mark poulson

I am a hobby builder, and a retired carpenter, so this applies to people making lures one at a time, not for production work. I build my hard baits with PVC trimboard. I start with a rectangular blank, trace the profile, mark the hardware locations and bill slot, and then cut that out on the band saw. I smooth the profile with an oscillating belt sander with an 80 grit belt, and then I mark a centerline all the way around the cut out blank. I remark the hardware and line tie hole locations, and use an awl to make dents that will still be there after I do my shaping. Then I go back to the belt sander, and rough shape the lure, starting first with the body shape from nose to tail, on each side. I get it close, and then I begin final shaping. I round over the bait on the sander, using the centerline as my gauge for symmetry, and I keep rounding until the shape looks right to me. I sight down the bait from the back or front to see if my curves are equal, more or less. It's pretty easy to see when one side isn't as round as the other. Once I've got it close, I use a vibrating palm sander with 100 grit paper to finish sand/shape the lure. My baits swim and catch fish, and it's certainly not because of my painting skills! There is something the human eye notices when we look at anything, and that is symmetry. If you look at what makes someone's face attractive, the first thing your eye picks up is if it's symmetrical. It's unconscious, but it's there. It's call "classic beauty". So trust your eye when you're shaping a lure. You don't have to be exact, as long as you're close, and your eye will tell you, because it will look right.

Predator Bass Baits hit it on the nose with their original Wiggle Wart knockoffs.

I had a friend come up to fish with me, and she kicked my butt, using an old Bandit bait. I didn't have any in that color, so I made two from PVC trim board. They both swim great, and the smaller one has caught fish already. Here's a link to them in the Hard Baits Gallery: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/15244-homemade-bandits/ The next two photos show details of the build. I basically copied the original I had as a model, and just scaled it up by eye for the larger version. I had never made a crank with a bill in that shape, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much the lures X (pivot/wiggle side to side on the center axis) and don't blow out, even when I burn them back in. The shape of the body matches the profile of the craw one fish spit up almost exactly.

I thought my digital ir thermometer was wrong, until I figured this out. I found that the plastic is cooler on the surface than in the middle, so I stir and check the temps of the middle stuff as it comes up.

I add them before I heat the plastisol. Also the heat stabilizer.

I tried the spray on clear. It doesn't like to be touched by plastisol.

I tried one, and that was my experience, too. I went back to the microwave and NorPro silicone cups.

Concrete sealer are available in low gloss. Be aware that the film will not be as strong. The molecular bonding that produces gloss is much stronger than for a matte finish. Some people dull down the gloss with Scotchbrite pads.

What type of sst wire do they use, and what gauge?

I use the ex's coffee grinder to grind salt...maybe that's why she's an ex...nah, it couldn't be something I did, could it?

You might have to inject the second color very hot to get it to melt into the first color.

Sometimes too soft a plastic will make a bait whose tail section bends up too much from the pressure on the tail. Try straight medium first, and see if it will swim well. If not, you can always add softener.

Didn't someone post a how-to video a while back, showing how to make them?

Being sure to get all of the water and/solvent out of any coating before you recoat is a real key to avoiding problems. Heat helps with getting rid of both.

If you use the Azek PVC decking, it is almost a dead ringer for poplar. A lively bait is still great in a flat sided, tight wiggle (X ing) shad bait. That's what makes rattle traps so effective.

I am just a hobby pourer, so there may be better ways, but this works for me. I have a can of spray cooking oil (Pam) on top of my micro. Every time I open the injector to remove the left over plastic, before I reassemble, I pull the plunger all the way back, so the entire barrel is exposed, and put a quick shot of Pam into it. Then I reinstall the nozzle, and push the plunger back up so it's ready to draw in the next batch of plastic. That way, the entire barrel is oiled, and the O rings, too.

When dipping it cold weather, I preheat my baits with my hair dryer, so they don't impede whatever chemical process takes place. But I always dip and drip/cure outside. I do it right in front of the opened overhead door in my garage, with a box fan blowing out from the back, when it's cold or rainy. If I can smell the solvent, I know something needs to be adjusted; either the bait hanging location, or the fan speed, or both.

Frog, Soft plastic will melt AC1315, too. I put plastic worm onto my rats as tails. To protect them from melting, I paint the area around the attachment point with clear nail polish.

I think it's a combination of the low eye tie, but with the shallow angle of the lip, like a deep diver.

I also twist sst wire sometimes, but I make them slightly differently. I bend the wire, put the two tag ends into a vise, and then use a variable speed hand held drill with a bent nail chucked in it to engage the loop in the wire and make the bend.

My AC1315 goes on over PVC, so the bait is already hard. I can fish them the next day, as long as I use a hair dryer several times during the first hour of each of the two dip coats. I think it helps the solvent to evaporate more quickly, and the heat may accelerate any chemical reaction that is taking place, but I'm just speculating here.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but coating any foil with Sally Hansen's "In The Spotlight" nail polish, a clear with small mylar bits, will make it shine like a light house.