mark poulson

I put D2T on the inside of the joints before I assemble them. Then I assemble the lure, put it on the drying wheel, and put two coats of Etex on the faces, being careful not to get it into the joints. I lap the D2T onto the faces a little so I have an overlap. Also, be sure to round the sharp edges of your joints with sandpaper so the epoxy will stick. I've found the stiffer D2T sticks better to the edges of the joints, so I don't have to worry about getting the Etex to stick there. The Etex bonds to the D2T overlap just fine. I've never had a problem.

I have that happen, too. Typically, it happens when the lure first hits the water at the end of the cast. There is enough force to make the pieces jam. I think it has to do with the surface of the epoxy being "sticky". Not to the touch, but to itself. I put Megastrike on the joints to lube them, and it does the trick. Plus it gives a scent trail. I typically only have to lube the joints once, when the lure is new, and it cures the problem.

You got it. I just spent three hours stripping off the epoxy and paint from three jointed swimbaits that I had coated with aluminum rattle can paint, trying to get a foil undercoat without all the work. The metal in the paint made it shine, but it also made it slippery, so the next coats didn't bond. And the metal expanded when it go hot, cracking the Devcon epoxy topcoat I had used for the first time. Even a second coat of epoxy, this time with Envirotex Lite, couldn't save the lures. Suffice it to say, it took longer to strip the lures than it did to repaint them. But I did learn what not to do. Thomas Edison once said all the different elements he tried to use as filaments in the first light bulb that didn't work weren't failures. They were just things that he learned wouldn't work, leading him eventually to what did. Fortunately, I haven't had to go through as many failures (thousands) as he did, thanks in large part to Tackleunderground. But there is no teacher like experience. On the other hand, I did try Auto Air aluminum paint ( thanks Snax), and it seems to be good. I'll let you know when I take the repainted lures out for a swim Saturday.

Man, I can't even imagine what it's like to throw 12oz baits! I can see why you need a longer rod. I built a 13' surf rod years ago to throw big baits into the kelp, but I don't think I've ever thrown something that big. I use the 7'6" for 2-3oz swimbaits, which I generally throw side arm or underhand, and to throw punkers, which are glide baits. The butts on the two rods I use are short enough to make walking these baits easier, and the shorter rod is more accurate for parallel casting. I use an 8' heavy crucial rod for 8" huddlestons, and other similar 4-5oz swimbaits, which need a long cast. The biggest lure I throw is 6ozs (a 5 piece swimbait I made), and I don't throw it for too long. I use an 8' extra heavy Crucial rod for that, and it wears me out after a while. I've seen Pete Maina on TV, throwing some big stuff for muskies, but I don't think I've ever seen him throw 12oz. You Da Man!!!!!

Jamie, I use the 7'6" med heavy for 6"-9" lunker punker-type lures, because I can work them better with the shorter rod. 8' rods kick my butt for working lures, but they're great for launching them.

That's great. Sounds like the rod you picked is up to the task.

Etch, Any more blades, and the bass will think it's an outboard! Seriously, those are great looking frogs.

Dont tell anyone, but the Okuma line of swimbait rods is a steal. $100+-. Also google fig rods, and go to the Matt Newman swimbait rods. $100+- also. If you find you're going to be throwing swimbaits a lot, and you want a different rod, look at the Okuma line. They have affordable 8' rods that work, and any swimbait over three ounces will wear you out if you're making long casts with a 7'6" rod, no matter how good it is. As Captain Jack Sparrow says, "It's a matter of leverage". They cast as well as my Shimano Crucial swimbait rods, for just about half the price.

Good luck! When you make a mistake, you'll learn something from it, so don't be too pissed.

I haven't actually done it, so I'm just guessing here, but I think the reason for printing on tissue paper over foil is that the tissue paper turns almost transparent when it's top coated over foil, so you get the picture over foil. I guess, if the picture you're printing is good enough, that might not be necessary. I'm still trying to find some really good photos online that would work for me.

Hand held routers are knives moving at high speed. They can be really dangerous. I've been a carpenter for over 40 years, and have used all kinds of routers. I own a dozen right now, at least. I wouldn't dream of using a hand held router on anything as small as a lure, without some kind of a jig to hold it. Dremels don't have enough power to take a decent cut, so they have a tendency to grab and run, and when you're holding the work piece in your hand, that spells disaster. I don't even use a router for shaping my lures. I rough cut them on a band saw, and then rough and finish shape them on a oscillating belt sander, which has a table. For any fine detail, like gills, I use a Dremel with a sanding wheel, like diemai. I tried the metal cutters, but they're too prone to grabbing. Or files, knives, and chisels. Slow and safe will get me to the lake instead of the emergency room.

One test I've found works to figure out how loose to make your joints is to assemble the lure, and then see how far it bends. If it doesn't easily bend at least to 90 degrees, it's not going to swim worth beans.

You should look at Tackle Warehouse - bass fishing pro shop for fishing rods, reels, swimbaits and lures. . They have good prices, a really good selection of stuff we use out here in SoCal, and ship immediately. I live in L.A., they're up the coast a little, and I get stuff UPS the next day. For you it might be two days. Give them a peek.

The reason for heat setting each coat of Createx is so that that coats dries immediately, and you can go on to the next coat right away. You can see when the paint is dry, because it will lose it's sheen, the wet look. Too much drying is better that too little, and two thin coats is better than one thick one, because a thick coat will flash dry on the surface, but still have water trapped underneath. If the paint doesn't really dry, it stays soft and mushy, and you don't get a good surface over which to apply your top coat. If you're using an epoxy top coat, like Envirotex Lite, or Devcon 2 Ton (30 minute, not 5 minute!), you can put the top coat on immediately after painting. I like to wait a day to be sure the paint has really dried out, but, if you're in a hurry and are sure you've dried the paint well, you can do it right away. I've done it and it worked. Depending on what combinations of sealers, primers, paints, and top coats you use, the process of making a successful paint job can be either simple or complex. I like simple, so I use what's worked for others before me, and has been successful. Minwax polyacrylic sealer two coats, then dry overnight. Krylon white primer two coats, then dry for two hours. Water based paints Createx, Wildlife Colors, Auto Air, Apple Barrel Krylon spray glitter heat set optional, depending on the paint scheme D2T epoxy in my jointed swimbait joints, lapping onto the face a little Envirotex Lite on my assembled lures on the drying wheel two coats on the faces only, trying not to let it get into the joints This method works for me. I make lures from pine, fir, and poplar. Other folks who work with balsa have a different system, since balsa is softer, and those using polyurethane foam use another system from those two. I've not used balsa or foam, so I can't speak to them on an informed basis. But I've stumbled through enough mistakes on my lures to endorse the method I use for wood baits. When in doubt, dry a little longer. An uncured layer can doom a beautiful paint job.

Thanks carpholeo.

Try putting hard foam "balls" between the blade and the hook, for buoyancy. I'd use foam ear plugs for starters, until you see if it helps.

Except for my floating lures, all of my jointed lures seem to swim "heads up" a little, so a more buoyant tail wouldn't be a bad thing. That's if you're making a jointed lure.

What kind of a printer are you using? I have an HP inkjet, and I'm not sure the lable paper would go through it.

Be sure and heat set your createx paints after each coat with a hair dryer.

Thomas, If you're thinking of mass production, I would look at the most successful commercial jointed baits. Those folks have already found the cheapest way to make a durable, "foolproof" hinging system for mass production. Think BBZ. It's the cheapest, best fishing mass produced swimbait on the market. If you're just making them for yourself, I'd stick with screw eyes and hinge pins. The screw eyes let you adjust the gap of your hinge until the bait swims right, and the pins make it reversible, so you can disassemble it before you prime it, and then put it back together for you finished paint job. Then you take it apart to put epoxy in the joints without the pins in the way, and then reassemble them to put epoxy on the faces. Sounds like a pain, but it's really a lot easier than trying to clean out the joints after the epoxy has gotten in there, and it holds up just fine, as long as you remember to soften all the edges with sandpaper, and lap the joint epoxy out onto the lure face a little, so there's an overlap with the top coat on the faces.

Take it fishing! That's an order!

It looks great! The pleasure has been mine. It's been a lot of fun sharing your lure making experience. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to keep us all involved and up to date. P.S. Take insurance out on that carp. Some pike is going to KILL IT!!!

jflures, I haven't tried foil yet, but, when I do, I hope mine come out as nice as your lures.

What he said! Iwata is going to put out a hit on you. It must be a bridge keeper thing!

I'd watch my fingers if I were you. Mackerel have teeth! Great looking bait.