mark poulson

I only pour for myself, but I've been asked to sell some stuff, too. Mostly from club members I fish with who see how my pours work, and want some. I found out early on, when I started making jointed swimbaits, that making baits to sell takes all the fun out of it, and I just cover costs, even at $75 apiece. That lizard looks great. Where did you find the mold, or did you make it?

I'll find some here local, and give it a try.

FF, I've found sintra online, and it seems to be a pure PVC that's expanded. I'm not sure the sintra would work for my swimbaits. I see it as more of a balsa-like material that would need a through-wire system. The PVC decking I've been using has cellulose fibers in it, so it has structural strength. That's how they can use it for walking decks. It is very hard, and holds screweyes very well. I did a pull test (thank you Vodkaman), and it held a 50lb bucket of drywall mud overnight with no problems. My lure failed because of operator error. First, I put a bill in after I'd already put a through hole and rattle system between the eyes, right in line with the bill, so I created a very weak area. Second, I clubed the poor thing to death against the concrete pier. I doubt the bill installation would have been fatal by itself, since I had already caught both large bass and large stripers on it with no failure, but it created a weak area that couldn't stand up to the repeated impacts of my poor casting. I just need to learn to cast better, and not to try to fit my casts into such a small window.

FF, I'll check it out. Thanks.

Okay, here's a thought, probably worth as much as you're paying for it, but here goes. I am very impatient, so I usually shape and prime my lures one day, and paint and dip them in top coat them the next. I use Createx for my paint schemes, and dry each coat with a hair dryer. I speed the drying process between dips of the top coat with a hair dryer, too. I don't get the peeling off of the moisture cured urethane that others have experienced. I'm wondering if my topcoat is actually bonding to the Createx, since I top coat right after I finish painting? Could the fresh paint actually bond to the urethane the way the second and third coats of the urethane bond to the first? I wonder if the whole scheme just kind of melts together, because it's so fresh. Would that be the case with the new DN too? Just a thought.

If you're just knocking off the high part of the old eye, try a fine metal file. It will remove material slowly enough that you won't mess up, and it will leave a flat surface. I use one all the time to shape the crazy glue drops I use to fill in my glass rattle or lead ballast holes when the glue is proud of the hole, instead of flush.

I just posted a photo of the replacement lure I made. I'll try and post it here, too. All thanks to my 15 year old daughter Rachel, who is home sick today, and helped me post this. I am not worthy.

Another option is to fill the recess, if it's deep enough, so it's flat, and then apply stick-on 3d eyes. The gap filling crazy glue works well for that, and you can spray it with an accelerant once it's the way you want it, and it will set immediately. Eyes that kind of pop out look good.

I don't pour lead, so I didn't make a comment initially, but I concur. Beautiful jig. If I lost one like that I'd be heartbroken.

Bob, That jibes with my experience with SC9000, another one part urethane. I'm not sure if it's called water borne, or moisture cured, but it behaves exactly like that. I have yet to have a lure's topcoat or finish have a problem unless it was either left to soak in water overnight, or had lain on it's side on wet boat carpet overnight. In both cases, when I hung the lures over the workbench and they dried out, the finish was, once again, hard and tightly bonded. The SC9000 is their "Super Clear", and it is an interior finish, but the tech guy at the manuf. said it would be the best finish for lures, and I think he was right. He said it wouldn't change or dull the paint schemes at all, and it doesn't. Not even metallic paints. After the wetting episode, I tried some of their exterior urethane finish, EM9300, and found that, while the finished coat was even stronger and completely waterproof, it was not as super clear, and dulled the paint schemes. I have to think that there is something in a water based urethane that's clear that make is slightly vulnerable to water, but only when submerged over time. I fish some swimbaits all day and have had no failures. I'm betting the new DN will perform the same, and I'd rather buy from a forum sponsor, so I can't wait to try it when he finally gets all the kinks out.

An AZEK swimbait note. Yesterday, I was throwing at billed, two piece 4" swimbait that I made last year, and have used off and on since then It has caught it's share of fish, including an 8 lb striper. Well, yesterday morning, 31 degrees, I cast it up next to a concrete pier pileing, or at least that's where I aimed. It hit the concrete, and then fell into the water. As soon as I started my retrieve, I got bit by a 4lb+ largemouth. Yeah for me! Of course, as soon as I had released that fish, I tried to cast back beneath the pier for more action. After hitting the overhanging concrete deck three more times, hard, the front section of my lure came apart. All I got back was the line tie, nose, and bill, through which the screw eye line tie had passed. I saw a piece floating, so I netted it, and it was half of the remaining part of the front section. The front section had broken crossways where I had cut in the bill, which was just below where my eyes and thru rattle chamber were located. I didn't plan it that way. The lure didn't have a bill initially, but it wouldn't swim well, so I added one later, and it clearly made a weak spot. Plus the half of the front section I fished out had split top to bottom exactly where the screw eyes for the hinges had been located. So AZEK isn't indestructable. But I am going out this morning to make another out of it. I'll probably drill slightly bigger pilot holes for the hinge's screw eyes. This time I will try not to locate the rattles right over the bill slot, and I definately won't be as agressive in trying to fit a cast under a low concrete pier! But the paint scheme and topcoat held up just fine!

Jigs chip. If it bothers you carry some Sharpies in your boat, and touch up the chips. It's weird how jig fishing works. I've had some jigs that I "couldn't lose", and others that got stuck in the rocks and broken off on the first cast. For me, the bottom line is jigs are disposable. I don't like it, but it's true, at least for me.

Rico, I think you should contact the plastisol supplier directly. The various websites have contact information. Most of us here are hobbiests, not postal services.

If your vacuum winds up being too strong, you can install a bleeder valve to reduce the vacuum pressure. You can use any kind of plumbing valve, installed in the side or top of the press.

I know nothing about casting resins, but you can try using bristles from paint brushes for your fins. I slide a wide putty knife into the bristles to separate them flat, and then slip a piece of blue tape in behind that, with enough to lap back over so the bristles are held in place, front and back, and slide the putty knife down tight to the base of the brush. Then I brush the base of the bristles, which I left untapped, with crazy glue, and cut them at the top of the metal bristle holder with an exacto knife. I leave about 3/8" untaped, so I can put some epoxy over the crazy glue once the bristles are cut loose from the brush. Try to keep the whole thing as flat as possible while you're gluing, so it fits in a smaller slot in the lure. I find nylon bristles are softer, and more flexible. Hope this helps.

Have a great holiday! Living in this country, we all have a lot to be thankful for.

Thanks. I'll try that when the turkey is done.