Matt Moreau

Isnt lurecraft the one in Canada that charges an arm and a leg for shipping? and like $15 restocking fee once you find out what shipping is after you have paid? Dont know if its the same on but i have just heard some horror stories about that place.

To me it seems like I get more roll, or is it yaw, the rounder the bill is. I havent tested this on jim's square bill just the lures I make.

Yes Jans Netcraft has them and also I think barlows http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wooden-bodies-blocks/

I am one of those fisherman Jim.... lol PM sent!

Yup thats what I use

I have used and will continue to use Jim's baits and I agree that his service is top notch. What I will mention is that if you wish to buy baits to paint and resale just be prepared to do some sanding and prep on the cheaper ones. THEY ARE CHEAPER FOR A REASON! ? Now when i say cheaper I mean the ones under or around a buck. But with some sanding on the seems mainly and some on the bill they are usually pretty good to go. I have never had one I couldnt tune to run straight. For that to happen there would have to be a major defect with the bill or balast. I just hope Jim gets the newer ABS Plastic ones that have been popping up like the RC 2.5. The quality on them is very good and they run great. Just please ditch the square bill with balast hole it drives me nuts! lol....sorry just a pet peeve of mine!

Hi, I have bought maybe 5 - 6 styles from Jim/Predator and always great service. You do have to tune most of them extensivley but once you get them going they are fine. And if for personal use, painting practice or research of TC's and such they are great! BUT and this is just my humble opinion... I Personally would not sell some of the cheaper KO's from Predator or any other dealer. The finish quality just isnt up to par with something i would want my name on, But for a around a buck a piece what do you expect!!! I do however have a blast painting these KO's and trying new schemes on them. Then I toss them in to the heaviest cover i can find and catch some nice fish. Take the Griffins for example... they have a great little wobble and catch a ton of fish. If you took the time to sand/clean up the seams and bill then they would be very nice looking bait. For the price and elbow grease its unbeatable depending of course what your elbow grease is worth to ya! Jim, Do you plan on getting some of the nicer ABS baits that have been coming out recently? They cost 3-4 times as much but the quality is pretty nice. I dont have to do a thing to them, just paint and go. Also, could you get a square bill without that goofy adjustable hole on the bottom. I hate that thing! lol but thats my pet peeve i guess!

+1.... I do exactly this procedure too. @ Fishnart - To rid of the bubles try mixing the D2T with a paperclip and then hit the D2T with a heat gun really quickly once applied to your bait. The heat gun will pop the bubbles and thin the D2T a bit.

I use all of the above and the easiest waterproof solution i have found is epoxy putty. I need it to be water proof because I test my baits right out of the mold and use different weights. I dont have to seal them if I use the epoxy putty. Just knead it stuff into whatever void u have and wait about 10 mins...It also sands very easily.

Yes there is a forum dedicated to this. Goto the forum page and then all the way to the bottom. We are going to probably see about setting one up in the next couple weeks. Go and post on that forum if interested.

My thoughts exactly Rayburn. I have drilled out plenty of props to fit the diameter screws I am using and never have any issues I only use through wire on balsa and I just split my baits with a blade. I Have looked for longer drill bits in small diameters but never found any.

I have a Talon and 2 iwata eclipse's. The talon doesnt compare to an iwata eclipse. The Eclipse beats it hands down in atomization and is much more fluid. I would not buy another one and if I were you I would go with the revolution.

I think a swap would be fun. Lets post something in the hard baits section. I bet a lot of people dont even look down here thats why there isnt much interest, but a sticky or something in the hardbaits forum i bet would stir a lot of interest. I agree though that a mixed bag swap would be tough. I dont want to take anything away from any builders but I dont know if I would want to contribute. I make a lot of my own jigs and stuff as it is and I would rather swap apples for apples then apples for oranges. If anything we should make a 1 signup form for each category..... mixed, cranks and swimbaits. You could even dive deeper into a swimbait category on its own... I mean I make a bunch of styles and the complexity that can go into one should be denoted somewhere. It might be a bummer if you carve a masterpiece and put fibet fins and such with a great paint job only to get a hunk of wood that is has barely anything done to it. But a crankbait one would be fun!!! Although now that I think more about it we may have to break that down into custom made and then custom painted... A lot of people only paint KO's and dont build their lures. So for the ones that actually put the time in to build and paint would suck to just get a KO...Sorry for rambling but got me a bit excited!!!

Yes a lot of people like Rod Building epoxy like flexcoat and such to be used as a topcoat. I have never tried it but heard it is a very good top coat. It is however nothing like Dick Nite's. Dont be confused though DN is not an epoxy it is a moisture cured urethane. Do a search on DN and you will find oudles and oudles of info.

If you look at Vanns profile you will notice that the links are down and he told another TU member to email him. I would take a look and do that. I dont want to post his email here tho.

I think Bustin Bass baits has the smaller one (95 I think) but I dont know about the 110.

I use a bunch of different Topcoats. Etex is a great TC because it gets super hard, smooth and glossy. Please note I do not use it as a sealer though... It just takes too long to dry. Thus, on most of my softer lures(balsa, and PVC) I use D2T thinned with DA as a sealer and then topcoat with Etex. When using Etex I have found it is important to follow the below. If I dont then i start having issues.... 1. After the lure is sealed Clean it really good with soap and water and try to handle as little as possible while painting 2. It is really important to measure exact amounts with Etex... I use 3ml syringes... Box of 100 off ebay for like $10 shipped to my door 3. Mix for a min of 2-3 mins... I usually mix for about 3 mins or so and then let it sit for a couple more mins and then mix a bit more. If you just mix it until it looks all mixed(30 seconds or so) it just doesnt start that reaction between the 2 parts and issues seem to arise 4. Apply evenly and I take a heat gun on low and go over the whole bait to pop the bubles in turn making the Etex even runnier... dont get too close or do to much! 5. Turn as slow as you can go(5rpm or so) for a minimum of 12hrs. But on cold days I let mine go for 18-24hrs some times. I have a turner that I can add and take baits off while turning so this isnt a problem for me 6. Before you handle them hang dry for another day or so. Again the colder it is the longer it takes. I live in California and really cold for us is 30 at night and 45-50 in the day.... I let the etex take a really long time on these days and never had any issues... hope this helps

IMHO, I would say the cheapest, easiest and most user friendly would be polyurethane.... this of course when durability and water resistance are not a factor. You probably could also use rattlecan clear but I have never used it.

Hey blatz your pics didnt go through. But I have used the clear heat shrink tubing to make craw patterns. It cuts ok and holds a shape fine. I melted the first lure I tried it on though as there is a fine line between the melting point of the tubing and the lure. also you have to cut the shape while on the lure so if you have on with detail wou cant really sand it down smooth after so I have dedicated one to use for templates and such.

Clear the whole bait for a uniform finish. I personally would never clear just a portion but thats me. Also I would use the DN S81 for this as it is a thin and strong coating. You could also use the auto clear but stay away from the D2T unless you thin it with DA.

Thats what I was kinda affraid of Mark. 2ton doesnt set like the 5 min stuff... with the 5 min devcon I would just mix it then wait a couple mins until it started getting stringy/putty like.... you only have about 30 seconds once it flashes like this but you can mold it on and it works good. Glad the Bondo worked for you.

I use the some from lowes... I think its locktite brand... Its blue on the outside and white in the middle... good stuff!

If you use a beer can I would worry about the lure being totally unstable and wobbling side to side trying to find its balance point... Heck it may just lay there and do nothing for periods of time! Glad it worked for you Mark

Not unless you have an industrial turner!!!!! Etex wouldnt be feesible for that type of application as a motor cover will flex and the Etex would crack almost instantly!