mark poulson

Pete, since I have my own residential const. company, I have more tools than I ever dreamed I'd own when I was young. But the handiest tools I have, other than my hands, are a band saw and an oscilating belt/spindle sander from Home Depot. It's their Rigid line. With those two, I can rough out a wood swim bait in fifteen minutes. I finish them with rasps, files, and sand paper. Symentry isn't that important in surface baits, and I get it close enough for me.

Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, but, since I make glide-type swimbaits, I coat them with Envirtex Lite, hang them from the line tie, and let the drip. The finished coat on a 9" lure weighs 3 grams. If I thin it a little with alcohol, it's a little lighter, and it spreads easier. It does affect the lure, but, since the heavier portion of the epoxy is down at the tail, it generally helps the side to side glide action, as long as the lure is bouyant enough to begin with. I can see that this wouldn't necessarily work for crank baits, but the epoxy on the head is still thick enough to protect the lure. I used to wrap my own rods years ago, with clear decopage stuff, and I had to keep it turning so the wraps were even. If you guys have to do that with lures, I share your pain.

Pete, you're a clever devil! That looks like something my Dad would have cooked up. His garage was full of home made tools, and all they did was exactly what they were supposed to do. Nice job, and thanks for sharing. P.S. I'm a much better carpenter than my Dad ever was, but he was a lot smarter than I.

Drill a hole, epoxy in worm rattles.

It looks to me like they used the hook attachment points for weighting.

Beautiful baits! If you don't mind me asking, what are you using for fins and tails, and where do you get it?

You can use Bondo to repair or fill wood baits. We use it all the time in residential const., to fix exterior wood work. Just try to be symetrical with your fillers. Different woods have different specific gravities (weight), and the Bondo won't match the wood the bait is made of. Another thing I used to use when building model airplanes years ago was micro balls and Zap glue (super glue), which I got from a hobby store. It was super light and strong. Not sure if it's still available, but it was sure helpful in making fairings and gussets that were really light.

What size screw eyes, and where do you get them? I've only been able to find .072 wire screw eyes, with holes about 3/32", the size of bare #12 copper wire. I'd love to find stainless steel eyes that are larger, with a longer screw.

I think the plug cutter will probably be better than dowels, because it will allow you to have a flat face grain face, and let you pick wood that matches the lure better. Dowels tend to finish dark, because they are, by nature, end grain when you use them to plug round holes.

You might try not putting a hook on the tail section.

You make some beautiful lures.

Have you tried the clear plastic lids that come on margarine tubs?

Typically, ulcers are caused by a bacteria, not a virus, and that's why antibiotics are effective. They don't help with a virus. Don't fool around when you're spraying solvent based paints. Twenty five years ago, I inhaled some Woodlife, a wood sealer and preservative, that I was spraying on wood door jambs before the plasterers started, to keep the water from making the wood swell and warp. The penta-something in the Woodlife got into my bloodstream, and lowered the blood-brain barrier that we all have that protects our brains and spinal cords from the nasties that swim around in our blood. A virus penetrated my spinal cord, and I woke up numb from the bottom of my feet to my, er, water spout. I found out when I went for my morning pee. I wound up in the hospital, they thought it was MS, finally figured out it was a "transient virus" that had gotten into my spinal column and damaged the nerve lining. I have permanent nerve damage from it. Although the nerves did regenerate quite a bit, I still have a feeling like my fingers have cotton balls stuck between them. But, for a long time, I couldn't tell what I was holding in my hands without looking. Scary for a carpenter. My friend was doing custom paint jobs on hoods for a sheet metal shop where he worked. He was using automotive paints for their durability. He didn't wear any kind of protection, wound up with fatal cancer. Chemicals are nothing to take lightly. And being young doesn't make you immune to their harmful effects. This rant is really saying, be careful.

If warm water is less dense than cold water, affecting the suspending qualities of lures, why wouldn't it also affect the lure's action?

Thanks for the info and source Bob. I'll check it out. I actually got a sore right elbow from filing. Now it matches my left, which is sore from throwing jerkbaits. Nathan and Bob, I just coated some baits with Envirotex Lite, and it made the black sharpie dots on my trout baits run. Will 2 ton do the same? Do I need to seal over the sharpie before I epoxy with all epoxies? Last, how long is the wait after coating with 2 ton before you can handle/fish a lure. Hilary at the Envirtex site said to wait 72 hrs. with their epoxy.

Thanks Nathan. I ordered a 9 oz. size today. The Walmart in my area doesn't have the Devcon 2 ton. On the carving tools, which kind of bit do you recommend? I have been using files and chisels and sandpaper, and lots of elbow grease.

I'm going crazy trying to find Decon 2 Ton clear here. I live near LAX, and have tried hobby shops, Home Depot, Lowes, Osh, Michael's, and even the Devcon website. It's really weird. Thirty years ago, when it was realitively new, all the lumber yards carried it. Now, I can't find any. And the other epoxy you guys recommend, I think it's called Envirotex, is also a no show. I found a hobbie shop in Glendale near one of my jobs that carries it, but is out, and they don't know when it's coming in. I live near Marina Del Rey, and the West Marine store there has their own two part epoxy they sell for boats. It comes with a choice of hardners with different rates, and it's labeled clear. Has anyone tried that stuff? I've got a bunch of stuff I want to clear coat and fish. I'm all dressed up and no place to go!

Wow, they're beautiful! I fish in SoCal, and throw and see lots of swimbaits, and yours are up there with the best of them for looks. I hope they swim as good as they look. If you don't mine me asking, what kind of hinges do you use, and where do you get your harware?

One way to help waterproof your hook hanger and line tie holes is to coat the screw with crazy glue before you install it, and then hit the hole again after the screw is in place. Don't waste time when you've put the glue on the screw before you get it installed. Run it in while the gule is wet. I made a handy tool to run the eyes in quickly by putting two right angle bends in a finish nail, like a flat Z, and then putting the point end into the eye hole, and using the head end to turn the eye. Easier to do than to explain.

Bob, Thanks for the tips. I'll let you know how I do.

Bob, I used Createx colors to detail a wood bait I made, which was sealed with polyurethane, and primed white with rattle can oil based paint. The Createx dried to a tacky finish. I put it in the oven at low for ten minutes to see if that would make the Createx "cure", but all it did was blister the finish. After it cooled, the blisters shrank, but they're still there. Looks like I'll have to strip it down and start over. What did I do wrong?

Bob, Your mention of a water cured polyurethane clicked. I have some Traffic, a tough, clear, high gloss water cured polyurethane that we use for hardwood floor finishing. I'm going to give that a try. Thanks for the idea.

Bob, I just reread your answer and see that you addressed the 5 min epoxy issue. Sorry for the first answer. I'll try the two ton epoxy.

Thanks Bob. I've always used oil based primers in construction, but I wasn't sure about lures. I'm curious about the smell issue. If the clear coat is cured, will it still have a smell? I have quite a few swimbaits I've already done with oil based clear coats, and I wonder if I need to recoat them with epoxy. Which epoxy do you recommmend? I've found that 5 minute epoxy yellows. Would a plastic decopage clear coat work?