early days. The rented house where they were kept was shut down and cleaned out a few months back and I completely forgot about the bag, kicking myself, as I did intend to keep them. Some really wierd and very bad prototypes of ideas. I may even re-visit some of them, as my knowledge increases.

For me, the cat is the cats wiskers. The action is just right, just what I would be looking for.