mark poulson

Man, he would be my new best friend!!! Hahaha

I feel your pain. I've had that happen to older balsa baits when they were in my boat's storage compartment. I think it may be the finish itself that's the problem. What paint and top coat did you use?

The scoop on the original lip helps the bait dive faster, and deeper. You can heat shape lexan to get a curved lip, too. Pete (Hazmail) had a tutorial of how to do it with hot oil, I think. It's been years since I last read it. But I bend lexan with my heat gun. I'm trying to figure out how to get the scoop shape using two nesting spoons, but, so far, I'm still in the "thinking about it" stage. Hahaha

I've never swapped out the bills, but I have replace broken bills with similar bills on the DT series. Be careful. The ballast is just below the bill, between it and the belly hook hanger. I used a bandsaw to remove the broken part of the bill from the bait. The bills have an integral post on the bottom half of the part that goes into the bait. When you have removed the flat part, you can pry the rounded post part up a little, and get some needlenose on it, so you can remove it, too. A centerline on the replacement bill is the key to proper alignment. You can use the front and rear hook hangers as guides for the centerline of the bait, and line up the new bill to that centerline. If you're careful removing the old bill, you can use the top of the slot that's left to keep the new bill square to the bait. Otherwise, you're stuck with trying to align it by eye, and wedging it in with toothpicks until the epoxy sets. Good luck, and let us know how it works out.

If you're going to sell them, you shouldn't use an existing commercial bait for a master. That would be patent or copyright infringement. Make your own master out of sculpey clay, or carve it from wood. The only reason we hobby pourers get away with it is because we don't sell, or advertise, or make enough to pose any kind of economic threat to the bait companies. Otherwise, they'd come after us, and I wouldn't blame them.

Thanks Gene.

Gene, Where did you find your replacement tires? My bandsaw is a 16" Grizzley, from China. Mark

Gordon, I find I have hook rash on walking baits and cranks from the front treble swinging back and forth against the lure belly on the retrieve. Most of my baits are stored in plano boxes that are so full there's no room for the hooks to move. Hahaha

Can't keep a good man down!

Pete, I'm assuming you mean the convex, with the sides of the lip turned down, is the slower, more shallow option. Thanks.

I remember years ago someone tried that. The strength of the bead chain wasn't enough for hinges. If you have found some really strong chain, it might work, but it didn't at that time. Try seaching for bead chain on the site search feature.

Thanks. My tires are more than 20 years old. I noticed the last time I changed the blade that they are showing age cracks. I'm sure I'll have to replace them sooner or later. It's good to know I have repair options.

Thanks for the info.

Did you use solvent based or water based contact cement?

How come the international commercial shipping companies, whose ballast water brought the mussels here in the first place, aren't paying for abatement/prevention, instead of us?

Live and learn. I wouldn't have had the guts to try it myself. Thanks Gene.

I'm with BobP and RayburnGuy. Acetone is the best solvent, and any kind of a wire brush scratches the metal. Use a soft bristle artists brush to clean out the cup around the needle, and the nozzle.

I've never had a problem with Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails, but Wet 'N Wild's chartruese turns powder gummy in a heartbeat.

If weight is an issue for you, you can use a section of plastic drinking straw as a race for the rattle balls. BobP's idea to use aluminum can cutouts to seal the ends works really well. I use an old one hole punch, one with long handles for leverage, to cut my aluminum discs out of aluminum cans.

You forgot yucky. It was as though I'd used vinyl paint, and then put on a soft plastic trailer. Yucky.

Glenn, I have never repaired/replaced the rubber tires on my bandsaw wheels. But I've used contact cement a lot. I found that it creeps, especially when heated, which can happen from friction in a bandsaw wheel. I would call a local tool repair shop and ask them what they use.

Ah, so deska! I wondered why some nail polish colors seemed to stay soft and gummy on powder coated jigs. I have always thought of powder coat as a kind of ceramic that is basically bullet proof. Doh!!!!

Pete, You are the first person I've seen who uses a convex bill, where the edges are lower than the middle. How does that bill shape affect the lure's action?

I like the ring and barb for jigs with skirts. The skirt ties on above the ring, and the trailer attaches to the barb. I use wire to tie on my skirts, and leave a twisted wire tag, which I fold down and thread into the plastic trailer as an additional holder. For football jigs with hula grubs I just use the barb only head.