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I am new here and only posted a couple of times-excellent site with heaps of info. I have just finished re-educating myself, by reading 64 pages of past posts. One thing that comes up a bit is "Matt finishing baits". There is a product you can buy, called "matt base", it is used in spray enamels, polyeurothanes etc to matt these finishes. Over many years I have used talcum powder (talc) which you can buy at hobby shops/ resin suppliers etc .Mix @ about a tablespoon to a pint, the more you use the flatter it gets. I suggest you don't use your wife's "Rouge" or body talc, as it may have oils/perfumes in it. I have never used it in a dipped, slow drying top coat , such as Devcon, I have only ever sprayed it. If using a slow curing coat I suggest you turn it until it is cured, otherwise the talc which is slightly heavier, will gravitate to the lowest point and you will finish up with a gloss/matt bait. A rough definition of "Matt" is any gloss with minute grains protruding above the skin of the finish, this stops the finish from reflecting light (as in a full gloss finish), so our eyes trick us and we see matt. An old rule in finishing- and it does not matter weather it is schelac, epoxy or propionate- "The matter a finish is the softer it is, or the glossier a finish, the tougher it is". Keep this in mind when you think of the teeth chewing on it. Anyway, try it on a piece of scrap and see if it is what you MATT enthusiests need. Pete P.S- "Matt Base" is just Talc mixed with the appropiate medium-water, thinners or turps, etc etc and charged for accordingly $$$. Pete

"Longball"-See Pics and Drawing in "Homebrew Tools". With all the stuff-up's uploading, I thought I should put it all in one place. Hope you get something out of this. Pete

I will have another go- 2 x pics and 1 drawing. Cross fingers.Pete

Sorry Longballs, did not load again- see how it goes later, does not like the pics for some reason . Pete

Hi Longball Just went out to the shed and took a couple of close up's of the slot etc which includes the lower half of the punch "barrell". As I hope you can see the punch passes past the slot which is where the cut is made. When the punch is raised and the sheet is placed fully into the slot. The punch is then driven down against the sheet, which in turn is forced against the lower edge of the slot (same diameter as punch here), this force causes the sheet to sheer off (in this case a circle). You would be suprised how easy it cuts sheet Brass, Aluminum, Lexan which are all about 5mm thick (not sure in " s). As I am sure you know, this is nothing new, it's just a die punch but instead of complicated shapes for lips I have made it round as it is easy to source and no huge cost in having a die made, I have been down that road with a die I had made for hook hangers. I think she divorced me around then!! As I think I said in the previous post, if you shape the end of the punch the lips (not Lexan) will be bent to this shape also, it's up to your imagionation I suppose. Hope this helps, if not, keep asking. See 2 x pics Pete

I have uploaded some pics at "Home Brew Tools"- http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9255 sorry for all the gigging around . pete

Here's two more pics, hope this helps someone .Pete

Sorry for the stuff up with drawing- you should be able to see a zipped file @ http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9254 To compensate here are some pics:

Sorry , here's the drawing

There have been quite a few posts on hand cutting lips, maybe this is of some help!! Here

There have been reading quite a few posts on hand cutting lips, maybe this is of some help!! Here

To get "PROPIONATE" to dissolve quicker- stick it in an old coffee grinder (rotary electric) and belt the crap out of it. Fine crystals of plastic will dissolve quicker in acetone because of greater surface area in contact with acetone. Be aware of the fineness of the plastic and eyes/ lungs. Pete

Try Flatfish in "Perch scale" colour any size but tiny is better, they seem to think they are yabbies (crawdads over there) , just off the bottom- and they love them. pete

"Flash Back" is a hazard with any volitile solvent, see my post here http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8644&page=4 for a few hints, it's worth concidering. Pete

Forgot to mention- use a coffee grinder (rotary) to smash up those Propionate pellets - more surface area means it disolves quicker. Pete

Cellulose Propionate

If it is any help , they call it "Methylated Spirits" here.Pete

BEZYB: Beside all the reasons mentioned-If your base coat is in any way glossy (should be matt) you will have trouble getting your colours to stick- when the colour dries it shrinks a tiny bit and if not adhering properly, tends to crack. Also, I think this was mentioned- The base coat should be totally dry, if not it will shrink on drying and drag and crack anything that is sprayed over it, a bit like a micro version of "crackle finish". hope this helps.Pete

"Jarral" can't see why not, I would warm the oil too, so it is as thin as possible, should penetrate further. Hold it under the oil (see drawing), vacuum through a one way valve in the hose/pipe and leave it for 10 minutes or 10 hours and see how you go. The more air you can get out over time, should give more penetration. When the bubbles stop coming out of the wood, suck it again. You can only try it. Lots of great ideas for vacuuming in this post, as you see from these guys, you don't need an electric pump setup like I made. The oil or primer will only penetrate when the vacuum is removed, then outside air pressure, (I think it is about 7 lbs in your language- 1 Bar in ours) will force the liquid into the wood. Not sure where the limit is with penetration (there must be one), but a good test would be wood stain, vacuumed, against just applied to the same wood type. If only we could get all these heads in one workshop. pete

Yeah thanks Travis, I see it now, pretty simple, all we need is some water and a bit of hose, forget the pump- Good lateral thinking here. pete

BEAUUDDDIFFULLL. That finish just makes the colours leap off the lure. pete

Finally have a drawing that I can load- hope this helps. Sorry about the quality, you may have to blow it up. Pete

Hi Guys Thanks for your intrest, and compliaments Pardon my ignorance but never heard of "Buck Perry", but maybe he copied mine ! ! As for Heddon, well they are quality lures , especially the old ones. We don't get many Heddon lures here, mainly because of the cost, they are not competitive with local stuff-still some wood around. I originally started with balsa wood blanks, these I had at the back of a boat, speed testing, to see when they would "pop out", they did'nt, we must have been doing 30 Mph. I then started using "King Billy pine" (King William Pine)- a local AUS wood- pine with a very fine grain and no knots, great to work with- never speed tested these though. Love Balsa though, easy to work and has a "good sound" to it, but durability was allways a problem, especially when you sell a few. Pete

Yeah, we are on the same wave now. Just be carefull with electric motors and paint fumes (This goes for exhaust fans, spray booths too). I have been a firefighter for 30 yrs and have seen a few go up around here, including commercial Car paint booths, not pretty. pete