Vodkaman

I have not used silicone for this purpose, but fully intend to do so one day. For a quick test, a few minutes ago I cut a slice off the edge of an old scrap silicone mold and did some tugging and tearing. I would describe the test piece as near indestructible. I don't see any powerful jaws and sharp teeth could get near silicone, due to its strong, elastic qualities. Dave

I agree, soft silicone RTV is a good consistency for molded fins. Just don't forget the release agent. Dave

80 grit to fluff up the surface of the wood and let the CA glue soak in. 120 grit flapwheel to smooth down before another CA coat. Finish off with a slightly thinned epoxy coat. Dave

You are right. Just gotta get stuck in and see what happens. We can help you from there. Dave

Gliders - I do exactly the same. I start off with an idea of what I want the bait to do, how deep to swim, action width, hunting yes or no, how big, to mimic what, etc. I then mark out the lip, hooks and ballast locations. Then I outline the bait species around the hardware and tweak it all to fit. Produce some templates and start cutting. Dave

I feel your pain. I wanted this question answered in my early days, but could find nothing. There are no wrong answers to this question and I think most builders would build what looks right, as it is one of those 'feel' things. But, I know you want numbers, so here is my starting point: Draw a line nose to tail. Mark a dot 15% of the length back from the nose. Draw the slot from this dot at what ever angle you want. Draw it first and if it doesn't look right, change the numbers. Look through the lipped cranks in the gallery, hold a rule up to the screen and work out what % they used for interest and report back. My guess would be 15% to 20%. Dave

In the member submitted tutorials, hard bait how-to section, you will find three tutorials on how to apply a top coat. Once you have read all three, you will be an expert. Definitely time well spent. Dave

You need more brain food, like Rice Crispies - contains synapse. Dave

DaveMc1 - yes indeed, you are correct, to a certain extent. What actually causes the concentration of energy that results in a spark, is sharp edges and corners. So you can even get your sausages to spark, if you slice sharp edges into them. Metal simply makes things worse by allowing the electrons/energy to flow easier. The electrons concentrate at the sharp corners and spark. This is why spoons are harmless on the MW, they have rounded edges. Forks cause far more problems because of the tangs. Glitter is just perfect for sparking, with all its sharp edges. The example that I read of glitter causing the problem, has the metallic glitter glued as a decoration around the edge of a paper plate. Having the glitter suspended in plastisol may well be enough to absorb all the energy and no problem will exist. There is only one way to find out. Just keep your finger on the stop button for the test. All I can do is the research and then pass the information along to you guys. Practical experience will always count for more, and so if you guys say that it works, then that is good enough for me. Stay safe my friends Dave

Actually, it IS metal that causes the problems. There are plenty of sites that explain the process, so I won't duplicate that here. I found at least one website that documented metallic glitter as causing BIG MW problems. Dave

Archery1 - yes, that's what I remember. Amazing what clogs up my mind. Dave

I remember in the apprentice school, the benches were covered in steel sheet. Every Friday afternoon was devoted to scrubbing the tables with 80 grit and oil, for two hours. It was horrible. So make sure you use stainless steel. Dave

Moose - funny, how did you know I had done the calculations The centrifugal forces are around 1.6% of the gravity forces on your turner. When I do this calculation (spreadsheet), I set the bar at around 2% although a think this number could go a lot higher. I did a lot of work on this subject a few years ago, with experiments to back up the numbers. Dave

With the short arms, that speed of 12rpm is perfect. I wouldn't bother with slowing it down. In fact, you are good for up to 5" from axis to furthest end of lure. Dave

She is wonderful, definitely a keeper Dave

Ron - your head is working fine, just wanted to make sure that we are all pulling in the same direction. A few TU members are painting soft plastics, but applying a protective layer is not really an option or you will lose the flex. Spike-it paints seem to be the popular choice. Dave

It does look simple enough to whittle one up and make a plaster mold. Also, a lot of good words have been written here on TU about the 702 craw mold, which looks like a modern day version of this. Dave

Can someone post a pic please, I could not find anything that was definitive. Dave

Soak in vinegar and rinse. Not sure how long the soak needs to be, so you will have to experiment. This isn't going to give you shiny lead, but lead only stays shiny for a few minutes anyway, as it oxidizes very fast. The layer of oxidation then protects the metal from further oxidation, so you still have some metal left the next day. I would think an overnight soak would work, but test first. Dave

A slightly confusing thread this. I read it as you plan on carving your masters from wood and then making molds for soft plastics for a paddletail lure. Dave

Yes, oil is messy, but you have to scrub your castings anyway, as they do come with an oily surface, regardless of release. Like I said, the release is hardly necessary with resin on silicone, I think it helps things flow in the pour and it makes me feel better. I use olive oil, purely because I have this in my kitchen. Any oil will do. Dave

I agree, genius. Dave

Travis is spot on, and he has the experience. Look at that beautiful craw crank. You can do stuff with RTV and silicone that you just cannot do with 3-axis CNC aluminium molds. Dave

Silicone rubber/RTV works fine with resin. I just brush on a little cooking oil. The cast p0ps out real easy. As for making a mold with hard material, you are asking for problems; casts stuck in the mold, damage to molds and so on. You might get away with it. Dave

TSM - I think you should do some outdoor weather testing on the Fiat Dave