Vodkaman

There is another thread from a few days ago, about a fondu pot thing. On the amazon website for the unit, there was a power controller that was sold as a separate item. Dave

The equivalent that I use (cannot find Bondo here in Indonesia) is the stuff used for car body repairs. Just to be safe, mix a little and test it on the back of the mold, but I am 95% sure that it will be no problem. Dave

Just add the hardener that you would if the entire volume was resin. DAve

Yes you can, but there will be shrinkage. Try it and compare with the master. If the shrinkage is too much, you can mix the resin liquid with Bondo, which is made of the same resin (smells the same). Tou can use either hardener, I usually use the liquid hardener that comes with the resin, as it is easier to control in small amounts (drop count). It will still have shrinkage, but not as bad. Dave

Jordanlures - an interesting suggestion, that I have not read on TU before. Welcome to TU. Dave

Ah, I see now. All that is left, is some contaminant on the cavity surface. A thorough clean with acetone or alcohol is all that is left, but I am sure that you have already thought of this. Dave

As I understand it, dents are caused by the plastic shrinking. as the plastic shrinks, more plastic is drawn down from the pour hole reservoir, so you must make sure that this is topped up. If you were injecting, then you could simply keep the pressure on a bit longer. The first part of the cavity to solidify is the pour neck. Once this happens, no more plastic can be drawn down and so dents are formed. To be honest, I was expecting the harder RTV to be the problem, so you see, I too am learning here. One thing that has never been suggested before, is to tighten the clamp say a quarter turn, say about 10 - 15 seconds after the pour. This slight increase in pressure might be enough to counter the shrinkage. Just something to try. Report back if it works or not. Another idea, is to have a shaped stick/dowel to lightly press down on the sprue, to keep pressure on the plastic. The problem of dents comes up often, so with a TU search, you should come up with more ideas and suggestions. I am not an experienced pourer, but this problem intrigues me. Dave

Are you injecting or gravity pouring? How is the mold clamped together? Is the Lurecraft a much harder material than the MF? Have you tried pouring the MF first and then the LC? Are you using a thermometer, if so, what temp are you pouring? Dave

I use computer designs, printed out and glued with paper glue. I rough cut on a bandsaw and trim to the line on a belt sander with a side disk. Quick, easy and efficient. These tools get used for many jobs, especially the belt sander, probably the most used tool in my workshop. Dave

JR - But he told me so, must be true! Dave

I have just had a quick look through the Craig Powers baits sites and could not find anything controversial. The baits seem no different to any other flat sided crank on the market and they are priced reasonably, but I would not call this bait innovative or new. From the read-up on tacklewarehouse.com and as a pro angler, Craig understands what is required by the angler and understands enough about bait design to make the bait do what he wants. He is using his successful name to market his baits, but what is wrong with that - I would too, if I had a name. Dave

Ben - I though this was the first contest based on photos, but I could be wrong, as I don't usually get involved with competitions. Usually contests involve delivering lures all over the world and at great expense in my case. This photo based competition has really grabbed my interest. It is just a shame that I am not yet set-up for lure building, due to a difficult three years without a workshop and now heavy work commitments. I would certainly be interested in taking part in the future. I think the contest could benefit from video too, but this may need a few more years before video becomes a commonly available tool. Dave

Kurt - this is a great idea for a contest. Yes, a few misunderstandings and problems have arisen and stress levels are rising. I hope you manage to resolve all the problems and bring the contest to a successful conclusion. I also hope that everyone involved manages to stay calm and understand that this is the first such competition of this type and experience will be gained for the future. I really hope that this competition is success and will be run again in the not too distant future. Good luck to all. Dave

I make masters out of any materials that are close to the shape that I want and readily available. Simple shapes like a worm would be carved in a wood, balsa dowel from model shops would be a good place to start. A paddletail would be a wood body, polycarbonate or acrylic tail and a fillet of Bondo for the transition from body to tail. Anything with legs or other fine appendages, would start off with a wood body, but the legs can be anything from Q-tip stems, cocktail sticks, sate sticks, straws and so on, all glued together and epoxied for a glass smooth finish. digging your master out of the mold can be destructive to the master. So If you plan to use your master more than once, then you have to design and built it with this in mind. Worms and paddletails are usually safe enough, as the epoxy adds enough continuity strength for them to be withdrawn in one piece. Anything with legs is a different matter. If the master material is baked clay, the master will almost certainly be destroyed. But manufacturing from separate bits and pieces, the appendages can be soft glued. This will allow the legs to bend and move. If a leg breaks off, then it can easily be glued back on. You could try epoxy over the leggy master, but I don't bother. I might epoxy the legs separate for a good finish, but I mainly want to protect the part that took the most work to make, namely the carved body. When carving wooden masters, you don't have to be ultra careful. If you sand too much off or don't like the shape, you can add some Bondo filler and be carving again in an hour. Conclusion - Use your imagination for materials and think about the de-molding process. Dave DAve

Mark - your molds are very professional, I really like your method. However, my method is going down a different road, which I will be ready to post in a month or so. I cannot encase the molds, but they will have ply backing plates to spread the clamping loads. Dave

Sometimes my paid job is interesting, but it is lure design that gets me buzzin'. If only I could persuade it to pay the bills. Dave

Everything I do is designed on CAD, even if it is only a quick 2D line drawing used for a template. If the project is any good, I will update into 3D and model in the ballast, eyes and hooks. This is how I get my preliminary ballast locations and weights. I then use complex spreadsheets using the Archimedes method for fine tuning, and these files are all saved. I don't actually need to write anything down, all computerized. Dave

Actually, the sealer makes it worse, by preventing the moisture from escaping so easily. But, we need a seal coat, but don't be tempted to seal all over, otherwise you will lock any moisture in. Not really practical, but a cabinet in the warmest part of the house would be perfect. Here in Indonesia, temperature is not an issue, but humidity is high. I have had to throw out a pair of leather shoes that I had not worn for a year, also a leather jacket needs rescuing. These items were just laying on a clean, tiled floor, undisturbed. So when I start making molds, I will definitely be taking my own advice. Even the occasional extra half a day in the lamp heated drying box. In fact, when I start building again, I will design the storage cabinet and drying box as one unit. Dave

Possibly still some moisture in the mold. Open and well ventilated I would say. If I had a lot of molds to store, I would be building a cabinet with a computer extractor fan in the bottom, to keep the air moving and pulling fresh air through continuously. These fans are low power and safe to run continuously. Or if you are concerned, a timer or switch on and off with you workshop lights. This would be enough ventilation to keep the molds clean. Dave

Good to hear from you and glad you are heading towards finding a balance. Good job with the perch AND the trout. Just because you lost the trout does not mean failure, you just missed out on a trout supper is all. Dave

Welcome to TU. Great community here. Hope we can help you with your lure building. Dave

Travis - That is way too much perspective. Cost of lures is best looked at in an orthogonal view. Dave

The price has to be put into perspective. Compare with the cost of D2T for example. Dave

A good penetrating seal coat, apart from everything else, will give a strong attachment from the outer surface right through INTO the wood. Should this layer ever be breached and water enters the lure, this strong attachment will hold everything together. Then the lure can be thoroughly dried out and the breach sealed. Without this strong connection, the paint and topcoat layers will separate and the lure is ruined, requiring stripping and re-painting. Achieving a good connection to the wood through to top coat is not expensive, not time consuming and not difficult. Why skip the step that greatly increases the life of the lure. A premium price is paid for hand made lures. If I am paying, I expect my purchase to be better built than a mass produced commercial bait. Dave

A couple of very good posts. Good information, thanks for taking the time and sharing. I designed and built a two pin moisture detector, for testing plaster molds in the drying process. I tested it out on blocks of wood and it worked just fine. It is not digital, but an LED flashes and beeps with moisture, the slower the flash, the lower the moisture content. Zero flashing is zero moisture. I built a fan circulated box, heated by two 100W bulbs for drying the molds and this would work perfectly for drying the bodies. If I was mass producing, this is what I would do. You are correct; zero moisture = zero problems. Dave