bass100

I got my mold in and did some tank testing. I tested the baits with a hook molded in and with the hook attached with 2 black split rings and there was no difference in action at all. On the small baits the action was not pronounced enough for me but once I got to the big baits it really shinned. The big baits I used were a 6" brush hog, 12" straight tail worm, and a 10" curl tail worm. I did not get this mold for the action though, I got it to use in rocks where a bullet weight will snag to easily and I think it is going to work great. I don't know how well it looks swiming and deflecting off of cover yet but I am anxious to find out. I called my fishing partner over to look at them in the tank and he picked the one with the hook attached with split rings because he said it looked liked the bait was trying to eat the weight, so we will test both next year. As far as the mold goes, the only problem I had was with the 1/2 oz and 7/16 oz cavities flashing out of the bottom and onto the hook. I love my Jika rig but I only use it with small baits. If you guys add a second split ring to the rig you will get alot more action out of it. It is always scary adding 2 split rings together but I haven't had a problem yet.

Thanks Cadman. You are right, there are many manufacturers and many types of paint and many more to come in the future. We are forced to each come up with what cure time works for our applications. As heat application becomes more popular I am sure there will be new equipment to take more of the guess work out. My main reason for the post was to let guys know there is no easy answer. They are just going to have to put the time in if they want the most out of their paint. I don't even want to know the amount of time you have put in with your multi color paint jobs. WOW

I don't yet know of any manufacturer who provides a cure time list for powders that are applied with heat. All powder paints were designed to be applied with static electricity. If you follow the cure times provided with your powders you will often find that you will over cure your paint because when you applied your powder with heat you already started the curing process. The reason I know this info is because I use to work as a powder coater painting items for the military. I have spent countless hours finding the right cure time for all my powders and the average for me is 350 degrees for 11 min. This time will change for everyone based on the temp that you applied your powder. This doesn't have to be exact there is a bit of wiggle room. When you first apply the powder it is hard but brittle. When it is cured correctly it is still hard but now has elasticity and will bend when your lead bends. When it is over cured it will start to go back to brittle. Paint up about 4 or 5 items and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then cure each item at 2 minute intervals (cure the first one for 10 min,the second for 12 min, etc.) I then take the first item and throw it on my concrete floor. Let me emphasis not drop but throw. Do this to all of your items and then look at them and you will see the quality of each cure time. On some the paint will chip off or crack but one of them will mold to the deformed lead perfectly, now you are in the ball park. If you are fine with the results then you are good but you can take it a step further and fine tune it. If you find that the item you cured at 12 min was the best then cure another one at 11 min and one at 13 min and then repeat the process and choose the best one. It is time consuming but well worth the end results. I find that the darker the color the more wiggle room you have for the cure time but the light colors are a bit more fragile and can be a pain to get the right cure time. I have several light colors here that will not hold up to the abuse that a darker color will. I am sure there is other ways to get the cure time right but this is how I do it and I hope it helps.

Just buy a coupling that fits your 2" or 3" cups. That will give you another 2" or so if it is not long enough just cut a piece of pvc pipe and stick on the top of the coupling. You don't have to glue any of it together. I use 3" cups and when I need more length I just put the coupling on.

If you stick with colors that have a RAL number you will be able to get that color from any of the powder manufactures. You also want to make sure the powder you choose is outdoor powder.

Thanks for the info guys. I just got the price list for Rat Trap and he has a large selection and the tabs are very affordable. I will make an order here in the next month to check the quality. Thanks again.

Does Rat Trap Bait Company have an email?

Although I don't have that mold I do have that problem on several different molds. On some molds you can simply tilt the mold one way or another when you pour and that will let the air escape. I normally cut vent holes in the mold. A hacksaw blade and about 30 seconds per cavity is all it takes. You just cut a line from where the air pocket is to the outside of the mold. You don't have to go deep at all. If the air pocket is at the sprue hole it usually comes from filling the cavity very quick like with a bottom pour pot, switching to a ladel or slowing down your pour will usually work.

I only go up to 1 oz jigs but it has never been an issue. You can get high temp tape and dots for powder coating from here http://www.powderbuythepound.com/Masking_Tape_-and-_Dots/ I have tape and dots and I don't use either because it is a pain as far as production goes. If you do it for the customer charge a bit more per jig or just tell them you can't do it.

I hand tie just about everything with 24 guage wire from parawire.com. There wire is color coated copper so it will never tarnish and you can match the color wire to your skirts. For the small jigs I use the o-rings like you get from fishing skirts except I buy my o-rings from a place called BDI http://www.bdi-usa.com/. The o-rings cost around a $1.00 per 150. I don't know what they cost on their website because I buy them direct. You can also get your o-rings for senkos and neko rigging from them.

I sold jigs for a few years here in the US and overseas. I sold 4 different styles of jigs from 1/4 oz to 1 oz and from 2/0 hooks through 5/0 hooks and the #1 seller across the board was a 3/8 oz with a 4/0 hook. Down south I rarely sold any jigs with a hook size less than 4/0 and here in the north I did sell a bit of jigs with a 3/0 hook but the 4/0 won hands down. 3/8 oz was the big seller and after that it was 1/2 oz. Hope this helps and good luck.

I use alumilite's high strength 2 silicone and it makes injection molds just fine. You don't need to add a backer to the mold. When you clamp them together that is when you use a backer on each side of the mold (like wood or a stiff plastic).

D2T does not make lexan brittle. Lexan is very flexible and D2T is not as flexible so the epoxy will break off of the lexan every time it bends. D2T works great on anything that is less flexible than it is.

Basstackle's brush hog molds are great. He has another type of brush hog that is even better but he only has the one size http://www.basstackle.com/product_p/515-1-1.htm It is the 515 creature mold. It is just a buggier type of brush hog.

I weighed mine in grains. GY 5" weighs 169.9 grains and mine from Del's molds is 180.8 grains. I use Super Soft Sinking plastic from MF and a 1/2 cup of fine salt per 2 cups of plastic.

I use #2 on the hook hangers. For the line tie on the 2.5 I use a #3 and on the 1.5 I use a #2. If you use a #3 for the line tie on the 1.5 it can sometimes bind up and it wears through the clear coat quickly. You can get your split rings from www.worthco.com

Here is another video of other ways to use the Jika rig (this could save you a bit of money)

Actually Mark you have contributed more than I ever have so thank you. Check out the Jika Rig. When it first came out I thought it was stupid but now I use it alot. There are baits that I love but they cause a great deal of line twist when I texas rig them but the Jika rig has solved that problem and the painted drop shot weights work great for the rig. Here are a couple of vids

I powder coat alot of drop shot weights and I hang them with wire. I buy rolls of wire from walmart. I think it is .022 wire and you get 20' for $2. It is in the craft section. Cut the length of wire that you want and you can bend 10 at a time. Cheap and easy. I paint the weights to use on the Jica Rigs. Much cheaper to use the drop shot weights then to buy the commercial ones. The swivels don't work half the time so I don't worry about it.

www.johnsonbag.com

I will make it a little easier for everyone. Go to http://www.usplastic.com/?clickid=topnav You want item # 50809 .020" x 48" x 48" PET-G Vivak Sheets. The cost is $18 per sheet. This is a great company and they offer so many things that a lure maker can use.

If you use regular white gloss paint in your boxes you will eventually be upset. Regular paint will break down with the exposure to uv light and the heat. First you will loose the gloss and then it will flake off. However they do make specialty paints for uv light reflection and it is expensive. Tin/aluminum foil does not break down over time with the exposure to uv light so it will last virtually forever and it is cheap. Most uv light reflectors are made of aluminum.

The only base coat that I have found that doesn't react with the many topcoats is sprayed enamel. I use the Ace brand. Just make sure you get the flat white and not the gloss. It is $3.99 a can and I can get 2 coats on 45 baits per can and they are ready for paint in 15 minutes.

Ok guys, as far as the durability is for bass lures it is really no different than D2T. I find that the 2 are comparable in hardness and how much they will get scratched up. The main advantages are the cure time, the ability to coat as many lures as you want at a time, the consistency of the cure, and the price of the product. Yes, I use Clear Tech lights in my light box. All of Solarez's lights are not viable for crankbaits (they do not cover enough square inches and they do not last long) You can get a 5' long Clear Tech bulb cheaper than one of Solarez's little lights and it will last much much longer. Remeber guys heat is the killer for your UV bulbs. The lights will still be bright but you will notice that it is taking longer to cure your lures, that means it is time to change your bulbs. Everytime you cure a batch of baits or just one bait make sure you let your bulbs cool down before you cure another batch and it will keep your lights going for a while. This is the only system that works great for us guys in the north. Anglinarcher, there is no big pattern to figure out, it is very easy to use. There have been many that have tried Solarez's other products but they didn't work for crankbaits. So just stick with what works and you will be fine. Those of you guys using a nail dryer, have you tried taking the dryer apart and using the lights to make a miny light box. It would allow you to hang a full length lure upright without any chance of touching the bait. Use the insulation board from Lowe's that has the aluminum foil on both sides of it. You can get a 4' X 8' sheet for under $10 and it is designed to hold up against the heat of the lights. One board would probably make 4 miny light boxes. My responses will be delayed guys as I usually only check the forum once a week.

You are correct Brent. But if you have even a window in your room then you take the chance of UV light getting in. It is just a very quick precaution.