mark poulson

Can you print a lure in the vertical position, so the rings actually add to the turbulence as the water passes over it?

Bob, how about heating the lure with a hair dryer, and then putting a coat of clear fingernail polish on it?

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Dude, you're hooked deep, way past the barb. Hahaha I'm just jealous. That looks really good.

At the top of this Soft Baits Forum page is a search feature that should help you. There are also sticky topics for things like soft plastics, molds, and other stuff related to pouring your own baits. Do yourself a favor and invest an hour checking those things out. You'll be amazed at what's listed.

Between a rasp, a file, and some sandpaper, I can usually a lure smoothed and ready to paint in a minute or less.

It sounds like taking one class might be worth it. Plus, the coeds, man. Even after I turned 70 they still look good.

Bring back finger painting!!!

I use a fine wood rasp and a straight file to take down my filler to lure level. I have a lot more control because they are thin and flat, and I don't damage the hook hangers.

Thanks Dave.

Does the sphere rotate clockwise or counter clockwise?

I only make lures for myself and a couple of buddies, so probably doesn't apply to most of you. If I have a lure that doesn't work, or that didn't come out the way I had planned, I take the hardware off and give them to my 2 year old grandson. Rattling baits are his preference.

I am just a hobby builder, so my methods are not for production. I'm sure they would have to be adapted in some way for production, if they would work at all. I've found that anything that adds weight to blades effects their spin, slowing it down. The thinner the coating, the smaller the effect. I have coated and fished chatterbait blades with black Shrapies, topcoated with Createx transparent base and then Rustoleum x2 Gloss Clear Acrylic. I can even paint my spinnerbaits and blades, primed with self etching primer, with Createx paints and then topcoat with the Rustoleum, and it holds up just fine For me the most durable blade coating has been finger nail polish. It is hard and tough, and doesn't seem to be affected by temperature changes in the blade's metal. I've tried powder coat, and it made the spinnerbait blades spin more slowly, but it seems to change the thump on chatterbait blades in a good way.

Mine are one piece silicone molds from Lurecraft. https://www.lurecraft.com/MOLDS-FOR-SOFT-PLASTIC-BAITS/departments/33/

JD_mudbug said, "The satisfaction of catching fish on a self-made lure is worth the effort." That is soooooo true.

That is good to know. Thanks.

My cellphone is not cooperating. I can't seem to email my photos to myself, like I could before. I probably hit some tab somewhere, but I have no clue what or where.

Same here. The next time I pour some I'll try to remember to take some pictures, but no promises. I have trouble remembering my kids' names.

JD_mudbug, That is a great story! Thanks for sharing.

I use a heat gun, not a hair dryer, to reheat the first pour in my open pour swimbaits to get a better bond with the second pour. Just be careful not to overheat, or your first pour can scorch and discolor. It take some experimenting to get the timing right, but it has allowed me to be able to pour two layers at different times, even the next day, without losing a good bond. When I put my second pour into the microwave to heat, I begin to reheat my first pour with the heat gun. When the top of the first pour seems to be melting again, I do my second pour. It's not perfect, and not as good as a twin injector laminate, but it works.

I have found that adding hardener to hot plastisol gives my lumps of unmixed hardener. I always add it to some uncooked plastisol, and mix it thoroughly, before I heat it, or add it to already hot plastisol.

I would contact Jon Barlow at his website, https://barlowstackle.com/, to see if he can help you.

I remember. Hahaha

Sorry, no clue.

When I had my UV curing slower, I replaced the bulbs on my nail light box, and that fixed it. Evidently they do wear out.

I use 1/4" and 3/16" lead wire, so all I have to do is drill that size hole, and super glue in the correct weight of wire. Here is one source, but there are others online: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bullet-weights-lead-wire?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop|Generic|AllProducts|High|SSCCatchAll&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0fr_BRDaARIsAABw4EtgIb3rOqrUGUiDN1LzC_kIEFWfbGsqSVf0GUJPMuyGigThCO48_rcaAlAbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds