mark poulson

Amen!!!

I used to use leather work gloves on my hands, the better Wells Lamont gloves, to hold the cup and for protection from the hot plastic, but they didn't work alone if I needed to hold the hot cup when I poured. I bought a pair of Bellingham Grey 4510 gloves, after someone here on TU recommended them, and they are great. http://www.amazon.com/Bellingham-Glove-Insulated-Gloves-X-Large/dp/B00C3GLT2C

I just replaced a broken Poe's bill, and the straight wire line tie went back into the bait. It pulled out pretty easily. I don't think it would hold if the bill broke during the fight with a good fish. When I make my own through the bill line ties, I put a doubled piece of sst wire down through two hole in the bill, and then bend them back toward the lure, so I have wire embedded in the epoxy I use to set the bill. I put a kink in the two pieces of wire that got back into the lure, so there is a slight bend to hold them in the epoxy. I haven't had any failures.

Just be sure it's a round section, if you're going to tie directly to it. The cotter pins I've used are all bent from half round stock, with sharp edges.

Yes. I can't do fine detail with the .5 needle/nozzle, even when I turn down the air pressure and paint flow. Bear in mind I'm no artist. I'm sure there are people here who can paint the Mona Lisa with a Black and Decker electric airless gun, but that's not me.

Thanks. I'm going to switch to a regular cone tip. I hate how hard it is to backflush and clean that brush. That's a large reason why I don't use it more, I know.

I run my screw eye in and then back out again, to cut threads into my pilot hole. Then I add some brush-on super glue to the threads, and run the screw eye back in to it's final position. The brush-on glue sets in 30 seconds+-, so I have time to run the eye in and position it. The excess glue that gathers as the eye goes in forms a kind of lock at the base of the eye loop. I want to try and lock the eye, so it doesn't unscrew during a fight with a fish, and so I don't have to check it's position before each cast. In wooden baits, I think it also strengthens the wood around the screw eye a little, and definitely makes the threads in the wood stronger. I've never had a screw eye pull out.

Thanks Ben, the 10808 is the number. That's the nozzle that I got as the replacement for my HP-C+. If that's a .3mm nozzle, it is really open, compared to what I've been using. I must have switched nozzles with my .2 detail brush when I had them both disassembled and soaking in air brush restorer. I'll soak the separately from now on!

I have a detail airbrush with a needle cap that's cut into four V shaped sides, as opposed to the plain truncated cone that's on my Iwata HP-C+ brush. What does the cut needle cap do that's different from the plain cone cap?

I use small salsa cups, because I'm not good at mixing in the brush's cup. It wastes a little paint, but I can see how thin the paint is before I add it to the brush, so I avoid clogging.

http://www.directcolors.com/product/ac-1315-high-gloss-concrete-sealer/ Call them and ask if there is a problem shipping in cold weather, or if it will hurt their product. They are very helpful.

http://www.directcolors.com/product/ac-1315-high-gloss-concrete-sealer/ Gino, I have not tried it as a wood sealer, yet. If I have time today, I will, and report back.

Welcome back. I've been using it for six months, and it's held up fine so far. One jerkbait I used got hammered by a half dozen stripers, and some of the finish looked worn, so I redipped it, and it's fine now. The worn look was just on the surface, and redipping it completely restored it's clear finish.

Give AC1315 a try. I've been using it for 6 months, and no problems so far. I build with PVC trimboard, so it's already waterproof, but I paint with Createx, which is not. I dip in a dipping jar, let the bait hang over the jar until it stops dripping, use my finger to remove the last drops, which I wipe on the edge of the jar, and let it hang for 15 minutes. I hit it lightly with a hair dryer, and again in another 15 minutes. After an hour it's dry enough to handle, and I fish it the next day, if I want to. It is solvent-based, so it can affect sharpie detailing. I hit my sharpie details with the hair dryer, too. Black is pretty stable, but red and chartreuse seem to run more, so I spray a coat of clear Createx over them before I dip. Here's where I get mine. I bought the smallest jar to try it out, and I'm now on my first quart. http://www.directcolors.com/product/ac-1315-high-gloss-concrete-sealer/ I am not connected with them in any way, other than loving their product. I live in CA, so I called to see if they would sell to me, and the woman I spoke to said they will ship to any state.

I am a hobby pourer, so I typically mix up a cup at a time, sometimes a little more. I move to silicone cups from Norpro, the 2 cup size. No more broken glass for me, and the plastic stays hot longer. I pinch the top of the cups shut with a chip bag clamp, to make small pouring spouts, for hand pours. http://wholesale.norpro.com/index.php/products/accurate-cooking.html?p=3

FrogAddict, I don't even know how big the .080-8 nozzle is, but it is what Iwata sells as a replacement for my HP-C+ airbrush. The first time I used the new nozzle, I was amazed at how easily it shot all paints. I seriously wonder if it's a larger size than what came with the brush originally, or whether I've just been using the wrong nozzle for years.

X2! I've finally gotten to the point where painting is becoming fun.

I found out that moving the ballast up above the centerline, a line from the front screw eye to the rear screw eye, so 1/3 of the ballast is above it, makes the baits wobble. I made two similar baits, both weighted that way, and put the 1" pointy props on one, and the 5/8" rounder, smaller props on the other. When I swam them, the one with the smaller props wobbled, but no the other one, so I swapped out the props, putting the smaller props on the non-wobble bait. Lo and behold, it wobbled, too. So it looks like the larger props kind of overpower the wobble action, at least on the baits I make. Drilling out the center hole on the smaller props, so they go over the .072 screw eyes, leaves very little metal around the eye shaft. So I am going to shorten two of the 1" props to 5/8", and see if that works. I hope it does, so I'll have more metal around the pivot hole. It's been in the 30's here that last two mornings, warming to the 50's, so I'm not up to more than two hours in my unheated garage before it's time to come in and defrost. So I'll play around with the props again tomorrow, and report what I find.

Jhersh, John's right. You'll be hard pressed to come up with something that hasn't been done before, in one way or another. Everything I know about lure making l learned here on TU. And I learn more from my mistakes, which are also not originals. Someone has already made them before me, and they are here to help when I stumble. Don't be afraid to ask here for help. I think who made the first mistake is still open to debate. Some say it was Eve, for picking the apple. Others say it was Adam, for getting married in the first place. You'll have to decide that one for yourself.

X2 Here's to a better new year for all!!!

That's good to know. Thanks. Let us know if affects how the Etex holds up to fishing.

And easy. I can do it.

Those are two beautifully detailed lures!!! Are you trying to seal your hand carved masters before making a mold, or are you thinking of actually painting and fishing your hand carved wood lures? You must be a carving genius if you do fish them. If I could carve a lure like that, I would never let it get close to water!!!!