mark poulson

I found some AZEK PVC decking today at Stock Bldg. Matls. in Mar Vista. They don't carry the mill work, just the decking. I bought a piece that measures 5/4 X 5 1/2" X 16' for $65. Pricey, but it is enough to make all the baits I want to for the foreseeable future. I don't think my hands could take any more sanding and shaping than that. First thing I did was cut off a 6" section, weigh it (405 grams), label it with a sharpie, and drop it in a bucket of water. I'll check it tomorrow to see if it absorbed any water. I ripped the slick finish off another 6" piece, ripped it down into three blanks, and shaped two more 8" jointed trout bodies, and a 5" punker type glide bait. It really is plastic. When I machined it, the drill cuttings came off in one piece, and wrapped around the bit shaft, where they cooled and hardened. And I can't put too much pressure on it with the oscillating sander, or it melts. But it cut just fine on both the table saw and the band saw, and, so far, seems to shape fine. I'll do some detailing tomorrow with the Dremel sanding drum. That should be interesting, since the Dremel burns poplar. I may wind up with a gooey mess.

Thanks for the reassuring words. That takes a big load off my mind. I try to keep the area open and well ventilated when I use that stuff. I find the brush on formula of crazy glue is so handy I use it all the time. Anything from an on-the-water top coat repair, to treating line cuts and hook holes in my hands. It's a pretty good glue, too. I even use it to seat lips in crank baits, when the line tie is separate, and to lock ballast into my baits before I seal over it with epoxy.

Downriver, Is that isocyanate stuff the same stuff that's in crazy glue? When you smell crazy glue, is that stuff getting into your lungs? I asked you on another thread, but missed the answer. I just want to know how careful I need to be with crazy glue. I can't afford to lose any more lung function.

Rattle cans are one way to go. Brush/Qtip/fingers is another.

Couldn't you test that theory by putting just a bit of silicone on one side edge of a straight running crank's bill and seeing if that produces the hunting action? I say silicone because you can shape it easily when it's wet with a finger dipped in paint thinner, and remove it easily after it sets.

That's some pretty fancy wiring. Really a slick solution. And the tip about heating the wire makes sense. Do you rip the matl. to 3/8" thick, or are your lures carved from two 3/4" boards laminated together?

I just spent two hours online, and another touring my nearest Lowes, and can't find the PVC decking you're talking about. Evidently, it's not sold in Calif. Figures! Save the environment, kill me with stress! Do you have a brand name for the decking that I could look up? I have a friend who owns a small local lumber yard, and he thinks he can get it for me, but I need the brand name of the decking. Thanks in advance. Mark

Does this mean that if I can smell the crazy glue, it's getting into my lungs?

Bob, Forgive an ignorant question, but I've never handled that G10 material, so I'm clueless (I know, what else is new? ) Is this stuff tough enough to use as fins, especially tail fins, on swimbaits, and easy enough to work with that it can be shaped and drilled without cracking?

I realized after I finally woke up that I didn't really answer you question. If there's enough moisture in the wood that it would dry out by leaing it inside, it would also shrink slightly. That means that the holes would probably open up a little more, since wood shrinks toward itself, and, in the case of a drilled hole, away from the center of the hole. At worst, the screw eye would tend to be looser afterwards. In reality, unless you're using const. lumber that's full of water, it probably won't make a difference, one way or the other. But even a small "extra" moisture content in the wood can affect the bond of both the glue you use to set your hardware, and the bond of the paint scheme to the wood. It pays to just use dry lumber, and some glue in the screw eye holes, and not have to worry about those extra variables. Goodness knows there are enough variables we can't eliminate as it is. Vote early, and vote often!

Looks good. Clever idea about the velcro. Keep it clean, and it should last forever.

John, I'm interested in trying that Lowe's PVC stuff. What kind of glue do you use to fasten hook holders and line ties in that PVC? Do you use a special sealer to get the surface smooth enough to paint, or does it carve and sand smooth enough?

Hmmm.....let me see if I can sound intelligent at 4:00 in the morning. All wood has some moisture. Even kiln dried. If you have any "free" moisture in a wooden lure, it will make the finish fail because it will cause the wood to expand and contract too much when the temperature changes. Most finished can't stand up to too much movement. Air dried wood which has reached the same relative humidity (moisture content) as the surrounding air is pretty stable, as long as you don't live in a really humid area, where relative humidity is high all the time, like the tropics. But it still has more moisture than kiln dried, unless it's been sitting in the desert. That's actually a problem when people in Arizona buy wood products like furniture and pianos from other parts of the country. The wood dries out more in their dry climate, and the joints open up, even kiln dried wood in furniture. The outer layer of kiln dried lumber is exposed to the moisture in the air surrounding it where it's stored and milled, so it can dry out when it gets shipped to the desert areas. But wood that's kiln dried is more stable, less susceptible to movement, than air dried wood, because it is not only lower in moisture content, but the process of kiln drying seems to keep the moisture content low if you store it inside. If you seal the wood well before you paint and topcoat it, you eliminate the wood movement headaches. I've settled on using Minwax Wood Hardener as a sealer for my wood lures after I've carved, sanded, and drilled them with all the holes for hinges, ballast, hook hangers and line ties. It's a penetrating sealer that is drawn into the pores of the wood and reinforces their cellulose structure by coating it with something. Don't remember what. The softest wood I use is sugar pine, which is buoyant and easy to carve, and the hardener makes it strong enough to hold hardware. I pour some into a coffee can, drop in the lure parts one at a time, slosh them around for about ten seconds, and then drip them out over the can for another ten seconds and hang them to dry for a day. Even though the wood hardener wicks into the cells of the lure (you can see the air bubbling out of the end grain as it's displaced) and down into any holes that I've drilled, I still use glue on my screw eye threads. I know Snax has found a better hardener product, but I've found the Minwax works for me. I use it at work on exterior wood products that I want to seal before installation, and my painter uses it to repair damaged wood before he bondos and paints, so I know it works.

Um...err...ah...what Dieter said! Sorry for not being clearer.

Thanks Bob. My lips are sealed.

Use heavy line, because that thing is going to be attacked!

Jimbo, I can only speak to number one. I've found Owner split rings are the strongest. Most of my friends who throw swimbaits swear by them. I use #6 or #7 on my swimbaits, which range from 6" to 12", and whose weights vary from 3oz to 7oz. Most of the guys who fish the salt for larger fish also use Owners. I don't know if you can get them in bulk. I also like the Danielson brand, but they're not as heavy duty. Tacklewarehouse carries both.

Oh....you mean that kind of off angle. Actually, I've mounted a couple of lips off like you're talking about, and they all swam to one side or the other. I've usually wound up shaving the side of the lip they swam toward until they swam straight. I didn't realize this was desirable. I just thought I was sloppy. I do think a flexible bill matl. might make baits hunt by flexing unevenly, just enough to relieve pressure on that part of the bill, at which point it would spring back to it's original position, transferring the pressure to the other side of the bill. I have no idea what material to use, but it does sound interesting. By the way, is this paulownia wood easy to use? How does it compare in weight and ease of shaping to poplar? The only place I've found that sells it on the west coast is up in NoCal, and I'm not sure they'll sell to SoCal since we steal their water.

Clemmy, Those little fishies aren't the same ones I'm talking about. I think they were spelled fisheeze. They had a fish body, and a ribbon tail that was super thin. In the water they're very subtle. I'll email my friend, and try to get one to photograph so I can post it. If someone one this site could pour them, they'd sell a million here in SoCal.

I second the motion on the motion. Terrific. What kind of plastic did you use?