mark poulson

I am posting a pic, and the story, in the gallery. Correction. I am searching for the gallery. I guess either I'm blind, or the latest update is still a work in progress. Doh!!! I am blind. The gallery link is on the left now.

Those are some interesting results. Thanks for sharing.

I add the same flake that I use for my soft plastics to my powder and it works, too. It's not quite as bright as in the jar, but it does work.

Douglas, Hahaha...you are so funny. You should put that in the recipe book under "Recipe for $200 paperweight"! Brady, Do not, I repeat, do not use 5 min epoxy for your building or top coat. It is not waterproof, only water resistant, so it will fail, and it sets up too quickly. I don't know anyone who sprays epoxy successfully. I know there are some very accomplished builders here, so someone probably does, but it's no designed to spray or dip. Brush it on with a thin, even coat, and use a lure turner.

X2 Neat idea!

No need to apologize. We all started where you are, in one way or another. Everything I know about lure building I learned here at TU, from people who had already made the same mistakes I was about to make. The search feature is great, and there are literally hundreds of threads for every topic. I'd suggest you make a list of the questions you need answered, and do specific searches in the search feature. Then try and build a lure or twenty. You'll learn more from your own mistakes, including what questions you really need to ask here. And use the answers BobP gave you as a good starting point. He knows balsa bait building. Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you do build.

If you drill a pilot through hole with a small bit while the bait is still rectangular, before shaping, you can use the hole to place your eyes symetrically after the bait is shaped, even if you don't wind up using the pilot hole for the actual location.

It really depends on what material you're painting over, and what you need the top coat to do. If you're painting over wood, where water intrusion is big concern, you want to look at something like epoxy or Dick Nite's original urethane. I've use epoxy, and I know it works. I haven't used the original Dick Nite's urethane, but others here swear by it (and sometime at it). Hahaha If you're painting over plastic, resin, or PVC, where water isn't a threat to the lure, you can use a water borne urethane because you're only trying to protect the paint scheme from the water.

Frank, I love watching that video. You make it look sooooo easy! Great job! I use the hand pour/inject method to do a POP six cavity beaver/type mold, and it works. Thanks for showing me/us how.

I'd recommend you start with Createx paints, because they are true air brush paints, and will give you less problems starting out. Thin the paint with their 4011 reducer to the consistency of milk, and you should be fine. Spray thin coats, heat set/dry between each coat with a hair dryer, and take your time. Practice air brush strokes on a piece of white paper or cardboard, so you get the feel of the trigger and paint controls. Clean your brush often, and thoroughly. Read as much as you can here, using the search feature. Go online to a place like Coast Air Brush and check out some of their free instructional videos. Go to Youtube and check out air brush videos. Have fun! That's an order!!!

I've never been able to make a POP mold using a hard master, from either wood or clay. The POP sticks to the undercuts and irregularities, and locks the master in. Try making an RTV silicone mold, so you can get your master back out.

I thought I was the only one that ever did that! Hahaha

Saltshaker, I just reread all the posts in this thread, and we all wound up sounding disapproving, and I'm sure none of us meant to be. Playing around with stuff is fun, and it's how we learn lots of new things, and grow to understand more about this crazy hobby. I think we just didn't want you to ruin a good lure without a good reason, and wondered if you were trying to achieve something specific, instead of just experimenting as a learning tool. In my experience, shaving or reshaping the bill on a store-bought crank doesn't improve it. The lure companies have designed that bill to get optimum performance with that bait. But I did try it anyway, and learned some things about how lure shape affects both a lure's action, and how deep it dives. So I wouldn't discourage you from doing it, if the lures are truly beyond saving, as you said. My test baits were typically Rapala DT's, because the bills on them broke so often (Grrrr!!!!). I made a wake bait with a DT16...failure. I tried to give it a smaller bill...failure. I got some DT16 bills from Predator Bass, and put the same size and shape bill back on the bait, and it worked great. Through all of that, I learned more about how bill shape affects performance, and how bills and ballasting are inter-related. So it wasn't a waste. Good luck.

Amen!!!

Doing it more helps. I can actually get decent two color baits now by hand pouring an accent color, like blue, into my 2 piece POP mold, and then injecting the black. But I still goof up some. Fortunately, I'm making them for me, and the fish, and bass eat jigs with less than perfect trailers. Thank goodness!!!!

Understood. If you want something that will stand continuous use for a long time, look for a low rpm 1/4 horse 110 volt motor, and use step down gears to drive your turner. 1/4 horse motors like that are common, so they should be less expensive, and easily replaced if they ever do fail. If you go to the trouble to build it, and it's too strong, no harm, no foul. If the motor fails after all that work, you'll be PISSED!

15 minutes is a long time for Createx to be exposed to the air without skinning over. Try using less paint in the cup, cleaning out after each coat, and using whatever reducer/extended they recommend on their website.

I wish I knew enough to help you, but I don't. Sorry. Someone here surely will.

Bob, You have it down to a science. Nice video, too.