mark poulson

They look fine to me. Good job. How do they fish? Are you getting bit?

Any drying wheel is going to involve some money and time. No way around it, unless you can get the kids at the park to spin your lures on the carousel for you. Rookie, I tried your transformer method, but the paint keeps coming off on the first cast. I don't think water based paint is up to the task.

Man, that's great! I'm sending you all my lures to photo finish. I just got my garage rebuilt after I burned it down when I saw Sanx' mad painting skills. Looks like I'll be getting out the torch again.

Too funny! I'm sure the dead horse appreciated the use of lacquer, instead of some kind of epoxy.

Finally, an answer to my first post on this thread. Thanks, MTfishing.

Mrs. Red, In my lure making, I use hook hangers with lead already molded on them, and twisted stainless steel wire for line eye attachments. I currently get both of them from Lurehardware.com., but their delivery is hit and miss. I also use stainless steel wire, .051 gauge, split rings, and stick-on eyes, from Stamina. I buy #2-3/0 treble hooks wherever I can find them the cheapest for the 2X hooks I prefer. I look forward to your store beginning to stock this stuff, so I can shop here. Mark

Rick, I don't know anything about making plastic baits, but, if I were going to, I'd find the type of plastic I wanted to use, then find a type of wood the was the same specific gravity....one cubic inch of plastic weighs the same as one cubic inch of wood. Bear in mind that you'll be adding a little weight to the wood with a couple of coats of sealer that the plastic probably won't need. And the paint you use for the plastic may be different, and heavier or lighter, than for the wood prototype. That way I could carve my prototypes out of wood, and weight, seal, and hinge them, and then test their action and buoyancy. I find wood much easier to work with, so that would be my choice. Once I'd figured out the shape, hinging, and weighting, I'd look into making whatever mold I needed to make plastic copies of my prototype. I'd keep the prototype safe for future mold making.

For me, paint spitting is almost always a sign of a dirty tip. Sometimes it can mean the paint you're spraying is too thick, or you're painting at too low a pressure for that particular paint. I use water based paints, and, generally speaking, the opaque and pearlescent paints need more pressure than the transparents or flip flops. Thinning the paint should make it easier to spray, but the coats will be thinner, and it may take multiple coats to build enough for your paint scheme. I don't thin my paint, so I can't give you any advice as to how to do it. Just know that water alone isn't the best thinner for water based paints, according to the experts here. I just keep my pressure set at 35-40psi, and adjust the paint needle and trigger for less paint when I'm painting thinner stuff. Put up a piece of cardboard next to your paint area, and do a test spray to see if the paint's flowing right before you move to your lure. Doing a good cleaning between coats, including using a small artist's brush to clean out the tip, is what I've found is the easiest way to avoid any problems. For me, that means first cleaning most of the extra paint out of the cup with a finger and rag, filling my paint cup with water, using the artist's brush to get the paint that's down at the bottom of the cup, spraying the paint into my hand over my Tupperware water tub until the wash water comes through, covering the tip and back washing until the wash water come out of the back of the tip really strong, dumping the wash water and refilling, and doing it again, maybe three times. It takes two minutes per color change, so it's not time consuming. Last thing I do is fill the cup half way with Windex, loosen the needle, and move it in and out, covering the tip of the brush with my hand so the Windex doesn't run out, re tighten the needle in place, and then spray and backwash with the Windex. I spray until all the Windex is gone, and again just before I add the new paint because there's always a little Windex that runs down the cup sides after I clean it. The more you paint, the easier the whole process becomes. It will be second nature to you in no time.

wook, That depends on what you're using your compressor for. I have a 4hp, 30 gallon tank compressor in my garage shop. I use it for air tools, like finish nailers and cup spraying when I spray lacquer, and for blowing out things, like my livewell lines when I am cleaning the boat. Here in SoCal, we are trying to prevent the spread of the Quagga Mussel by following a "Clean and Dry" protocol every time we get off the water. I have a smaller 2hp "pancake" compressor that use for airbrush painting. It's noisier than the big compressor, but I didn't feel like trying to modify that air supply hosing from the big compressor to be able to use it to paint. Lazy!!!!! Air brushes only need 40psi at the max. Framing nailers, on the other hand, need 100psi, and lots of air. The Emglo type compressors we use for framing have smaller tanks to keep them portable, but cycle constantly to keep up with the guns. I don't recommend this kind of compressor to you for general use. I think a shop compressor of 2 to 5 hp, with a larger storage tank, will fill all of your needs, including blowing all the crap out of your garage.

rofish, Before you buy, see if there is a nuber you can call for the manufacturer's technical person, and ask him/her about cutting the stock you have in mind. If they don't have a tech. in-house you can talk to, check the internet for the model saw you're looking at, and see if there is anyone who has one you can talk to. Before I bought my bandsaw, I checked with Grizzley, and found a guy who live one mile from me who had one. I called him and went by to check out his saw, and ask him all the questions I had regarding the saw. Or you can post the question, "Who uses a table top bandsaw, and how does it perform?".

Rofish, A bandsaw's ability to cut straight pieces is dependent on three main things. First, can the upper guide be raised high enough to accept the stock. Second, is the blade sharp, and the right tooth configuration and width. Third, can the blade be tensioned enough to keep the blade from deforming and wandering during the cut. Assuming you can fit the stock you want to cut under the upper guide, the blade and blade tension are really the most critical components. I have a 16" Grizzley (Chinese) bandsaw that I bought for work twenty years ago. If I want to cut taller stock with a straight cut, I put a 5/8" or 3/4" wide, skip tooth blade on, and crank the tension up until the blade really twangs when I thump it with my fingers. And I make sure the blade is sharp, and that I feed the stock slow and steady. Nothing makes a blade wander faster than feeding stock too fast. That will make even a brand new, sharp blade drift. Also, bandsaw blades are rarely perfectly parallel to the fence when they actually cut. Each blade has it's own "personality", at least on homeowner saws, and I always do a small test cut, to see which was the blade wants to drift, and set the fence parallel to the cut, instead of trying to force the cut to be parallel to the fence. Small table top bandsaws may have improved over the years, so I don't want to say they can't do the job. But smaller saws have smaller wheels, and shorter blades, and get dull faster. And they generally don't have frames that are rigid enough to really tension a wide blade. So you need to be sure you use really sharp blades, and go slow, letting the resistance you feel during the cut tell you how fast. Good luck. I hope this helps.

Ha, ha. That's funny. Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thank goodness for spellcheck.

Vman, I found out the hard way that two coats of epoxy adds almost 6 grams to the weight of my 8" lures (6 1/2" wood bodies, 1 1/2" plastic tail). I top coat with Etex, and it isn't immune to either hook rash or rock rash. I cured the hook rash problem by T'ing my trebles, so the two hooks that normally rub the belly of the lure are bent out into a flat T top, parallel to the bottom face/plane of the lure. The rock rash I have to cure by casting better. The Etex isn't brittle, like you said D2T is, but it doesn't like to be between a sharp rock, and a 3oz wood swimbait. On the plus side, I can repair it with brush on crazy glue on the water once it's dry, and D2T back in the Garage when I get home. I like the D2T for repairs because it's not as thin, and doesn't run like the Etex.

Charles, Did you use water based paint and a hair dryer to heat set you paint before you coated it, or did you use solvent based paint?

I am not familiar with the Aztec airbrush, but any compressor should be compatible, with the right fittings. Go to Harbor Freight's website and check out their compressors. They seem to be priced right. After that, I don't really have any specific advice, other than to get a combination pressure regulator and water trap to go with it, or two separate devices. Both are really important in successful painting with an airbrush. Good luck, and don't be afraid to screw up. We all did, and still do. Just between you and me.

Vman, Doubles as kill spot! Clever devil.

Please do post the link.

Diemai, That's a great idea. I've seen lure here with through holes as part of the lure design, but not for scent sponges. Any turbulence created by the irregular sides would probably be a plus, giving the lure a distinctive underwater "signature". Rick Clunn came out with a line of cranks a few years ago that were supposed to give off a different vibration due to the notches on their sides, which was supposed to show up on a bass' lateral line as a unique signature, and make the baits get bit more since they were not the run of the mill crank. Who are we to argue with Rick Clunn?

Little toads. That had to be the sorriest Classic I've ever seen. Those guys had to have the patience of Job, or else a bottle of Jack.

I don't make cranks, so I really am talking through my hat about something for which I have no first hand knowledge, but I was just wondering. Someone posted pictures of a pike jerkbait with a hollow tail, to which he super glued a grub onto the head of a nail. Maybe you could copy that idea, by hollowing the back of a crank, then adding your through wire or hook hanger, and superglueing a doughnut shaped sponge into the recess around the hook hanger. I would think that might interfere less with the action of a lure than putting it on it's back, or on one of the hook shanks.

Isn't he the same guy who taught Cheny how to shoot?

:worship:Thanks. Tell Eddie I'm jealous!

Bob, How is the MAC valve different in practice from the needle adjusting feature on the back of my Iwata? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm really just trying to figure out if I should get off my duff and move my regulator closer to my brush, so I can fiddle with the pressure when I paint, instead of the paint needle. P.S. Isn't it fun when you write a post, use spellcheck, and it comes up no spelling errors? Almost like making a bait that works......NOT!

I think you may have more luck finding a decal that you can have your signature printed on, and then clear it onto your lure. Most signatures have overlaps that make stenciling difficult. I do not know of a decal supplier, but I do know it is an existing technology, and is used by lure makers.

I make larger lures, like swimbaits, and I like hologram, red, and chartreuse. If I had only one size and color eye to buy, it would be a 3/8" chartreuse with a black pupil.