mark poulson

There is a fine line between more durable and not enough wiggle. You have to play around with your mix to see what works best to make a bait you like.

24 gauge floral wire from Home Depot. And you can use weed wacker fiber as a weed guard.

If you use a drill press and a small portable vise or wood working clamp (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jorgensen-6-in-Handscrew-Clamp/1000989110, you have a lot better control over the drilling process.

A lot of people I know are afraid to go back to work because of Covid 19.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-LBS-Glass-Bead-Medium-Grit-MIL-SPEC-8-70-100-grit-Sand-Blasting-Abrasive-/111672165459?hash=item1a002e0453:g:VocAAOxydgZTKU6c

Maybe try a thinner nail weight. I use drywall screws instead of the nail weights. Cheap, and thin.

As my kids would say, "Of course, we only have your word for it." Hahaha

Jeff, I forgot that I used to do that, too. Funny how quickly I forget stuff if I'm not doing it all the time.

I am just a hobby builder, and only build for myself and a few buddies, so my way isn't for a production run, by any means. I paint them with a black sharpie, heat set it with a hair dryer, shoot on two coats of Rustoleum 2X Gloss clear, and then a final coat of Rustoleum 2X Matte clear. I wipe the blades with clean acetone first, to get rid of any oils. The sharpie is solvent-based, and sticks to the clean metal well. Just be sure it's heat set, so the Rustoleum doesn't make it run too much.

I just finished a qt. bottle of heat stabilizer that was at least ten years old. It had yellowed, and the plastic bottle had yellowed, but still worked, and didn't affect lure color.

When I want to make a lure that dives to a certain depth, or performs in a certain manner, I use a commercial bait that does those things as my initial guide for lip length/shape/angle, line tie position, and angle of attack at rest/ballast amount and placement.

Tally, there is a learning curve with plastics, just like with carving crankbaits. It isn't rocket science, but it does involve some science, so take it slow, and read up here to learn as much as you can. The plastic is HOT, so be careful.

It's a hand held thermal that you aim at the plastic and shoot/take the temp. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP30-Thermometer-Temperature-Adjustable/dp/B07VTPJXH9/ref=asc_df_B07VTPJXH9/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=367639077358&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18311921748109823317&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032002&hvtargid=pla-854702792598&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=76601507416&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=367639077358&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18311921748109823317&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032002&hvtargid=pla-854702792598

A cheap digital thermometer from Amazon. Stir the plastic before you take it's temp, because microwaves heat from the inside out, so you won't get a true temp if you just measure the surface.

Since it is a musky lure, I'm assuming you're using a wire leader. Do you do your float test with the leader attached? Maybe try using a mono leader or no leader for your testing, to see if the wire leader is the problem.

X2!!

I would contact Bait Plastics and ask them.

Yes. But not over any other solvent-based paints, because the lacquer will melt the other paint. I add details all the time with lacquer based fingernail polish over water based paints.

Funny how that works. Life is too short to be chickenshit.

Am I the only one here who uses drywall screws instead of nail weights? I can get them in lots of sizes, cheap, and once I screw them into the head of my worm they don't come out. And they are cheap, so I'm not bummed when I lose a worm.

Funny, but I've had the opposite experience, at least with jig hooks. The Gamakatsu hooks must be fired much harder, or made with a harder steel, I guess, because I've had the eyes break when I tried to open them with an awl to make bladed baits. The Mustad hook eyes don't break.

Roger, I am a retired carpenter, 50+ years in the trade, and I feel the same way. I was fortunate enough to learn my craft(s) from WW2 vets who were used to pulling on the same end of the rope to get the job done. There were a few who were selfish, always worried that teaching someone else would mean eventually losing their job to whoever they taught , but I have never found that to be true. Selfish people never lasted on the job, but I've had people I've taught come back to me and say thank you, years later. Everything I know about lure making I learned here on TU, from others willing share their knowledge. I think it's only right to turn around and share what I now know with other people. What goes around comes around.

Be sure you get virgin blasting beads, so the glass isn't broken.

I have made some two piece POP molds with the craw baits flat in each half, so I can hand pour one half, let it cool a bit, and then close, clamp, and inject the second color at around 340 degrees, so it bonds to the first half. I do the same with one piece open pour silicone molds. With the silicone molds, I pass my heat gun over the back of the second color, to get it to even out and bond better. It works well enough for me, but I'm just a hobby pourer.

If I were trying to repaint those lures, the first thing I would do is remove the screw eyes, and use some runny super glue to reinforce/reseal the screw eye holes. Then I'd redrill the pilot holes, and reinstall the screw eyes, coating them with some medium super glue so they will be locked in place once reinstalled. Finally, I'd do just a scuff sanding to give my new primer/sealer something to bite, reprime, and repaint. I wouldn't try and strip the bait down to bare wood.