A-Mac

I suspect that it is an oil. The lures are dry to the touch, and even drilling holes the lures still appear dry. However, I noticed they were sweating after releasing from the mold for a couple days. But once again, they seemed dry after. I even put mine in the dishwasher to try and clean the surface (which worked well in the past). After this, these lures were probably bare for almost a month before priming. My recent batch I dipped in kilz white primer (as suggest by other TU folks). After a day of hang drying in the garage, I moved them outside into the sun to try and ensure the lures were dry. Upon doing this, every lure started to blister and sweat causing the primer to become soft and sticky. It has been 2 weeks since this happened and the primer and lure surface is still wet, so I presume this must be an oil. If I'm lucky, I'll be acquiring a laboratory oven, with lo-temp controls. I think you are right anglinarcher, I'm thinking lo-heat (probably about 100-110F) for several hours to see if it pushes the "sweat" material out. Step one is to remove the bad primer though, which will not be fun. Then, I'll try painting one again after trying the drying process. If it is oil coming out, then why? My pours have been coming out great, just emitting this oil. Perhaps moisture contamination must be causing a chemical response. A call to the manufacturer may be the best way to go for answers. Thanks.

Is there any way to save a resin lure that sweats? I assume that my resin is contaminated, but I have had it about 2 years. I do use a dry gas blanket, but I have recently started having resins sweat through my base coats. Has anyone tried drying, or baking the lures to force them to sweat out? I've got about 30 lures made up that run great, and I would hate to just toss them. Thanks.

What about a circular tank that is positioned vertical (unless this was mentioned previously)? o shaped with large pvc piping for the bottom 1/2- 3/4 with the opening/ lure testing portion on the top. In other words, just doing a 90 degree flip on the angle the water approaches the bait. I would position the pump somewhere just past where your lure would be tested, in an attempt to homogenize the cross section of flow by the time it comes around to the lure. Also, if the pump is creating too much turbulence, couldn't you turn the pump off once the desired flow speed was reached. I figure with the pump off, turbulence would reduce and become more consistent throughout as time passes, but still allow enough flow and speed to test a crankbait. Just a thought, I'm a fish biologist not an engineer.

19 gauge SS wire from rural king, tractor supply, or Ace hardware. I'm sure the same company makes it for each. Easy wire to twist as well as bend in a jig.

Are you using createx? That is awesome if the paint isn't peeling with Solarez uncured for 45minutes.

I'm thinking more along the lines or putting them in a dryer/dehydrator for a day. Heating clear coats has never (consistently) worked out too well for me.

This brings an interesting point. I wonder if the heat from the lights is causing moisture to rise out of the lure/paint? Perhaps just hitting with a heat gun isn't enough.

If you can find an old lab scale, that would be best. The more decimal places the better. Mine goes 1 decimal place which is great for weigh finished products and ballast weights. However, it is not accurate enough when weighing "filler" materials for adding to resin. I'm better at eye-balling my filler amounts than actually weighing them, but a lab scale would be awesome.

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/index.php?/topic/25605-solo-cup-rtv-mold-making/?hl=%2Bsolo+%2Bmold I prefer to cut as little of the mold as possible, it helps with keeping the lure symmetrical.

Very cool. I think it was hazmail that had a tutorial on curving lips. It looks like a very complicated process. Of course, I bet their weight system is unique too.

I've been wondering the same with aluminum.

I clean for about a minute or two after each color, and go through a bunch of Q-tips. Going from reds to a lighter color seems to take a greater cleaning effort. Only in a few situations (going from a light to a dark shade in the same color) do I not do a full scale clean. Nevertheless, I still try to get most of the other paint out. As for multiple brushes, I shoot with only 1. If the paint dries on the needle tip or in the gun then you can't shoot worth a darn anyway. It's less headache to clean wet paint than dry paint from a gun.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check into that. I finally got the blade to stay on. The only way I could set it was to adjust the wheel tilt while the saw was running (top door open). It was not the most comfortable scenario I've put myself in. It seems to be staying right now, but with the small blade, the rear bearing guides do not even come close (even after sliding them forward). I'm thinking I may need larger rear bearings to reach the blade. I've never heard of the fiber blade guides, how do they benefit vs a wheel bearing? Thanks for the info!

So has anyone tried a brand other than SolarEz? ...and affordable?

Has anyone had issues with Solarez "orange peeling" createx or any other adverse effects to the drip-and-wait method? I haven't noticed this yet, but was just curious.

From my experience, you will attain the best action by keeping the bait as least dense as possible and then adding weight to acquire the desired buoyancy. I tried adjusting the density a few years back and quickly realized that the action on my swimbaits was severely hindered. In addition, I found it very difficult to control the density of the lures to that level. Several variables play roles in how the resin will set. Humidity and temperature only take small differences to really change how a lure comes out. I weigh each of my lures on a small digital scale and use the same amount of filler each time as well as use syringes to precisely measure out equal parts of resin. I even run a timer so that I mix the resin together for the same amount of time every time. Though this methodology does provide substantially more consistent weights in my lures, I still have a noticeable degree of variance between pours. I've even noticed that normally my first pour of the night is slightly more dense than the pours that follow. I think this is because the mold warms a little bit from the first pour, but I can't tell the difference just by touch.

I picked one up. I purchased a 1/8th blade to run on it. Man, that is a tough saw to set up! I've probably spent a good 2.5hrs just trying to get the blade to stay center. Even still, the blade is just slightly off from center, but at least the blade seems to stay put. Do you guys have any recommendations on the bearing guide set-ups for the 1/8th inch blades? Also, how do you tell if the blade tension is adequate? Any suggestions for the best way to ensure the blade is square with the table? (I'm installing the table on it tonight). I had a Sears 9" saw before (Menards version), and it worked well for the price. Even then, I just fiddled with the blade tension until it worked (but this started getting more difficult to achieve as the saw aged). I just want to make sure that the set-up is perfect on this rikon saw, since it should be able to perform better. Any tips from the bandsaw experts is appreciated! If all goes well, I hope to finally give it a whorl this afternoon!

Very cool. Anxious to see a video too of this desing.

Depending on the amount of flake, I'd also be concerned with light not reaching all of the solarez.

Would you mind posting a link to the flashlight you purchased? Thanks!

I concur with bobv and Mark. I shoot some createx clear, then sprinkle glitter over top. I then heat set, and dip into my solarez. Glitter stays in place just fine! I normally don't apply glitter to the entire bait either though. I would be concerned with solarez having a chemical reaction with the glitter if left in mixture for too long.

its all about working the angle! I will make angles on top of angles on top of angles! As suggested, get everything squared up (hardware holes installed) and some center guidelines on the lure. Then start with a coarse angle and AND REPLICATE THAT ANGLE ON BOTH SIDES. Then sand another angle on the corner of the previous angle, AND REPLICATE THE ANGLE ON THE OTHER SIDE. Best rule is to take it one step at a time and make sure each side gets the same treatment in sync. Once you have a few angles applied, normally a little hand sanding is all that is needed to round the bait out. I hope that makes sense. Good luck.

Does anybody on here use one? I feel it's time to upgrade (my menards saw is a bit of a pain) and am curious about the pros/cons of the Rikon. Conveniently, I have a WoodCraft not too far away.

Hmmm, thanks for the info. Might have to try turning the hanger then, it couldn't hurt. At the very least, it's something different to try.