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Spoopa- I have tried Balsa, Red Cedar, Beech, broom handle (whatever that was) and have settled on Kauri Pine. It's heavy, but not too heavy, hard, but not too hard, machines/sands well, has no real visible grain, (similar to Bass wood) and above all is tough and will not crush as with softer woods like Balsa, floats well, has a density of about 500kg/ m3, compared to Balsa's 200kg/m3. It took about 30 years to settle for this. These are just some of the qualities to look for, but the main one would be, it's mass /m3, or in your country, lb/cubic' As Bob and diemai say, buoyancy is the key, so start in the middle, not too light, not too heavy and you can work sideways from there - I think Basswood would be somewhere in the middle (never used it), Cedar lighter and Balsa lightest. A lot of people here swear by Beech, but I find it too hard to work. whatever you use, have fun doing it.pete KAURI PINE (S Kauri Pine (Agathis microstachya, palmerstonii, robusta) or Queensland Kauri, or Bull Kauri, is a large softwood native to the Cairns and Maryborough districts. Similar to, but slightly darker than Hoop Pine. Heartwood is not durable. Suitable for plywood, furniture, joinery, patternmaking, vats, kitchen utensils, battery separators, turnery, violin bellies. Supplies mainly limited to northern Queensland .

Excellent little site, thanks Kelly.pete

Deiter - On Paint, I am with Mark, and use water based acrylics, just about exclusivly (and some Tamiya). I buy good quality artists paints (various, in tubes @ about $5), and have had some liquitex for 30 years - a tube lasts forever. Just squeeze a bit out and mix a little water or better still 'Windex' (window cleaner) and you can make any colour you like and store excess in a film container. I figure if a the paintings last a hundred years, I would have little problem with a lure - just make sure they are good quality, which will have nice fine pigments, and good solid colours, you DO get what you pay for. pete

John, I am late getting here, but have to say, what an exceptional piece of work. That wire work, and the finished lure is something to behold.pete

Thanks CJ, this is very graphic stuff, I notice some of the 'arches' are upside down !! Seeing these, is pretty reassuring, compared to my 'Rapala' arches. Next time I see a bait ball like this, I am going to stop and see what develops, and maybe get some pictures. Nice fish too - two that size would be fun.pete

bruce - nice little machine and pretty versatile- yesterday I was looking at 2 of those 'spinners' you gave me in Clinton, and again realised how well made they are, I have decided ,I'm going to fish one shortly, maybe those big trout will have a go at them. That loop is where I have had problems, and as you say it really has to be centred first, or things become very difficult - will have to make a back yard version - if I had a greater call for through wires, I would invest in one of those 'Bloggs' machines, but you know me, nothing like a challenge. pete

PB - I like it, I have had that problem in the past and gave up on it - a miniature fume cabinet, what a great idea. Thanks pete

Here's Mach 3 version, I found the one I made on Saturday fiddly to handle and time consuming to make. This one takes about 1/2 hour to make and is just a matter of drilling a pilot hole to take the turned wire barrel, cutting 2 slots in a 1/2' bolt, and filing some 'grip' grooves, and cleaning up. I found some thicker/harder s/s wire, which made turning the loops much easier. [/img] [/img] [/img] Thanks Bruce for the 'Blogs Wire' link, I will have a look - and yes I know what you mean about the right tools, I have little holes and scratches all over my left hand. As I said previously, this would only be useful for tying the occasional one piece through wire, arthritis takes hold after a couple of hanger sets.pete

Hey Jerry, are you watching, SEE that 'square chuck' I have been talking about - I'm thinking it is the same, or very similar to 'Rapala's' machines - great job whatever it is.pete

CD, thanks for your generous offer, I hope some of the guys here take it up . Is there any new brushes in the pipeline, with a .3 tip, and MAC valve, for larger jobs? Pete * Perfect for detail work * Incredible atomisation * Solvent resistant seals * Cutaway handle for easier adjustment and needle control * Balanced weight reduces user fatigue * Micro Air Control (MAC) valve for ultimate air control

Can't beat that 'bassin', nothing like catching one on your own.pete

Very cunning solution here Dave, I would love to see what else you are up to up there, in steamy Indonesia. pete

Charlie - The polycarbonate in those pictures is about .5mm thick (roofing sheet) and I punched it (small hole) with a paper punch, the ones they use for punching 2 or 4 holes in sheets for folders. it will also punch through Aluminium. Although the poly is only .5mm thick (20mm dia) these have never broken/cracked, it's tough stuff, and the thinner the lip the better the bite, especially in a smaller lure. The actual lip was punched with a press I made, which is pictured in the post mentioned earlier "Quick Lips". pete

Dave - By increasing the angle of the feed slot, this will increase the spiral around the wire. Those two adjacent pins in the last picture, are used to align (bend) the eye to the shank [/img] For those single eyes in your picture, I use a double twist (haywire), you can use a hook made from a nail, place it in a cordless drill, clamp a loop of wire in a vice , stick the hook through the loop and slowly twist the wire to the desired spiral (tight /loose).pete

Gator- I am not sure which you mean, is it the aluminium lips in this post?' http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/homebrew-tools/9255-quick-lips.html Pete

Well, I could not buy the old style, push bike spoke tensioned, so had to make something out of a 3/8” Al bar. It would be better made from brass, or better still steel or S/Steel, I used Al because it is easier and quick to work. I got half way through photographing things, and the former rolled off the bench, never to be seen again in the rubble on the floor – so I did not get to make a full harness for the pictures. This is nowhere as quick as some formers available, but if you only need to make a few hook hangers, this might be o.k. - Whatever you use, make sure it makes a barrel twist and not a double (Haywire twist), which will shorten the wire as it is twisted . I used a thin, soft stainless wire here, hard and a bit thicker is much better, but I do not have any to demo with!! First, with the hacksaw (fine), cut a slot along the length, and half the width of whatever you choose to use. [/img] Then cut at right angles across this slot and near the end [/img] Cut another small slot here @ about 90 deg to the longitudinal slot [/img] [/img] Finished former [/img] [/img] Draw a template and lay out where the hanger eyes will be – drill and hammer in location pins (nail with head removed) that are the same size as the internal diameter you want for the eyes, this will be the jig for locating where the wire is bent and the eye is rolled. [/img] [/img] [/img] [/img] Still can't find the wire former, I have been crawling around the floor for hours -so you will have to use your imagination, as to how the finished hangers look. pete

Jim- as we are saying there should be a short cut to all these terms, it would be a great tool for us illiterate English men .http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/docks/14560-glossary-terms-page.html:

Dave, in that 'tutorial', the loops were made with a 'double twist' instead of a single barrell twist (Haywire Twist??), the double twist tends to shorten the wire, which makes it difficult to make a 3 eye harness. I used to use a modifyed spoke tightner to make these loops, but lost it somewhere, so I will make something tonight and take some pictures. This is a cheap way of doing it, if you can't afford an excellent 'Hagens' machine, which I do not have.pete

Clamboni, yes 40' and less of water, and yes I had the book, but spent more time reading than fishing, very fruastrating!! I thought 50hz was the high power/narrow cone and 200hz was low /wide cone?? Better check this. Mike thanks for all that, it all helps. The transducer is transom mounted and powered directly to the starter battery, which does get interference when the o/board is running, but otherwise, with the electric minkota is pretty good. pete

Clamboni - thanks for this, it explains a lot, I liked your analagy on the distance thing, next time I go I will try and get some more examples. I'm starting to think this sounder may have too much power for the depth I fish, which is mainly 40' and up. Thanks again .pete

OK guys , what am I looking at here??? Are those lure shaped lines fish, and what are the blobs in the middle and top of screen. The settings are about 90% sensitivity, and the upper/lower limits are set at 6-30' in 67' of fresh water. My past sounders (Raytheon,Furono) have shown arches as 'arches', not these 'Rapala' shaped lines - if they are fish, all I can say is they were not hungry (Trout), I was looking at this for 4 days, and caught 3 under size fish, I was starting to think I was hallucinating. Any input/theories welcome. I had more pictures but we were shaking around too much, which killed the quality.pete [/img]

Thanks Dave, you have given me an solution!! I have made a couple of gliders, (I think that's what they are??) they glide so well, there is virtually no drag on the line and nil action until 'jerked', so this notch (never heard of this) may be the key to a bit of 'action', speaking of which, I have had very little of lately. Pete