mark poulson

I have done that with wood, so I'll give it a try, as soon as I can figure out how to get my rod butts into some steam.

They sell clear fingernail polish with large silver glitter in it, with no yellowing problems. It flashes like a light house.

I have a 30 year old Grizzly 16" bandsaw and one of their surface planers, and they both work like champs.

My buddy poured me some 1/2 oz jig using the Eagle Claw 730 BP hooks I bought for him at Barlows, and they are stout! Here's their 30 degree version: http://www.barlowstackle.com/Eagle-Claw-L3886BP-Jig-Hook--P2838.aspx

O rings are cheap. I would change them and see if it helps, before doing anything really complicated.

It works well for lures, but you have to keep it away from plastisol.

That's why I use wood boxes for my molds. 3/4"x 3/4" borders, and 1/4" plywood bottoms. I still try not to drop my molds. Hahaha

Erick, for jig heads, I skip the AC1315, and just us the nail polish. Clear over colors.

The things I'd wonder about are toughness, clarity, and UV resistance.

I dip Predator Baits in acetone and it clears the bills for me.

Dale, I tried a 5/16" single hole punch first, but it wouldn't even dent the circuit board/ I can cut it with a pair of sheet metal "Wiss" snips, and it doesn't shatter or crack. I'm going to use it to add some loud rattles to some of the PVC baits I've already made. The toenail cutters work great! The circuit board cuts almost the same as toenails, but it does dull the cutters I find that I can resharpen toenail cutters by wrapping some 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper around a dowel, and wet sanding the face of the cutters with the jaws shut. All Eyes is the one who suggested using circuit board for rattle chamber end caps. Thank you!!!

I think I read somewhere here on TU that they actually do add it.

Barry, I'll be home drinking coffee, and thinking of you. Hahaha I used some of the circuit board to cap my rattle chambers, instead of aluminum soda can discs. It works great, and the one knocker rattles with 1 gram lead shot are really loud! My discs are only 5/16" in diameter, so I cut them to their final shape using a pair of toenail clippers. Whoever it was here on TU who suggested using it, thank you!

tendelta, Solarez is a UV cured polyester resin that was designed for surf boards. Three minutes under a UV light, and your bait is ready to fish. Here's what I use: http://solarez.com/surfboard-repair/ I use the low voc dual cure polyester resin. It works, but it isn't as glossy if you put it on thick. I preheat it in a tupperware of hot water for ten minutes, so it is thin when I dip it, and doesn't seem to get the wax haze others have mentioned.

I mix the pop and then stir in the glue. I haven't had any problem with bubbles from the glue, so far. I let it sit for a couple of minutes once it's mixed, and shake/vibrate it, to help any bubbles come to the top. I only make two part molds, from 1/4" plywood and 1X borders. I use cut off 8D nails in matching holes to align the two halves Once I pour it into the first mold box half (3/4" thick because the box border is 3/4"X3/4"), I vibrate it again, let it sit a minute, and then add my masters. Once the first half has set and been oven dried at 170 for an hour, I seal it with D2T that's thinned with DA. The next day, once the epoxy has completely set, I repeat the process with the second mold box half. I spray the face of the first half with Pam, wipe it off of the masters, and use an acid brush to coat the masters with fresh pop from the second mold box half. Finally, I put the first half face down on top of the second half, clamp the perimeter all the way around, and then flip it over, so the wet pop is on top. I tap the mold hard with a rubber screwdriver handle, and the put a palm sander on top of the sandwich for 30 seconds, just to try and get any air bubbles to migrate up away from the first half. I follow the same drying and sealing program with the second half after it's set and I've pried it apart. If I've done it right, the two halves come apart cleanly, and there is minimal trimming and cleanup. For me, the hardest part is getting the right amount of pop into the second half, without lots of squeeze out and overflow. I've found that underfilling slightly is way better than overfilling. I hope this is clear, and helps.

That's All Yall!

I use strips of fiberglass drywall tape laid into my mold boxes before I add the pop, and lately I've been adding carpenter's yellow glue to the pop mix. It makes the mix hard, so it holds details really well.

This is a "it's so easy, why did I wait so long" post. I "bumped into" my fellow Delta Bass Club member Barry Sterud (Barrybait) on the water the other day, and he showed me his homemade balsa crank with a circuit board bill that he was killing them on that day. I had bought some circut board, but hadn't gotten around to trying it yet, but he got me curious, so I took the lexan bill out of a pvc shallow crank I had made, and put in a coffin bill from the circuit board I had. It works, and it's really easy to work with. I wound up using a trysquare and drywall knife to score both sides of the circuit board deeply enough to be able to snap off a 1 1/4" strip off one end. I cut off a piece 1 1/8" long for the bill I wanted to make. Then I put blue tape on the piece, cut it to the outside edges, and put a centerline on it using a compass. I slipped the bill into the bait, centered it, and traced the bait's shape onto the bill. I used a pair of tin ships to cut the finished shape of the bill, Barry's coffin design. Short version...it's really easy, and it works like a dream! Thanks Barry!

I bet they are collectibles now. Everything else is.

If you forget to put your eyes on before you clear coat your bait, just glue them on, and then put some clean nail polish over them to help seal them in.

Manny, Moe, and Jack.

When I first tried it, I used braid, too, but never stayed with it. I have an old Revenge blade that has my original braid wrap on it, and it's 10+ years old.