mark poulson

rofish, I wish the industry would be more uniform in it's wording and descriptions, without having to resort to ASTM specs. I spent fifteen minutes reading all the specs. on all the glues that Home Depot had on their rack, trying to figure out which was truly waterproof. I finally figured out that ASTM 1 was the most waterproof rating, but the others were still called waterproof. Confusing, like being a little pregnant, don't you think? After all, to me, either a glue is waterproof, in which case you can immerse it in water and never have a failure, or it's not. But, then again, what do I know? Mark

Sonny, I lucked into a jointed bait design that swam well after I made one that didn't. My first jointed bait was a punker that I cut up into sections, using the punker weighting. It is now a twitch bait, since it swims like a stick. For my first successful jointed lure, I copied the hook placement of the triple trout, and, since I used weighted hook hangers, that started my weight positioning, and, as it turned out, it was pretty successful. Making the joints loose, and putting the weight to the rear of the front section, and, as much as possible, to the rear or evenly placed in each of the rest of the sections, worked. I had made quite a few punker type lures, and I'd figured out the middle and tail weighting needed in those for them to walk, and so I had an idea that moving the weight to the rear of a section would contribute to it's tendency to move to the side. Like a truck jack knifing. And it worked! No one was more surprised than me! I guess that just proves that whole blind pig thing.

I think the Optima spiral wrap batteries have a very long shelf life.

I've used Gorilla glue for laminating lure halves, and had no problems. We use it a lot on the job for exterior woodwork. Holds up great.

rofish, You made me curious, so.......... I went on the Devcon site, and asked about both the 5 minute, and their 2ton 30 minute, and this is what the technical representative said: "Mark; The 5-Minute is what is referred to as water resistant, which means that the plug/lure that catches on a branch or rock and snaps the line, so that it stay immersed will fail over time. The 2 Ton Epoxy is water proof and will not be affected except for a slight yellowing over time. Many people that make jewelry and fishing lures use the 2-Ton and many Fly makers use the 5-Minute. Thanks! Have a great forth!" So the verbiage on the website is wrong, or at the least confusing. That's a relief. I'd hate to have coated lures with something that wasn't water proof.

I use sst cotter pins, set in epoxy, in a hole approx. 1 1/2 times the diameter of the pin. I try to bend the pin tips out, and put a belly in the two pin sides, and rough up the edges of the pins by "biting" them with diagonal cutters, just to put a series of dents in them for the epoxy to adhere to. I think the epoxy would pull out of the wood before the pins would pull out of the epoxy.

blackjack, I use Createx water based paints, and D2T or Envirotex Lite. Is Auto Air water or solvent based? In the past, whenever I've used a solvent based paint, I let it set for a day before I go over it with anything else. The exception is my spray glitter, which I heat set like Createx, and then apply my epoxy immediately. It's so thin, I think any solvent is driven off with the hair dryer, and I've never had any bubbling or adhesion problems with it.

vman, You are a clever devil!

rofish, You're right. It's like when your wife says, "It's okay, go ahead and fish, I don't mind". You never know what that means!

blackjack, What kind of paint and topcoat were you using?

Diemai, You've got it together, for sure. I'm sure your method works. Funny, the word swage is universal, I guess, for all metalworkers. My father was a lathe hand and machinest. And we had a small metal lathe in the garage when I was young. So I learned a lot of metal working terms and information when I was young. One of my most treasured books is The Machinest's Handbook. Fun to read about thermite welding, different alloys, and all the rest. I've also wondered if the wood scorched enough to make a loose fit when lead is poured into a lure.I don't know if guys who pour molten lead into their lures remove it afterward and set it in glue. It seems to me that would kind of defeat the purpose of pouring it directly into the lure.

rofish, That's strange. The package of D2T I have clearly states "water proor" and the 5 minute package says "water resistant". Go figure! Another "crisis"!

Sonny, that sucks! Especially since I just bought a syringe of the 30 minute from Home Depot to try out. Hopefully, freshwater won't be as hard on it. Can you get Devcon shipped to you? I know it's available online.

Nat, I just went to the Home Depot that's six blocks from my house, and they had the Minwax High Performance Wood Hardner, so I bought a can. Now I'll have to make another series of lures so I can try it out. Thanks for the motivation!

diemai, I've done enough of my jointed lures to know that, especially with the poplar lures, I need at least 1/4 oz ballast, even for floaters, and always more. So I drill out additional ballast holes when I'm drilling out for every thing else, in the locations I would probably use, deep enough for either another 1/8 oz egg sinker, or two #5 split shots. I drill all my holes and make my hinges slots, seal the wood, install the hook hangers, hinge pieces, and line tie with epoxy, install the treble hooks and split rings, and then I float test them in a 5 gallon bucket of water, half filled (so it's not so heavy). If the lure leans, I add weight by pinching #5 split shot to the trebles, starting with alternate sides of both front and rear hooks, and adding additional weight as needed, again symmetrically, until the lure floats upright and as deep as I want it. Your tape method would probably insure even weighting. In the case of floaters, I like to have about 1/2" of the lure's back out of the water during testing. I've found that, even with painting and two coats of epoxy, they will still float. If I weight it so it float with the back barely awash, after paint and finish it will "suspend". In reality, it will sink very slowly. If I want a slow sinker, I add enough so it just falls, and more if I want a fast sinker. With the sinkers, I try to make sure that the lure will "stand" on it's trebles when it hits the bottom. There is no way to be truly sure if they will stand up on the bottom, since the ballast weights, once installed in the body of the lure, move the center of gravity a little higher, but I've tested finished sinkers, and, so far, they seem to stand up well. Another way to alter floatation is to change the hook and split ring size, but I like the biggest trebles I can get away with without fouling every cast (occasional fouling is unavoidable with a jointed lure that's flexible). I've found that my "suspending" lures are weighted really well for a fast surface retrieve, my floaters are good to medium speeds, and then have a tendency to lean. The true sinkers seem heavy enough to stay upright at all speeds. Again, the key is to keep the weight as low as possible.

Nat, I don't use balsa, but I really like the penetrating properties. I'd thought about bumming some off the painters and trying it, but didn't want to ruin a lure. It sounds like it will take away all the water penetration issues I have concerning hinge pin holes. Too cool. Thanks for the tip.

I hope not. True Lexan is really tough and flexible, so I'm hoping it's the ticket, and not too expensive.

Here's a picture (I hope) of my drying wheel, made from a rotisserie kit I got at the local hdwe store. I mounted the spit and motor supports at either end as part of a box base that I use for the wheel.

I wondered if I had used a bad mix in the 5 minute, but I mix on a piece of blue painter's tape stuck to my bench, and the mixing stick, a wooden toothpick, is always stuck solid after about 15 minutes. Maybe my 5 minute was old. But I am going to stick with D2T 30 minute from now on. I make enough lures at once that the extra working time lets me mix a batch and do a few, instead of one at a time. I'm intrigued by the Elmer's glue, but I am concerned that it may not last, especially if it's made from "wabbits".

Diemai, I found that, by marking the hook hanger locations (for me cotter pins pushed through 1/8 oz egg sinkers) on the side of the lure before it's shaped, but after I've traced the shape on the side of the blank, I can raise the lower screw eye location enough to clear the hook hanger hole, and it doesn't seem to affect how the lure swims, or it's strength. I also make sure to have enough room in a section with just weights to clear the screw eyes, too. For lower profile baits this may not be possible, but it works for me. And if my screw eye hole actually hits the top of the weight hole, I'm not worried because I set the weights in epoxy, filling the hole half way and then pushing the hook hanger in until the epoxy comes up through the hole the cotter pin is in, and overflows. I wipe off the excess with denatured alcohol, and it adds an additional sealer where ever it is spread over the lure.

I wonder if thin Lexan would be flexible and yet still be strong? I'm going to stop by a plastics store tomorrow, and check it out. I'll let you know.

Just don't get the brilliant idea to use pressure treated wood for you lures. The fumes are deadly, and the fine dust from sanding is bad for you, too. Sharp tools are the key to successful, and, more importantly, safe turning. A dull cheisel will grab in the wood and flip back at you faster than the speed of light. Lathe cheisels do not make good forehead ornaments. Read the tutorials, and go slow. You'll get the hang of it in no time.

I agree with rjbass. Wildlife Colors are better.

Vortex shedding!!! I'm surprised the moderators let that slip through!

Carpholeo, After I made the original reply, I thought about it, and I didn't mean to minimize or belittle you search, so please don't take it that way. Man, if you can get a patent with such a general, vague description........ Seriously, it describes the action of the lure, but it really doesn't say why it does what it does except in very general terms. At least that's how I read it. And you know how well I read.... I wonder if a better description of the actual mechanics of the movements and the forces that act on the lure might be found on an aerospace site. Water and air should act the same on a lure. Or maybe I should just hang my lures out of my truck window at 60mph to test how they swim.