mark poulson

It has always been my understanding that SST split rings were not as springy as chrome plated steel, so they opened more easily when installed on fatter hooks and hook hangers, and didn't close back up afterwards. Maybe I'm way behind the times, but this is what I remember.

I actually found one of my lost retainer clips when I packed up my shop to move. I was shocked! Hahaha

Nathan, It holds them just fine. I drill a small pilot hole, run the screw eye in and back out again, coat the screw part with gap filling super glue, and then run it back in. The squeeze out locks the eye once it sets, so no unscrewing. I've had occasion to remove a screw eye done like this, and it was solid! I had to use pliers on the eye to get it to begin unscrewing. Dale, I've never has a screw eye fail with AZEK.

Chad, Do you sell it by the gallon for hobbiests like me, and, if so, what's the price?

I do remember it stunk, and was nasty to breathe, when it burned. But it made cool special effects!

DaBehr, Back in the '50's my friends and I used to play war with plastic army men, and sometimes we'd light one on fire, so we could bomb the others with dripping plastic. Was the plastic back then made from PVC?

When I get one over 5 on it, I'll post a picture.

Dude can cook!

I think that is what I bought two years ago. It sure makes a scratching noise when I inject it, and my colors are not clear at all.

jonister, The material I was given is called Celtec, and it is used for signage. Sintra is another material that is similar. You can google it, and see both the manuf.'s site and some online sources. I don't know if Home Depot or Lowes carries it. It is more expensive than AZEK, but it is a superior building material to me, so far. Smoother, more homogeneous material, finer "grain" so I was able to sand it smoother prior to painting, no primer needed (same with AZEK), no small bubbles when heat setting paint (which does happen with AZEK). Of course, the bait I made may explode, in which case my opinion would probably change, but, otherwise, I like it. I'm hoping to use the 1/4" I was given to make a through wire laminated bait. That will be a challenge, since I will have to figure out how to glue the hardware in strongly, and still use PVC prime and glue to do the actual lamination. That's one of my next projects.

Painter 1, I think you meant to post this in the soft baits forum.

Thanks for the link Monte.

Dale, Your secret is safe with me. Shhhhh!!!! Nathan, I've never built a cedar bait, so I can only speak about balsa baits in relation to this material. It is not as buoyant as balsa, so it is not quite as lively, but it is really close. Barry, Give me a shout when you get back, and I'll drop it off for you to play with. While you're gone, I'm going to make a bait just like+- the 3/4" X 3 1/4" baits I made that work so well, to see if it is an improvement on the AZEK material. You can help me compare the two. Have a great trip, and a safe Journey. Tell Larry Snow III to "Carry on my wayward son". Sorry, couldn't resist.

jonister, I've only ever used it for filling in places in aluminum molds, so I don't know if you could make a whole mold out of it. I'm guessing that somewhere along the line there would be issues, like warping from different thickness, and being too brittle, but those are only guesses. I like your idea of a silicone mold. And I agree that Albogator would probably get better answers on the wire baits forum, since those guys work with this kind of thing all the time.

Yo Al, Thank you. I've been using the stuff from Harbor Freight and have not gotten the clarity that Monte's baits have. Now I know why! And I hear it scratching my injector when I use it. Big Ray, I'm sorry if the stuff I gave you isn't good. Could you post a link to the Amazon source?

I was given some 1" thick black PVC board by a forum friend to try as a building material, and I just posted some pictures of the bait I made with it. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/15974-don4/

I stand corrected.

Clever idea!

I don't know anything about other sites. This one needs money to stay open, and that's why they have it set up the way they do.

I really admire how you found a way to make them work for you. I had a bunch of elaztech baits that I gave away because they didn't play nice with either other soft plastic or plastic crank baits. I'm glad I didn't see this post first, or I would have surely tried to reuse them. Hahaha