mark poulson

Dale, Have you tried a Zoom lizard on a belly weighted hook, so it doesn't get stuck in the rocks?

Dale, I don't know if you're talking about the Minwax epoxy resin that come in the yellow metal cans, or did back then. I've used the Minwax sanding sealer, too. It was a different product. It worked for me for cranks, but not for jointed swim baits.

If you're going to make a business out of it, factor in the cost of having a CPA do your books. It is much cheaper than an IRS fine, and you'll sleep better knowing you've done things right. If you can't afford a CPS, rethink being in business, because it needs to pay for itself and give you a profit, or it's not worth doing.

If you are adding salt and/or blasting media, to your stick baits to try and get the same fall rate as the Senko, they will both stiffen/harden the baits by themselves. I actually add a little softener to my soft Baitjunky's plastic when I'm making Senkos, and use a 1 cup plastic, 3/8 cup blasting media, 1/8 cup salt, 1/2 tsp softener recipe to get my baits to stay soft. My experience with hardener has been I had to add it to my plastisol before I did my initial heating, stirring it well first, and stirring it every 30 seconds+- as I heated it, or I would get a hard lump somewhere in my plastisol. I only tried it twice, and then ordered med. from Baitjunky's instead. Much easier, and more consistent.

Years ago I tried using Minwax Wood Stabilzing Resin (part of a rot repair system) as a sealer/waterproofer for my wood swimbaits. I soaked the blanks for an hour. The resin absorbed, but it took forever to cure inside the wood. Even after 48 hours I got bubbling out of the end grain when I hit the blanks with a hair dryer. I assume that was from resin that hadn't fully cured yet.

I've read here that all the plastisol we use already has heat stabilizer. Heat stabilizer can cause plastisol to yellow, so I only use small amounts, especially on clear baits. How much to use will vary depending on which plastisol you use, too. I just use a dribble, like 1/2 tsp+-, in my Bait Junky's plastisol. I add it to each batch, because I heat a cup at a time, and I do reheat a lot. I'm sure production guys can just use the plastisol as it comes, since they do big runs.

Clearly we need a better trainer.

What size staples were you using?

Nathan, can you dip a lure in it, and let it drip back into the dipping jar without ruining the rest of the jar?

I tried plastidip clear to get a matte finish on a glide bait I made, and the stuff melted when it lay in contact with a plastic worm overnight.

Yeah, it can be a pain doing three. That's why I let my colors cool between coats, so I have time to prep and heat my next color. I add a little heat stabilizer to all the plastics I pour, just a dribble for a cup, so I can take my time and reheat as needed without worrying about overcooking my plastic. I do pay attention to the temps as I heat and reheat. I usually get them all ready ahead of time, and just reheat as needed when I pour. I an a hobby pourer, so I do very limited quantities at any one time. My back tells me when I've poured enough for the day.

I do use soft masters with pop molds. With hard masters, I would uses silicone, or some other soft material. I would be worried about gluing wood masters in with the epoxy, too.

For my first half of a two part mold, I mix yellow carpenter's glue into my pop, fill my mold box, lay in my soft bait masters, and then put it in the oven at 170 for an hour+- to cure/dry out. Once it's dried out, I clean up the surface if it needs it, and then I coat the mold half, with the masters still in the cavities, with diluted D2T, two coats. I let it cure over night, spray the first half with PAM, and then do the same thing with my second half. Once the second half has set, after I've pried the two halves, I put the second half into the oven. Then I remove the masters from the first half, and coat the cavities with diluted epoxy, two coats, to make sure it releases well. Once I'm ready to coat the second half with epoxy, I coat the open cavities at the same time. For me, it's a three day process, or the epoxy stays tacky. I spray my molds with PAM before each pour.

I do that when I do two or three color laminated 6" swimbaits in a top pour one piece mold, because I found that the first color needs to cool more, or I get a melted/blurred joint line. The first color pour gets a chance to shrink before I go over it with the second color. My second color pour is not as thick as the first, so I get less shrinkage, and I go back and top them off as I pour. I only do two at a time, so I can keep them topped off. By the time I top them off, the plastic has cooled and shrunk some, too.

I use a toothpick, too, to clean out the hook hanger holes before I put my Solarez-dipped baits into the UV light box. If it does get into the tail hook hanger, I drill it out carefully, and use a sharp exacto knife to finish cleaning it up, just like Chuck Young. Go slow, and use the exacto to cut the finish all around the base of the hook hanger before you begin to remove the rest of the top coat. Patience is key. You don't want to hurry, and ruin all your hard work on the bait by chipping the paint while you're trying to clean it up.

Hot plastic (340+-) on the second pour will always bond, because it melts the first pour, no matter how long it has sat.

You forgot the most important reason. You will break your back throwing a bait that big!

Go to galleries. Go to hard baits gallery. In the upper right corner will be a button that says upload. Click it and follow the directions. The first part, step 1, is the actual upload of the pictures. Step 2 is a description of what the picture shows. You can upload more than one picture at a time, and give a separate description of each one in step 2. Then hit finish and publish at the bottom. Don't get discouraged...I can do it.

Magnetism can be described, but they don't really understand it. It works in a vacuum, so it can't interact with anything, and yet there are magnetic fields in space. I'm betting they find out it interacts with dark matter, but I also believe people are good, so what do I know?

Type plaster of paris in the seach box at the top right of this forum page.

That thinking can get you in trouble. I'm just sayin...

Using cheap stick on eyes for pupil templates is a clever idea! I wonder if these could be used, too, if the adhesive can be weakened enough not to ruin the paint: https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Hole-Reinforcements-White-1000/dp/B00006IBUZ

Bob, I find that if I heat the dual cure resin in a tub of hot water before I dip my cranks in it, the blush is almost gone when I cure it. I think it makes the resin runny enough to let the wax dissipate, or maybe heating it, and sloshing it around a little before I open the dipping jug causes the wax to thin out, too. Either way, it makes the resin much clearer. I'd love to get their crystal clear gloss resin, if it is truly clear and glossy. But I'm not going to buy it before Solarez assures me it will be both clear and glossy.

I'll post their reply if/when I get it.

Could you make this work: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Hollow-Lead-Weight-ndash-Per-lb/702215.uts