mark poulson

Thanks John. I actually do the same thing, but use D2T, and have never had an issue. I've always hated the smell of the PVC glue, so I avoid it whenever possible, and have never tried it for laminating baits. But I've read here on TU that it works, too.

I use Target Coatings urethanes. They have no storage issues, and I dip them over the jar my glass storage jar, so the excess runs back into the jar, until it slows to an occasional drip. Then I hang them. http://www.targetcoatings.com/products/coatings/em9000-super-clear-interior-polyurethane.html The two I use are SC9000, and interior urethane that actually holds up fine for lures, and EM9300, their exterior urethane that I use for salt water lures, and to enhance my crackle finishes. The SC9000 is Super Clear, and does not dim or dull my paint schemes, including metallics. The EM9300 is not quite as clear, but I'm not as concerned with that for salt water lures, or my crackle finish crawdad cranks, and it is bulletproof. The instructions say you can recoat after 2 hours. I dip my lures, hang them over a piece of newspaper, wipe off the drip that accumulates on the bottom several times in the first 15 minutes with a piece of paper towel, and then hit them with my hair dryer on low after another 15 minutes, once the surface film is set. One more hair dryer session at the 45 minute mark, and I can dip again after an hour. I haven't had any problems with the interior SC9000 top coat failure unless I've let a lure lie on wet carpet for a couple of days, or soak in a tub of water. The finish has softened and clouded when that happened, but letting them rehang to dry restores the finish to clear and hard. I am still fishing lures I made four years ago with PVC top coated with the SC9000, and they are holding up just fine. For a hobbiest like me, it's ideal.

John, What kind of glue do you use to laminate the two halves back together?

1" thick works fine for me. If you need thicker, you can glue up a blank from two pieces. PVC glue should work fine for that. I use epoxy and it works perfectly. Just be sure to remove the factory finish from the faces you're gluing first, so you have a porous surface. One neat deal with gluing up two pieces is you have a very prominent center line to work with. That really helps me to get the lure more symeterical as I'm shaping it. One piece wooden lures aren't as difficult to seal. If I were making one, I'd probably seal it with D2T, thinned with denatured alcohol and coated several times. That should penetrate and seal. Or, if you have the time, the linseed oil mixture others have recommended should work, too. If you seat your hook hangers and line tie in either crazy glue or epoxy, they won't turn and give water an entry point. I use sst screw eyes, run them in and back out again to cut threads in the blank, coat the eye threads and shank with brush-on crazy glue, and run them back in. Whatever glue doesn't stay on the threads when it gets run back in will make a little hump around the hole that the eye can sit in, and that should lock it in place. Hardware movement is the biggest culprit in water intrusion. Next is on the water encounters with rocks. I carry a bottle of clear nail polish in my boat, for on the water repairs if and when that happens. Just be sure to dry the lure well before you put on the polish, and let the polish dry well before you start throwing it again. Good luck.

I couldn't find it on the Wasco site. Too well camouflaged!!

Google safety pliers, go to one of the sites that sells them, and check it out. I doubt they would twist big wire, because it's just too strong. I get the impression they are designed for use with softer wire that can be easily bent.

Dieter, WD40 is actually considered a very effective catfish attractant here in SoCal, since it's major ingredient is fish oil. I've seen shore anglers spray their catfish baits with it, and catch big cats! I think it's illegal, though, because it has other stuff in it that is considered a pollutant. But I'm not sure about that part. If I have a blade that's corroded, I clean off the corrosion however I can, repolish it if I can, and coat it again with clear nail polish. It's cheap, quick, and holds up really well.

Nice fish!!!

Glad to share. Everything I know about building lures I learned here at TU, from other members who shared with me, so, at least for me, it's part of the deal to share with others in return.

I don't build for sale, so this is from a hobbiest builder's point of view. Primer to fill and even the surface works. I also use the same Rustoleum, and wet sand with 400 grit to smooth out the surface, if I want a really smooth painting surface to start with. But I've found I can spray Createx opaque white directly onto the PVC as a fill coat, or several fill coats, unless I have a really rough surface. In that case, a rubbing of Bondo, and wet sanding that, works, too. I stopped using the primer because it adds to my building time, and the lures are smooth as glass anyway by the time I've added my multiple layered paint scheme and three dip coats of urethane. I don't sweat any irregularities in the surface because I know most of it will disappear with the paint and top coat, and what's left will add a little extra "hydraulic signature" to the bait as it moves through the water. Just remember I build them to fish them, not to sell them.

I've heard that before, but I always thought it referred to baits with line ties on the nose above the bill. Sounds like, the close to the bill, the shorter the arc of the wiggle, and the more exaggerated it becomes. That make sense. I've always wondered why some lures have the line tie recess into a small depression in the bill, and this would explain it, because that would increase wiggle even more. On the other side of the coin, extending the line tie seems to tighten the wiggle, which is great for cold water bass.

Remind me not to complain about 3' swells at Castaic ever again!!!

Even brass blades tarnish and corrode where the top coat has been nicked.

Nathan, I was thinking that, too. I'll find out with the next batch of cranks I make. Thanks.

People split their baits in half in order to install thruwire hardware anchoring systems, for strength. With PVC, there's no need. I use sst screw eyes for my line ties, hinges, and hook hangers in my PVC baits, and I've never had a failure. On smaller cranks, I sometimes glue in swivels with super glue for belly hook hangers, and they hold fine. I've tried to remove them, and the wire breaks before the swivel comes out. So there's no need to go through the extra work to split a PVC lure to add a thruwire system. Your lures look fine just as they are. Good luck

I am a hobby builder, and only make lures for myself and my buddies, so keep that in mind when you read this. I started out carving wood. Initially, it was to replace a buddy's Pupfish that I'd broken. Then it was to make a jointed swimbait to replace the two triple trouts he'd lost on back to back weekends. After I'd beaten my head against the wall trying to come up with a sealing system that would work with my jointed swimbaits, JR Hopkins took pity on me and introduced me to AZEK decking and trim board. It is a composite of some kind of fiber, probably wood, and PVC. It's totally waterproof, strong, hard, and buoyant. The trim board is the most buoyant, and I use it for cranks. I use the decking for swimbaits and topwaters. It machines and carves like wood, but you need to use sharp tools. When it gets hot, it melts and gets sticky on the surface, like from too much pressure with a belt sander. The dust is nasty, so be sure to use a dust mask whenever you machine it or even hand sand. I do my touchup hand sanding on my driveway, with a fan behind me blowing past, or I wear a dust mask for that, too. And I blow the dust off myself with my compressor when I'm done. It stick to my hands, the baits, and my clothes. But none of those things outweighs it's beauty as a lure making material. I can make a bait, add the hardware, and test swim it without any sealing. And I only prime it to smooth out the surface, if I think it needs it. Most of the time, I just sand down to 220, and start my painting directly onto the PVC. So I can make, paint, and top coat a lure in one day, and fish it the next. Amazing how much time it's cut off my lure building process. Once I'd found AZEK, I actually began selling my swimbaits, because I knew there would be no paint and top coat failure issues. That's when I learned that building for sale takes all the fun out of building lures. I don't do it anymore. Google AZEK, and you'll find there website, which has a dealer locator. Hope this helps.

I think it has to do with the extra push from the sound waves when the line goes "SNAP".

I am anxious to actually give them a try. I leave longer tags because I'm clumsey, and need them to be able to wrap the wire. Hahaha

Double D, I'm not sure exactly what temps need to be reached to change the molecular structure. If you go to the Createx website, there is probably more exact info on what takes place and at what temp. Remember Createx was designed, first and foremost, for painting T shirts, so heat setting it with an iron makes the T shirts washable. My experience with Createx, and all the water based air brush paints I use, is that hitting them with a hair dryer is important for making sure all the water is gone before you shoot the next coat. Otherwise, water can get trapped by the next coat, and can cause problems when you top coat. T shirt paint is also flexible, so I try and get it as dry as possible to make it as rigid as possible. Thin, heat set coats feel much more rigid to me than coats that aren't heat set. At least, they feel harder to my fingernail. I usually hit the bait in sections, ten seconds each, with my hair dryer on low, for each coat, and then the whole bait again with the dryer on high at the end. I am careful with PVC baits not to overheat them, because the PVC will release little bubbles, probably from the plastic itself. PVC does melt, or, at least, get sticky on the surface, at a relatively low temperature. If it does, I use the handle of my exacto knife to roll them back down, and they never cause problems. I am not sure I'm ever actually achieving the total heat set/molecular conversion temperature. If I screw up, I'm always able to remove the paint with water and a rag, so I never have gotten it truly waterproof. But I get it really dry, and the top coat takes care of the rest. I am a little more cavalier with my painting because I only paint plastic and PVC baits, neither of which require any sealing to be totally waterproof. I rely on my urethane top coat to protect the paint scheme, not to keep water out of the bait itself. So far, so good. I've fished some of my cranks and swimbaits for years without any problems. Knock on wood!

I bought a bigger phone just so I could type on it, but it's still a pain!

After reading what you said, I think it may be the ballast location, too. This bait had ballast only between the hook hanger and the bill, while the other two, with the wider wiggles, have it before and behind. I like the tighter wiggle. It's not as common, so it may get bit more. Fingers crossed! I'll try your nail wrap for my next batch of line ties. Thanks.

Sorry to be late posting. I was out, burning down my garage paint shop again!