mark poulson

Another vote for Iwata. Play around with thinning the thicker paints, like pearls and opaques, if you have trouble spraying them. Use the thinner recommended by the paint manuf. Thinner coats, more coats, no problems. Heat set each coat with a hair dryer on high.

You could probably seal the bill with a drop or two of crazy glue. It's light, and will soak into any place that might absorb water.

I've made them from Douglas Fir and Pine. Both work, the Pine is more buoyant and easier to walk. I've made them from PVC decking, and they work just fine, too.

luke1wcu, When I used Etex epoxy as a topcoat, I found that it was only as strong as the lure body it went over. I used super glue to harden balsa lures, but I wound up using Minwax Wood Hardener for my poplar lures, to try and make the wood harder and more waterproof. Once I switched to PVC as a lure material, I had no more problems. It's both hard and totally waterproof. Now all I need the top coat for is to protect the paint scheme from scratches, not to protect the lure. That was right AFTER I'd figured out how to do epoxy coating with no problem, of course.

Dave, In this case, I think the post was an informational post, more of a "how to" that he wanted to share with us, and not a plug for his stuff. But, then again, what do I know???

Dave, I don't use DN, but it sounds to me like there's still some solvent left in the first coat. I would let the first coat dry longer, and maybe use a hair dryer on it the day before I redipped. You should be able to do some test dips with pieces of PVC to see how long you need between dips before the wrinkling stops, and to see if a hair dryer helps. Jointed baits don't work in the salt! And thanks for the help with the calico paint scheme. My friend loved the two baits I painted for him.

I use a siphon feed Badger with a .5 tip when I'm spraying white basecoat, or any solid opaque that I don't want to thin too much. Also for pearls. Those paints seem to have larger particles, or maybe it's just that they're thicker. I still spray multiple light coats, and heat set each coat. But usually I don't get splattering with the .5 tip. Of course, if I let the brush sit too long between coats, I can still have problems, so I watch that, and clean the nozzle with my cleaning brush and water if I think it's been too long. When I switch to a gravity feed brush with a .3 tip, even with thinned paint, I am careful to clean the nozzle after each color, and I even use the cleaning brush on the nozzle between coats, if it's warm, or I think I've let the brush sit too long. I don't typically have a problem with internal drying, as long as there's some paint still in the cup, but the nozzle dries out pretty fast. The smaller the tip, the more critical thinning and cleaning become.

I've used wooden clothes pins to hold the netting, and it worked fine. Plus they're really cheap.

I use syringes from Flexcoat that stay in a hole in the top of the epoxy bottles until I need them. The nozzle of the syringes is slightly tapered, so I drilled a hole that's big enough to just let the nozzle slip in half way. That way I have a good seal. Then I turn the bottle upside down, draw down as much epoxy or hardener as I want to mix, and I have a perfect 1/1 mix by volume every time. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/rod-building-finishes/014394101243.aspx

Be sure to have lots of sharp blades on hand. Dull blades drift, cut very slowly, and work the scroll saw too hard.

Dieter, I'm glad it's working according to plan. I look forward to the next video. Your lures are really clean. Great work. What kind of glue are you using for your plugs? A local lure maker, TyLures, uses a small section of clear plastic tube, glued to the lure and slit down the side, to hold the hooks close until the fish bites, at which point the plastic tube opens and releases the shaft of the hook. I think it's a simple and lightweight way to secure the hooks to the lure. One of the small, clear coffee stirrer straws looks perfect for the job. Some are red. Maybe that would enhance the lure, too.

Could you post the brand name, or a link? I googled color magic dye, and all I found was hair tint, or leather dye.

Atrophius, I think you have me confused with a real lure maker, John Hopkins. I'm flattered. The flounder, if I remember correctly, was his lure. Dieter, Once again, the great mind is at work! I think Jamie is right about the weight of the hooks on the back. It doesn't take much to make a lure roll over. At a minimum, I'd go to a lighter hook. If I were making that lure, I think I'd try and figure a way to use single hooks that were embedded in the PVC, with a short anchor wire in the eye for reinforcement. Like the Storm Swim Shad. Or smaller trebles, held in with long screw eyes that ran parallel to the sliding weight hole. I would also not try to use the sliding casting weight alone for ballast. That is a great idea to aid in casting, but I don't think you can add enought weight low enough with that scheme alone. I would put part of whatever ballast weight I needed right behind the bill and as close as possible to the belly of the lure, just in front of where a conventional hook hanger would normally go, and just use the sliding weight to augment the ballast, not provide all of the weight needed. You're a brave soul to make this beauty a sinking lure. I rely on the floation of a crank to give me the courage to fish it in snaggy stuff, knowing I can stop my retrieve and the lure will float up and back itself out of most snags. For a crank running down to 45', in the past I have just used a small, shallow diver on a Carolina rig, so it is still buoyant. I fish it like you do that floating swimbait, so there's ballast in front of the lure keeping it down deep. The lure only hits the bottom when I pull on it, which engages the diving action of the bill, and it backs back up off the bottom when I pause.

Most of the time, when I get splattering, it's because dried paint is clogging the nozzle opening where the needle comes out. I have a tupperware full of water next to my paint station, and a cheap artists brush with plastic handle floating in it all the time. Whenever I change colors, or clean my gun, I grab the brush by the bristles, and use it to clean out the nozzle. I also use water with a couple of drops of dish detergent in a spray bottle to clean my brush, and dip the water brush in my cup once it's filled with the detergent water to help clean out the nozzle. Take a look into the nozzle, and you should be able to see if paint is dried there. Clean the brush more often than you think you need to, and you'll avoid a lot of problems. And the cleaning routine will become second nature, and much faster, as you do it more often.

You need a constant flow of clean, dry air at 40lb+- to be sure your brush works right. You may not run it at that pressure, but there are some paints, the thicker ones, that require more pressure to avoid problems. Look for a compressor that has a tank, and that can put out enough pressure to keep a constant airflow at 40psi. I use a construction compressor that has a 5 gallon tank, and can put out well over 100psi, but you don't need that much storage capacity. A two gallon tank will be plenty. Home Depot, Lowe's, and Harbor Freight offer small construction compressors at reasonable prices. Unless you need to worry about noise levels, these type tank compressors will work fine. And too big is better than too small. Too small a compressor or tank will constantly cycle, trying to keep up with your airbrush, and will wear out sooner. The next thing you need is a good combination pressure regulator and water separater. They're not expensive, but being able to control the air pressure, and remove any water in the air, is critical to painting success. And remember, just because a paint is water borne, it can still damage you lungs and sinuses, so use at least a dust mask when you spray them. I am no artist, just a carpenter, so I try to remove as many of the variables as I can from my painting setup that might cause problems. That way, when I screw up, I know it's just me being me.

No sweat my friend. As for shortening the bill, I actually did that on the water with an old Bass Pro jointed floating minnow, that dove to 2' on the retrieve. I used some dikes to cut the bill off almost flush with the nose, but with a little projection. I wound up with a great wake bait, which is what I was trying for. Even a blind pig finds an acorn every once in a while.

I actually like the idea of painted trailer hooks matching the trailer color. I would worry about extra thickness on the hook point itself, so I would only paint the shank, and most of the bend. With the nail polish system, I can see being able to put on a white undercoat, and then the color over it, to achieve any color, including vivid red.

Under the heading of not reinventing the wheel, find a crank that's similar to what you're making in size that dives to the depth you want to achieve, and use that bill design and angle as a starting point. You will learn more as you experiment, but this will give a head start.

Bassin TN, The lure looks great. Looks like you've found a system that works for you. For the PVC lures I make, I do a combination of rattle can primer, Createx/AutoAire paints, and water borne urethane top coat. I've found that heat setting everything, starting with the primer, eliminates problems. It only takes an extra minute, but I'm sure all the solvent is gone, and then I let it sit overnight before I start the paint scheme. For plastic baits, I don't use a primer, just dip in acetone and paint. For repaints, I scrape off as much of the old paint as I can, sand off the rest, dip in acetone, and paint. When I make a prototype out of PVC, and am anxious to fish it immediately, I use an all rattle can paint scheme, adding additional colors within the 1 hour recoat time, heat it with a hair dryer to accerate the paint cure, and then let it dry overnight. The different paint layers burn into each other, and I never have a problem when I fish them the next day.

I've use a red blade dip from either Barlows or Lurecraft, I can't remember which. I've also used red sharpies. What I've found is that the red I got was dark, and didn't hold up very well. I had to constantly touch up the color, but it was so dark I just stopped after a while. It wasn't worth the effort. The factory red hooks I've used are red over a gold plating, not the dark color of the trebles I use. I think the gold is important to lighten the red color. But I've never pursued a gold undercoater. Too much like work.

If you can, move the lure so the router bit is cutting from the flat grain to the end grain, so the cutter is going with the grain, instead of back against it. There's no magic to eliminating tearout. Sharp bits, slow feed, small bites, with the grain. Experiment with scrap until you master the technique.

You can always just use sharpies.

If you're just starting out, I'd recommend PVC decking. It is easy to carve/shape, buoyant (at least the AZEK decking I use is as buoyant as poplar), and totally waterproof. It holds screw eyes and hardware very well, plus it's strong and hard. After you've learned all the ins and outs of building (check the Hardbait Forum) you can experiment with other materials, but, especially for a beginner, PVC is the easiest and most foolproof material to use.

Dieter, you're a genius. What effect would shortening the bill have?

Jed, What did you wind up using instead of DN? Mark