mark poulson

That is very generous of you, but I'm not able to do hand carving anymore. Old hands taking their revenge for too many years of abuse, I guess. But I still enjoy seeing the beautiful stuff you and the other builders on this site make. Keep it up!

It must be a very rare mold. You might try contacting Do-It, and asking them if they recognized the mold. They have been making molds for a long time, so they would probably recognize it, even if they didn't make it.

Try the 4 rpm motor to see if it will work. I built a Ferris wheel type turner like Toadman's, and used a 1 rpm rotisserie motor, and it worked fine.

You are really talented. What tools do you use for your carving?

Nice! I think you're right. We learn as much, if not more, from our failures. Of course, if failures are any indication of how much we learn, I'm working on my Masters degree! Hahaha

Just knock the shine off the D2T with a scotch pad, or steel wool.

First, check to see that your uv lamp is the right one for your resin. Then, use more than one light. More light, closer to the bait will speed up curing.

I wonder if runny super glue would work?

Did you shake or stir it well?

Leonard, what it the firmest plastisol that can still be injected?

I sometimes do this, too. I cut the lure's profile, clamp the blank in a vise so that the pencil line for the lip slot is just clear of the jaws, and then use a fine hand saw to cut the slot.

Dude, they are well earned.

Every epoxy I've used has been measured by volume, not weight, because the different components have different weights. Check the label on your epoxy to see what ration, by volume, the manuf. recommends.

Some of us just can't read so good.

I use Spro #4 heavy duty swivels for belly hook hangers, and pass a short piece of sst wire from side to side/cross-ways through the buried eye of the swivel to add some insurance.

And he paints just as well as he builds, or better.

You'll find it here: http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Restorer I keep mine in a pickle jar. It lasts forever, even when you can see old paint floating in it. I sometime backflush with the restorer, and shoot the excess right back into the jar, if I think the brush isn't shooting right. Every few months I break down my air brush and soak it overnight in the jar. The next day I use the needle, blunt end first, to clean any old paint that might be still in the needle barrel, use my compressed air to blow through the brush to clear anything else that I can clear, then I reassemble the brush, putting a couple of drops of needle oil onto the needle before I reinstall it, and a drop in the bottom of the trigger before I reinstall the air hose fitting, so the oil blows up into the gun when I hit the air again. Thinning your paint, and backflushing with clean water between colors, will go a long way towards keeping your brush functioning well.

I've also found that, once I remove the broken down air brush from the Restorer, pushing the needle through the brush blunt end first, before I put the nozzle back on, pushes an amazing amount of old paint crud out of the needle slot. I did that with my first Iwata HP-C airbrush that I had stopped using because I thought it was just worn out. Turns out I had just done a lousy job cleaning it. Now I have two great brushes to use. Cleaning your air brush well is right up there with thinning your paints properly as the key to successful painting.

I use weed wacker replacement filament.

I guess I have a different perspective on Larry Dahlberg. I like his videos because he makes it look easy, and doesn't demand perfection. Lure making, for me, is about making something to catch fish first and foremost. I'll never be the artist that a lot people here are, but I don't let that worry me. And sharing whatever "secrets" I've learned, mostly from folks here, is just paying it back. People who want to take lure making to another level are great, too. I love seeing what they can do when they share. It's just not me.

Welcome aboard! Those baits look great. You're miles ahead of where I was when I first started!

I use an earlier version of this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Medium-Professional-Multi-Purpose-Respirator-62023HA1-C/202080144 Put it a sealed plastic bag when you're not using it, or the filters will continue cleaning air around them and become ineffective much more quickly.

I would guess that the slight color you are seeing is from the glitter used, not a colorant. I would experiment with different fine glitters like green or blue, along with the fine silver and coarse black, to see if you can get that color.

I found that putting a groove in the "forehead" of the bait, from nose to line tie, with a round file seemed to enhance the swimming action. I think it probably increases the turbulence (thank you Vodkaman) of the water as it passes over the bait's nose.