mark poulson

That is a great idea Pete.

Sorry for your loss, but sounds like the friends you found out you had more than made up for it.

That's a neat idea. Thanks.

In my experience, balsa machines differently than poplar. Even though it's classified as a hardwood, the grain tears so easily I've never had much luck getting a router to cut it well. It sands so fast, I just use a piece of PVC pipe, split in half, with sand paper on the inside, to round balsa baits. Hazmail was the first one on TU to use this method, that I know of, and it works like a dream. Plus it's cheap, and so am I.

What kind of filter material do you use?

It's held up fine for me.

Two things come to my somewhat feeble mind as possible problems, the sandpaper and the water. No-load sandpaper uses something to hold the grit that releases when you sand, so there's always fresh grit and it doesn't get loaded with sanding dust. I'm not sure what they use, but that may be a contaminant. I think the water is a more likely culprit. I would try wiping it down with denatured alcohol instead. I had the tech. at Etex tell me to do that if I waited longer than 24 hours to recoat. Any time within the 24 hour window, it wasn't necessary. You might try calling the manuf. and talking to their tech. reps to see how to proceed. Recoating your epoxy shouldn't be a problem.

I use the Sally Hansen polish, but I am only making baits for myself.

I only pour for me, but I drop my plastics into a tupperware with salt straight out of the mold, and they don't stick.

Can you post a picture? I can't seem to find it online.

That's great!

After I've finished shaping on the belt sander, with an 80 grit wheel, I use a small vibrator sander, first with 100 grit and then 150 grit, and then I hand sand.

That is something to be proud of. Mazel Tov!

That's a great site!

I don't know. I've never tried, but it seems like it would work.

I sand the lexan to simulate the direction of the rays in the tail, and then add color with sharpies.

Folk Art has more metallic colors than any other paint manuf. I've found. I use their Metallic Peridot for my black crappie with green shoulders and back. I bet I could darken it if I wanted with some dark green and/or black and get a dark metallic green. But I think you might have better luck getting the color you want a different way. If they don't have what you want, you might try mixing up whatever dark green you want, spraying it on and heat setting it, and then overspray or mist coat it with either metallic gold or metallic silver. Once you put on a top coat it should give the green a metallic sheen. In looking at the Rapala Mardi Gras on Tacklewarehouse, it looks to me like the green isn't metallic, but the back and shoulders have been oversprayed with a metallic black. The green would still come through somewhat, depending on how many coats of the metallic black you spray.

If I were making a musky lure (I've never actually seen a musky in person, let alone fished for one) I would use an epoxy like Etex, which is softer and won't crack and flake off. Because PVC is both hard and waterproof, you top coat doesn't have to be bullet proof, just durable. I've make PVC lures for barricudas, which seem to use the same dentist as muskies, and they held up fine with Etex.

Smellycat, If you're able to, buy a commercially made system with the vacuum motor outside your shop, and multiple dust gate valves inside that are low voltage controlled. If you want to make your own, be sure to get an explosion-proof exhaust fan that generates a lot of static pressure, so it can move the sawdust along with the air. I think a shop vac. with a remote control and multiple intakes makes the most sense. Moving it outside makes it quieter, and leaves any find dust that leak out on the outside, too. If you go to wood working sites, like Rockler's, they sell everything you need.

I started making baits when I was 10+-, but I stopped when I grew up and got married. Work and kids...you know. I started again in late 2007.

I'm not sure what color Rapala's Mardi Gras is, but I found, thanks to another TU member, that the Folk Art metallics are terrific. They do have to be thinned, and shot through at least a .035 nozzle (.05 is better) due to the size of the pigment particles, but they are the most metallic of the air brushable paints I've found.