Vodkaman

Book one for me too, please.

Could you post a pic of the problem?

Personally, I think if you mount it vertically, you are going to loose yet another master and suffer more frustration. Certainly, mounting it flat will be much easier. After all the problems with the clay, you may be better considering a different material for your masters. Clay does not lend itself to thin sections, legs etc. That tail looks pretty skinny and is the main risk of breakage. Are you using the clay as is, or are you applying a top coat. A couple of coats of epoxy would help with the strength of the naster in the skinny sections. I am using polyester resin a lot these days. It is a hard, smooth surface finish and is ready for use in a couple of hours. Something else to consider for your next master, is to build the clay master over a stainless steel wire frame. This again will help protect the thin areas, combined with an epoxy or resin top coat, will make the master much more durable.

Ho, you've come to the right place, masses of information on your addiction, but nothing on how to quit. It gets worse, I'm addicted to this site too. Definition of a good day, 120 posts unread!

Ross, good one. I've used a similar design when I used to do wine making. Heated by a 15w bulb and a thermostat to control the required tempreature. I did not mention insulation, as the air will be in and out. But I think a lining of ALUMINIUM foil would not hurt any.

Forgot to save first! Nice shape, let us all know how it swims.

I could not open the pdf file.

That sounds like a ground or earth connection problem. There is a chance that the F150 part has never been used and the socket connections are corroded, causing some of the lights to work and not others. But when they all go out, it is usually an earth problem.

Mark. Another great contribution. I told you Archimedes was a lure designer.

Nasty stuff, I never touch it. If man was meant to drink water, Darwen would have given us gills.

Yes. Instead of thinking outside the box, think inside. I like it!

WOW.! Awesome work.

I mix about 20% PVA (elmers glue) with the water. This improves the strength and resistance to chipping. Also the surface is no longer dusty. I'm still experimenting with the proportions. If you add too much PVA, the bubbles become more of a problem as the viscosity of the water increases.

If it has wet spots, you have not mixed it enough. I mix mine in a clear plastic cup. With this, I can examine the bottom of the cup to see how the mix is going. Once you think you have thoroughly mixed it, mix it some more.

Tungsten is used in a few lure names, I found one called 'tungsten vibe'. Whether it is copyrighted or not, who knows. You should be able to use the word 'titanium' in a lure name, (opinion). I was thinking the same as Bruce, how can you patent or copyright the name of an element, it's just silly. As a foot note, both of these metals are amongst the most difficult to work with. I NEVER want to have to drill a hole in titanium ever again!

Don't do your final touch-up sanding over a sink full of dishes. Those slippery suckers are just itching for an early swim!

TJ, excellent solution, parallel thinking!

Eloquently put Dean

Welcome Mr Duck. Don't worry about the English, this is a fishing lure site.

Pete. Yes, it is a problem word for me. I just checked my word thesaurus, no such word as mold (a town in North Wales and Northern Ireland). But, I am going to use the Americanized version from now on, purely because if a search is done, my posts would not register (probably a desirable feature for some!). So, I do hope you find a solution for your molded, mouldy dentures before the April gathering!

The plaster is very porous, I don't think air spaces would give a problem. If you drop a chunk of cured plaster into a glass of water, you will see it bubble as the air inside is replaced by water. When I dry the plaster in an oven, I find that I can remove the cast with my bare hand, the insulating properties are that good. My strategy would be to prime the PoP with heat, in an oven prior to use. Another idea would be to cast coils of copper tube (micro bore) inside the PoP block and around the bowl insert. This would act as a heat reservoir, to be primed in the oven before use.

You are an astute and insightful man Bruce. I am picky about my own writing but totally unconcerned about anyone else's. Americanized spell checkers annoy me, they won't let me write ALUMINIUM! Changing the subject back (don't want to be accused of hijacking!), plating is very do-able. A google search on the subject will reveal a wealth of information and products for the job. The problem is finding a kit small enough at the right price. If you plan to manufacture thousands of spoons, I think the price will be right. But 100 spoons, forget it. There was a post some time ago that someone found a very good spray that worked. The secret was to spray onto black. Try a search on chrome.

For foam baits it is counter productive to do anything but through wire. It's quicker, easier, stronger, repeatable, cuts down on operations like drilling. Once the correct ballast and its location have been established, the hanger can be formed to a shape were the ballast can be cast onto the hanger. This reduces the operations even further.

After the post is sent, you have a limited amount of time to make any corrections. Not sure what the time is, maybe about 20 mins. When you spot the error, at the bottom right of the post are normally three icons. After a new post, there is a fourth icon called edit. Press this and your text will appear in an edit window. In this you can place the cursor, click, back space, delete and change the text to your requirements. Once happy, just send again (save). This process can be repeated many times. Not sure, but once someone replies to your post, this facility goes away. I use this feature all the time, as I am a bit picky about typo's. If I am writing anything longer than a paragraph or two, I write the text in a word document and Copy/paste into the TU quick reply box. Word has a good spell checker I like to use.

I just remember reading somewhere that the forests are cleared to grow feed for the beef stock. The really annoying thing is that the fertile ground is only good for a few years. Indonesia is one of the last remaining countries with such a wealth of natural resources and abundance of wildlife. Unfortunately, despite it's massive mineral wealth, which brings huge riches to the country, it's population is very poor. There is no social support and it is basically every man for himself. People have large families in the hope that at least one of the children will be able to look after them in old age. The point of this sob story is that you can understand why saving the planet is way down low on their list of priorities. For most, the top priority is finding the next meal. I love the place and the people and plan to spend my future there. I hope one day to set up a small lure production there and bring a little employment to a few. We all gotta dream.