mark poulson

Whittler said, "Show me two people who think exactly the same and one of them is not needed." Now I understand why I was always getting fired!

Fishwhittler, The U-40 Permagloss sounds very similar to the old DN. At least it has the same handling characteristics. Interesting. Thanks for the info.

I agree. I have a box of their living rubber material on my shelf. Totally worthless. The while is dull, and the chartruese is dull yellow.

Bob, Before you resort to drugs, per Salty's post, how about trying to heat set the new DN between coats? I do that with the SC9000, and it seems to make it harder faster. Short story long, I wonder if heat setting the new DN will make it stronger? I suspect that the solvent in the old DN penetrated all the way down to the primer, and made the whole paint scheme one hard layer, and that's why it is so water resistant, but I hold out hope that the new DN can pass muster and become my new wonder topcoat.

CK, I disagree, and here's why. A lighter wood, like balsa or pine, lets me put ballast low in the bait and get a very exaggerated action. When I want a really active lure, I use the lightest possible hardware, super glue for sealer, and one coat of urethane for a top coat. For a shallow crank, lively action is critical, so the choice of wood is critical, too. Balsa and pine really shine for those baits. I use the lightest hardware possible for these lures, so I can play with the balast to get the action I want, instead of having heavy hardware dictate how the lure will perform. Same for big walking baits, like the Lunker Punker. I've made Punker knockoffs from fir, poplar, pine, and PVC. Pine is the best choice, by far, for a really active lure. All of the other choices work, but the pine lures are much easier to work, because they have less mass to move on each stroke. With jointed lures, like swimbaits, I go strictly with the PVC, because it's waterproof nature and hardness make paint schemes almost bulletproof. I'm lucky enough to have a load of wood left over from lots of years of doing residential construction, so I can pick and choose the kind of wood I need for a particular bait. And I've learned a lot of the quirks of individual woods, like the fact that with teak, you have to wipe down surfaces with lacquer thinner or acetone before you glue them, due to the high oil content, and, even then, not all glues will work. Or knowing how to pick woods with tight grain for strength and stability, but wider grain for lighter weight. I know from working with wood over the years most of the characteristics of each species we work with, but many people haven't had my experience, so sharing knowledge about different woods, and how to pick a wood for a lure, is helpful for many here. This is not meant to be a rant, so, if it comes across that way, I'm sorry.

Dave, I think pulling his posts is a little drastic. We're all adults,and a big family here, and being able to vent and be heard by your peers without consequences is a part of what makes this forum so good. I think, as long as it's not a personal attack, with intent to be nasty, and especially since he posted a clarification that it wasn't, we need to chalk it up to a "bad hair day", and move on. Just my $.02, and I'm not sure what that's worth in Indonesia nowaday. P.S. Are you being affected by the volcano? Man, I hope it doesn't blow up. That would be a catastrophe. And I wish Jerry would put spellcheck on the forum. It would sure help me look smarter!

I'm glad you said that Bob. Unless you hang a crank, and break it off, it won't be submerged long enough for the finish to fail if it's a decent topcoat. Of course, I am an amateur builder, and don't sell commercially, so I have a different point of view. My buddy hung one of the first douglas fir Lunker Punker knockoffs I ever made on a buoy line, and we couldn't get it back for a week. It soaked bigtime, but, when we finally were able to launch and retrieve it, the six layers of solvent based rattle can paint were still in tack, and there was no water intrusion. I've since moved on to airbrush paints and epoxy top coats, PVC decking, and now to Target Coatings' SC9000. Even though it's an interior finish, it holds up fine for cranks and swimbaits, if you don't soak them overnight, or leave them on wet carpet overnight. Their EM9300 exterior urethane does hold up to soaking, but it's not "Super Clear" like the SC9000. I have cranks and swimbaits with SC9000 on them that I've fished hard for the last two years, and the finish has held up well. Having said that, I am still searching for the "perfect" topcoat. The handling issues with the original DN made me shy away from it. And I didn't like the long cure time. Three days until a lure is fishable is fine with me. So I am eagerly awaiting the new DN. Hopefully, the new DN will be "it".

Cereal Killer, I guess that guy really got to you. I agree that "it's just lure building", but different people enjoy it from different perspectives. Different woods do have different characteristics. For me, knowing that lighter wood is more responsive is enough. But some guys are intrigued by the actual differences in density and gravity. I don't think that should be a knock on them. It's just their way, and each of us has our own. As long as we're not trying to shove our way down everyone else's throat, or driving others crazy with our "king of surf fishermen" B.S., I think there's room on this forum for all of us.

Patrick, I would only buy a small number, and try them before you buy in quantity. There's nothing more frustrating than having a couple hundred hooks you don't like staring you in the face. While I've use the VMC hooks from time to time, I prefer the Mustad Lite Wire EWG Ultrapoint worm hook. I can get a good hookset with a medium action rod and 8lb fluoro with those hooks, because the wire is so thin, but they are still strong. I've had the same size Owner's and Gamakatsu's open up. I use them anywhere from 1 to 5/0. The 5/0 is great for fat plasics, like Ikas.

Lately I've gone away from actual feathers, and just used mylar, flashaboo, and tinsel. I get more flash from my top water "feathers" that way. People started with feathers because that's all they had, like the old shuttlecocks in badminton, or the insides of the old golf balls. The newer stuff that's available now works great, and better in some cases.

I agree, you lure looks great! Foiling over netting has to be a bear. Congrats.

Unless you plan to use it quickly, be careful with larger container of D2T. The hardener will yellow over time. 9oz. is the biggest I'd go. It's still strong when it yellows, but it changes the paint scheme.

The glues we have nowadays are so much better than in the '70s. I use gorilla glue to laminate wood for lures. Just be sure to dampen both surfaces first, so the glue is drawn into the wood, and clamp the two halves together until the glue sets. Water may still present a problem with dissimilar woods, since they will probably have different coefficients of expansion, but that should only be an issue if the wood gets wet.

Here's a source for Flexcoat Syringes: http://www.mudhole.com/Sandbox/Flexcoat-12cc-Syringes Drill a snug fitting hole in the top of each component bottle (the syringe tips are slightly tapered) and just leave the syringes wedged in when not in use. When you want to mix, turn the bottle upside down, load as much as you need, turn it back right side up, and remove the syringe. Since I went to this Flexcoat Syringe system, thanks to someone here on T.U., I haven't had a bad batch of 2 part epoxy. I prefer the single syringes to a double, because I've found that the two components are different consistencies, and can lead to uneven amounts, even though the plungers are connected.

You're lures look good! Try to think of a wake bait as a floating crank gone bad. Years ago, I "made" a wakebait on the water by cutting the bill on an old BPS Realistic jointed minnow until it was almost even with the bottom of the lure. It only projected down as much as the thickness of the jaws of the dikes I used to cut it off. It was a floater, that dove to 3' on a fast retrieve. The bill was oval shaped, and wider than the lure's head, so what was left projected past the lure. It swam great, and had a lot of wiggle. Looking at your lures, I see several possiblities. First, as was said, you need the bill to be pretty close to 90 degrees. Second, again as was said, you need the bill to be wider than the lure. The wider the bill, the wider the wobble. Think of the bill's width as a lever against the lure body. The lure's length acts as a stabilizing lever that you have to overcome to get it to wiggle side to side. For a wake bait, the bill's bottom edge can be flat, since you're not worried about deflection off stuff. And lastly, as was said, a looser joint will enhance the swimming action. I hope this helps.

What is the dry and recoat time with the new DN? Can it be dipped? When can the rest of us take it out for a test drive?

You can make the plastic harder by adding salt, too.

Dave, Dave, Dave, Didn't your mom ever warn you about reading technical manuals?

Spoonbender, That Rot Dr. epoxy sounds great! I went away from wood for lure building, except for balsa cranks, because even the Minwax Wood Preservative couldn't give a bullet proof seal. Sounds like the Rot Dr. stuff would be the way to go. Do you brush it on, or do you mix up enough to soak the lures?

Sounds like a farewell toast is in order!

I think what he is doing is putting the rubber dip over the bill protector, to make it thicker.

I took a look at them, and they look great.

I make matching box halves with pine borders, and 1/4" melamine bottoms. I seal them with acylic spray before I add the POP, and use strips of fiberglass drywall tape as reinforcement. I also shoot finish nails through the pine into the mold cavity to lock the POP in place. I lay out where the masters are going to be first, so I don't add a nail in the wrong place. When I first started out, I messed up a couple of molds, and had to remove the plaster so I could reuse the boxes. The little nails and fiberglass tape really work and make it a bear to remove the POP.

Drugs are a bad deal. I dealt with cocaine crack addicts on the job, but I left before this whole meth deal became such a huge problem. One of my buddies has 45 employees, and he is constantly having to deal with tweakers. It's a different world.

+1 And Kim is really good about returning emails and answering questions. Class outfit!