mark poulson

JimP, I used the snap with the split ring because I was too lazy to remove the split rings first. Snaps weigh next to nothing, but I'm thinking the additional pivot point by using both in line may act like a self-centering connection, and skew my testing. I did catch a 3lb bass on one of my test casts, so maybe I should just shut up and use both all the time! Hahaha Seriously, the reason I don't fish with snap more is that I've found I retie less with a snap, so the knot gets a lot more stress. Now that I've said that, I realized that I don't retie with a chatterbait until I've caught a good fish, so maybe I'm being overly cautious.

PM sent.

A tip about using pop. If you have details on your masters, mix up a little pop and coat them first, then mix up a second batch to fill your mold. The pop on the masters will bond to the second pour, and you won't wind up with a bunch of hard pop. Been there, done that. Also, be sure to use clean, cool water when you mix your pop, or it will set up too fast.

Are you talking about the BT 548 mold? Does anyone make a tiny brush hog mold?

That looks like the molds I have.

Ray, I made a two piece, 12 cavitiy mold from pop for the bodies, and it works fine. I made two shallow mating wood boxes to hold the pop. I also bought two 8 cavity fat Ika body two piece alum. molds from someone here, along with 6 BT skirt molds. I don't know who made the body molds. They use removeable locator pins and knurled cylindrical knob nuts and screws to clamp the two halves together.

Thanks Skimpy. I just ordered one.

Do you sell any of those open eye jig heads?

Dave, A 6lb piranha? That must be like fighting an angry horse! I would have needle nose pliers with looooong handles to remove the hook!

Dave, Maybe you could make one that's like the twist wire that Mustad uses for their interchangeable hook connectors: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Mustad_Fastach_Football_Weight/descpage-FOM.html

Thanks.

Thanks.

Could you just drape a sheet of visqueen around your painting area, to catch the powder, and then transfer it back to your powder jars? The one time I saw an electrostatic gun being used, it was by a steel fabricator, and they had some kind of a collection tarp system.

Does anyone here pour jigs with an open line tie?

I recently had a bunch of lures to test. I had already installed the hardware, including the split rings at the line tie. In order to make switching lures easier (did I ever mention that I'm lazy?), I tied a round snap to my test rod and just hooked the snap into the split ring. The baits all ran well, but I'm wondering if adding both connectors in line affected how the lures performed. Just thinking about it, I would think the only difference would be the small added weight of the snap to the bills, but the water isn't clear here, so I can't tell if having the two pivoting connectors in line makes the lure more stable, or less, or doesn't even affect it at all. I know adding a split ring to a jointed swimbait, instead of a direct tie, enhances the ability of the lure to do a 180 degree turn on a sharp jerk/pause, so I'm wondering if using both might give me a false reading of the lure's stability. And I've found the larger the split ring I use, the wider the wiggle of a lure. I know the logical thing to do is to test one of them each way, with and without the snap, but it's cold, and like I said, I'm lazy. Plus, I'm hoping someone here has a "scientific" answer to discuss.

What is the brand name of that silicone mold making putty, and where can I find some?

A sharp knife is the key to good carving, so be safe, and look into some kind of protection for your hands. I don't use any, but I've been carving my whole life, in one way or another, and have the scars to prove it. http://www.rockler.com/thumb-and-finger-guards

If I were just starting, and wanted to use wood instead of PVC, for ease of carving I'd pick poplar for heavier baits, and pine for lighter ones. But sealing wood baits is critical. No top coat is bullet proof, and wood expands and contracts as it changes temperature, potentially causing micro cracks in a rigid top coat, so getting the wood really well sealed is essential to making a successful bait.I was never able to seal my wooden jointed swimbaits completely (too many potential points of water entry) and that's why, at JR Hopkins' suggestion, I began using Azek PVC decking and trimboard for my lure building. The decking has the same buoyancy as poplar, and the trimboard is very similar to pine. There are other woods people here use successfully, so maybe they'll chime in on both what they use, and their system for using it successfully.

John, Is the shine diminished by a top coat?

The thing that make balsa difficult to carve is it's grain. It is a hardwood, with closed cells, but it is the most open grained of the harwoods. I'd suggest you shape your lure body and finish sand it, and then seal the wood, so the grain is locked. After that, you can either carve it with a knife, or use a dremel with a sanding drum. If the grain begins to rise again, just add some sealer to that part, and you can continue carving once it's dried. Having said that, it is a bitch! If you look at most, if not all, balsa baits, their details are painted on, not carved. There is a reason for that.

Fun! Thanks for sharing.

Cub48, Good to see/here that you found a way to make them work for you.

As I sat "thinking" early yesterday morning, pondering the mysteries of the universe and such, I remembered that I originally had two box fans in my garage shop, one blowing from back to front, and a second one at the far end of my workbench, blowing along it to the opened overhead garage door. That second fan pushed the fumes from both the super glue and the nail polish, and the smoke from my soldering gun skirt welder, past my face before the reached my nose and eyes, which is why I put it there in the first place. I had taken the second fan upstairs when it got hot this summer, to use it as a window fan to pull cooler air into the house from the north facing window in my living room. Well, it's not 100+ degrees here anymore (highs of 68 and lows of 43) so I'm taking that fan back downstairs and reinstalling it in my shop. I can't wait for my sinuses to calm the F down, so I can work in the shop again.

I would have thought the curved, thin tail section would have created some kind of a pressure difference between the convex top and concave bottom, giving the tail more lift, like an airplane's wing. I'm not sure exactly what effect that would have on the lure's action, but it might reduce the tail's water resistance enough to allow for more wiggle. Or not. Fun to speculate. Without one of the flow tanks it's pretty hard for me to be sure. All I am sure of is that those lures do wiggle.

That's a great idea! Another thing to buy!!!! Hahaha