bassinfool99

Bob, Maybe I wasn't clear, I'm just thinking about reversing the pin/hinge position, not the carving or major shape changes. Mark, You bet I'm concerned about putting the rear hook on that last section. The stress testing I've done so far seem to indicate it should be strong enough, but I still worry about it. I may move the front hook forward a bit , and place the rear hook on section 3. The bait is 8", and I guess it's about 4oz....I say guess because I don't have a scale. I've made 3 of these so far, and I have the floater version working OK, it's more a twitch bait than a waker/swimbait. I think I read where you have something of the same problem as I.........the floaters are hard to make swim right to qualify as true swim/wake baits. I have a slow sinking one that wakes great, but I really would like to have one that floats & wakes great........without adding a lip!!! Ahhhh the addiction! The bait in the photos is weighted enough to run about 4' deep on a medium retrieve (ROF???? I haven't tested enough yet), and will swim well on both slow/fast retreive...at least that's my goal. I'm not really happy with the color scheme, but I figure that's something I can revise over time once I get some feedback from the fish. SO far I've managed to get 1 to eat the thing while it was plain white!

Hello all, I have a quick question for those who have some experience with hinges. See attached photos of one of mine with the hinge pins on the aft sections. This deal works out pretty good, but I was wondering if putting the pins on the forward sections would work any better? There is a little more meat on the forward sections, so I was thinking it might be a little stronger. So whadya think? What kind of modifications would I have to make to either section to make this work, and would the action of the bait be improved/hindered. Any and all comments/suggestions/questions would be appreciated.

Thanks Coley, looks like Alumilite is very comparable to the Task 3 & 8 resins. I tried it out in my largest mold and had the same problem I had with the Task 8....surface blisters. SO, I went back through all the literature I had and found that it's recommended to heat the mold up to 140-150 Deg F before pouring the fast cure resins..not sure how I missed that! Anyway. heating the mold is the ticket for these fast cure resins on thick castings...came out great!

Mark, Take this with a grain of salt since I've not been doing this all that long...but. I've tried 2 intermediate tops coats. First was Rustoleums outdoor spar urethane, and that stuff did not stick to createx all that well and peeled off after a few hours of testing. The second was Rustoleums American Accents Clear top coat(got it at Orchard Supply). I beleive thay have a matt and a gloss version. This stuff has worked better for me.

That is too cool.....I know the feeling! I crafted my first big, 3 piece jointed wake bait, and nailed 7.5#er & and a 3.5#er while testing it out while it was still primered all white. I thought....wow, I got a winner!!!! Well...Murphy strikes....I completed the paint & finish.....and guess what?....havn't caught one on it since. Probably has nothing to do with the color or action, more to do with timing and the bite at the time, but it's aweful hard to tell when your judging by 1-2 bites/day...........nemensis of big bait makers...@#%^&*@*@(*&

Updated after experimenting with a fast cure Task line of casting resins from Smooth-On I tried the Task 8 mainly because it has a lower density & viscosity. Lower density so it requires a little less of the micro bubbles, and lower viscosity for easy pouring. With this resin I ran into the reason they say it should not be poured for things over 1/2" thick. The section I poured with no problems with the Task 3 resin (just under 3/4") developed surface blisters with the Task 8. I might experiment with trying to slow down the reaction time by cooling the components prior to mixing, but maybe I'd be better off with a different resin on the thick castings. For the thinner sections it worked great, it's strong, pours good, and the surface finish is nice, less problems with bubbles due to the lower viscosity....I like this stuff except for the above mentioned problem. I have an order in for some Alumilite to see how it compares. One thing that bothers me about the Alumilite web page is that they don't post any spec sheets, so comparing material properties isn't possible. That's why I started with the Smooth-On product. I could see right away how the Task line compares to the Smooth-Cast line, and chose the stronger of the 2 to begin with. Anyone have any spec sheets on the Alumilite casting resins?

You might consider a metalic bronse base overcoated with a mix of transparent tropical(or leaf) green and transparent brown. The brown/green mix in the right proportions can give you a light or dark olive ....depending on the proportions.

Here's a tip for those who are looking to repaint large jointed swimbaits and need a clean way to hold it. Take a hacksaw frame, and run some short wire sections from the line tie and rear hook hanger to the blade holding tabs. Tighten up the blade tensioner, and you have the bait joints held apart and sturdy enough for easy painting.

Fourbizzle, I recently set out to do what you're asking about to make a bait similar in construction to a triple trout, but with my own additions like facial features, different profiles and tail attachment. All carved in basswod masters. For mold material, I used the OOMOO line of RTVs from Smooth-on Inc. mainly because I didn't want to mess with vacuum degassing. But with most RTVs the degassing helps eliminate bubbles....and you will get bubbles. http://www.smooth-on.com/liqrubr.htm The OOMOO line works fine for the Urethane resins, but may a bit too soft for foams..if you are planning on using the foam, some of the harder RTVs like ReoFlex 50 or 60 may work better, but require degassing. BTW this RTV stuff is pricey. For large pieces, a 2 part RTV mold will work best. I made mine just like the tutorials on this site, and at other casting sites. Like Tap Plastics for instance. Petroleum jelly works as a release agent to keep first RTV half from sticking to the second half. Just a very thin layer applied to the first half before pouring the second is all it takes. For smaller pieces, I made a 1 part molds and used a razor to cut about 1/2 way around the master after it cured so I could extract the castings. Used the razor to cut a pour spout also. For casting material, I'm still experimenting a bit. First try was with the Task 3 resin from smooth-on. I wanted the 7 minute working time for the first tries, but I'm looking to try out the faster curing ones next. With the task 3, a 50% by volume addition of microbubbles will make a very slow sinker...almost suspending, but it'll pop to the suface and wake nicely with a slow retrieve. At 75% by volume of microbubles, it gets pretty thick to pour but the bait will float....just what I was looking for. I didn't add any ballast weights to the first ones, and they swam very well. My pour holes for the molds are on the backs of the pieces, so if the microbubbles wanted to float up before the resin cured, I'd get a little "automatic" belly weighting. Not sure if that matters much, but I thought it was the best way to go.....without having to experiment too much. One note about the Task line of resins. They say they are designed for up to 1/2" thick castings. I've done up to 3/4" without deformation problems.....your mileage may vary. And one more thing for all the amazing guys on this site.... My stuff isn't worthy!

Mark, I did laminate some 3/8" pieces with epoxy to make a thicker bait. but if were to do it again, I'd probably ask them to special cut me some boards that are as thick as I needed.

Try here: http://www.itascawoodproducts.com/shop.php?product=cedar&cart_id= Don't know exactly how the quality or price compares to other places, but what I got from them was good.

Don't know of a good source for balsa, as I get it locally at a hobby shop. Poplar is also easy to get. But I have bought a variety of basswood and cedar pieces from these guys. http://www.itascawoodproducts.com/index.php?cart_id=119496948125056 The cedar is much better than I could get at local lumber yards, and the cabinet shops are $$. As far the exotics? sry, can't help there. Question, has anyone tried ash or birch? Problems ?

....when making swimbaits from wood. I've had some decent luck making lipless jointed swimbaits from hardwood, but the shaping process is far too slow for my liking. Question: Is there a casting material that can be used in a suitable mold? I've heard of alumilite, and other casting resins that can be used with the micro bubbles so they float( or have some boyancy), but I have no expereince with these resins. Are these materials tough enough to use if I was forming hinges similar to a triple trout? Anyone care to share their experiences with casting resins & hinged baits?

I have a couple big jointed lures I wanted to re-paint and CC without disassemby, and found a neat tool to help out. It's a hack saw frame. I twisted up a couple light SS wire segments attached to the front & back eyes, ran them to the saw blade hooks. Tighten it up a bit with the blade tensioner...viola, a real nice lure holder.