A-Mac

This is very interesting! PLEASE post pics of your creations... NO MATTER HOW THEY LOOK! This sounds like a very difficult project and I wish you luck!

hmmm... its amazing what you can learn! No wonder the big lure companies have the Chinese do all the "dirty" work. I take it that osha and epa type agencies don't really exist their. Good to know about the mandatory fresh air supply for some paints/ clears too. I was just starting to want to get more involved with auto air stuff, but I think I will hold off until I have a better air circulation system. Good info, very good thread. So Cheers! Lets drink to our health!

I would say just go with the best one that home depot offers and you should be good. They should be the carbon (organic) filters. I use mine religiously now when doing all my paint work AND resin pouring. I figured that if I'm better off wearing the good filter for all painting AND resin stuff , then my lungs are worth the few extra bucks. I use to not wear a mask when shooting createx. I was shooting pearls one day with the sun shining through the window, the entire room glistened with the metal flakes (even with a fan going). I coincidentally had a cough getting progressively worse at the time. Connected the dots, started wearing the best mask I could, and my cough gradually went away. I also shoot auto paints too, so I needed a proper mask for that to begin with. Coming from a family of auto body and paint mechanics and seeing a trend of lung cancer I figured I would do what I could to avoid that road. My , a mask is the cheapest health insurance you can buy.

I think createx definitely shoots better when temps are in the 50+ range. I will also say that I shoot better when temps are warmer too. I typically take my lures inside to clear (or to pour resin) just because a stable environment is a must.

Painting was the last thing that I got into really enjoying. Its like your first taste of beer... when your 10! An acquired taste indeed! The first step is carving and making the lure designs. Looking at the gallery pics on this site really pushed me to learn how to paint (and showed me what you can really do with an airbrush!). You will reach a certain point that you will enjoy painting too! But I will totally agree with you, I do love creating-inventing a lure and going through the process to make that particular lure work.

Aero Marine has a "water clear" casting resin. I have not used it but have used other resins he provides with good outcomes. It takes longer to cure and costs more... if thats even an issue for you. Here's the link: http://www.jgreer.com/

Thanks for the info BobP. Can't wait to use the stuff... and HOPE I get the method right the first time.

Since this is a dn chat... sorta... about how many lures can be dipped into a quart (assuming about a 3" lure)? Also, for you guys that order it by the gallon, do you only use a fraction of the amount at a time to keep the whole stock from beginning to cure? I have not used the stuff yet (will be placing an order the day after Christmas) and want to do it right the first time! As for the Bloxygen type stuff, has anyone used a product called X-tend-it? I use it on my resins and its suppose to be used on moisture sensitive prodcuts. http://www.sculpt.com/technotes/Tech_Sheets/TECH_SHEET_EXTEND-IT.pdf I ordered mine through aero marine; however, I wanted to see if anyone had used x-tend-it on DN first. Thanks!

I had something similar happen to my badger last year. It wouldn't spray and I just couldn't figure out what the deal was. Luckily, Badger provides free services to repair/ replace your airbrush parts. Once I got mine back, there was a note attached saying to not soak the airbrush in cleaner. They didn't say what they did to fix it. Did you ever soak your airbrush to clean it before? I used to always let my airbrush soak for a day when doing thorough cleanings... apparently, it really can screw them up (which is why I had to send it in). My guess is, a seal must have swollen up. But just by going by what you described as your airbrush's symptoms, it sounds exactly like what went down with mine. Sorry that I can't help! My suggestion would be to tear it down as far as you possibly can (or hope you get a new one for Christmas). If you do find a seal/oring that is swelled up you can put it in the freezer to make it shrink back to its original shape (good trick to know for odd-sized o-rings!). Good Luck!

Happy B-day tater!

Hooray! I get to buy myself a Christmas present now!

I would check out Badger's website (there link pops up on the top of the page on occasion). Go to the "Garage Sale" portion of the site. I bought a Badger 360 (which is still listed on there) and I love it. This airbrush can be used for either siphon or gravity feed... I just use it for gravity feed though. I think its on sale for around 70 bucks. I also have a ps900. Yes, the ps900 is a nice airbrush for the price, but paying 70 bucks for a $200 airbrush is worth it in the end. I feel the ps900 can paint a finer line; however, the 360 is far easier to clean and shoots a wide range of paint. I would like to also point out the badger will conduct repairs to your airbrush free of charge. My

Is there a way to melt the xxx super stretchy type plastics (like strike kings stuff). I use soft plastic fins on some of my hard baits and don't require much plastic... so it works out better for me to just melt down some baits that I don't use a lot. I tried microwaving the super stretchy shakey head worms from strike king (forgot what the actual name of the worm is). I had it nukin' for almost 4 minutes and the plastic showed no signs of melting. The same amount in zoom plastic takes about 30 sec to begin melting. So is this stretchy plastic even "meltable." Any info is appreciated... I tried using the search but have had a harder time finding stuff since the site was updated.

I tried the plaster of paris (POP) thing once. I didn't have much luck and the results weren't what I wanted. I have heard of several people doing it though... especially with soft plastics. Most people use RTV silicon to make 1 or 2 piece molds.

Good. Thats reassuring! I couldn't find anything either. I dug up a patent that had a wire hanging underneath the lure and you could slide what looked to be worm weights on it I think the patent # was 6718684). I don't recall ever seeing that one in the stores either. But yeah, I'm totally against duplicating another persons work now. However, I don't see anything wrong with modifying an idea. Not saying trying to duplicate isn't bad idea for people starting out. I know my first lures were "based" off of shad raps just to see if I could have it work the same. It helps when first figuring out the basics to the lure making puzzle... little different when it comes to selling a lure though. I am not particularly a fan of doing perfect dublicate paint schemes either... unless of course my favorite crankbait color is discontinued then I figure its for the sake of fishing!

I have a pretty good idea brewing up as far as the methodology for inserting weight. @ Vodkaman, the whole pin idea is exactly what Tru-tungsten uses and the unit is not sealed to my knowledge... so I'm sure TT might not appreciate that one. One of my buds has had the pin fall out before and I've seen the process for him inserting weight on his other TTs. What I have in mind would not require disassembling the lure (if I remember correctly) like TT and actually would have the weight inserted in a different section. I liked the idea of being able to insert weight, I just thought there was a better way to do it. Just wanted peoples opinions on this to avoid getting sued! (because I'd like to try and sell a few of these if they work out right) I'll post some pics in the weeks to come on this lure. @slowfish, Yeah, thats the way I view it. I'd say the only thing similar between what I'm working on and TT is the idea that you can add weight. Other than that, the weight placement is different and the method for inserting the weight is different. Just browsing the google patent site for fishing lures stuff is interesting. You see lots of stuff that never made it... even though the ideas were interesting. Thanks for your replies guys.

This doesn't have anything to do with my question, but I found this patent for a self propelled lure patented in 1985... kinda cool. patent # 4536985 go to google patents and punch in the number to get images and stuff.

Hey guys. I was looking into making some lures that could have weight added/subtracted. I couldn't find any patents from Tru-Tungsten considering they have the swimbaits that you can add/subtract weight to. I don't think that the idea of having a weight system to add/subtract could be patented but potentially the process. Ex: I can understand TT being able to patent the way that their lure holds weight and the design in which it can have it added/subtracted (the pin design). I have heard of other lures having buoyancy alterations in the past. If I do recall, there was a lure that was able to fill with water for a similar affect. Any thoughts?

try finding a drop shot style weight ... i've seen this used before but I don't remember where to get it. basically just make sure the wire eye is shaped right and super glue it in.

My next question is can I start out with a solid block of wood instead of making the 2 sides? The problem is with attaching the treble's and the eye? You can start with a solid block. I can almost bet that you've thrown a lure that had eye screws too. In fact, few lures have a true thru-wire system. It is a very common practice for hobby builders, especially for those on this site, to use the thru-wire and 2piece wood method for balsa lures. The strength is unsurpassed of thru- wire, and I found it easier to shape a lure more symetrical (you have a nice center line as a result). However, thru-wire is far from necessary. Use good epoxy to set your eye screws and I doubt you will ever see any problems (unless your going after muskies). You'll quickly realize how cheaply made all the lures are in the stores once you get started. Good Luck! Oh yeah, I also support the digital scale and notebook thing... it my most used tool now!

I looked into the patent stuff... VERY EXPENSIVE. You would have to have a patent attorney as well. The bad thing is, unless you fork out even more money, your patent isn't internationally protected. hmmm... Keep in mind the big 2 lure manufacturing countries are China & Mexico. The other sad thing is, if a big company wants your bait it will get it. They can afford to keep you occupied in court while they rip your lure off. I know this sounds discouraging, but I have seen this happen. I would suggest a non-disclosure agreement of some sorts and only reveal it to those that sign the form. However, if your lure has already been presented to the public a non-disclosure holds no ground. To my understanding, jcheetam is right about what you can copyright. I really don't know any genuine advice to give you. In my opinion, If you can afford a patent and the company your selling too will pay you enough to make it worth your while, then yes I would get a patent. I knew a guy that patented a unique jig head. He said it cost 15K for the whole process. The guy was well off, bought the patent, and actually made some money selling the patent.

I take my balsa plank and cut it in half. Then glue the 2 halves together with super glue gel (lightly but zig zag it throughout the entire plank) I then trace my stencil/s for lures on the plank. I cut out the lures from the planks (this keeps every lure halve perfectly symmetrical to the one it will be glued too) I take a razor and pop apart the lure (this is very easy to do since you should have put the glue on lightly). I then insert my wire and carve out the area for my weight (insert weight). Glue the lure thoroughly back together and clamp for a few minutes (super glue only takes a few minutes and it really digs into the wood for a solid glue). I then cut the slot for the lip while the lure is still square. proceed to sand the lure. spray 3m adhesive on the lure and cover each side separately with foil. (trim access foil before doing the next side) apply a light clear coat paint insert lip final clear w/ d2t The benefit of gluing 2 halves of a plank together is that the densities of each half of wood will be similar. No 2 planks are the same. I ruined about 15 lures one time by gluing 2 separate planks together. I think only 1 worked out of the bunch. I'd say this is my biggest tip.

I tried the heating trick (200F in the oven) the day that I poured and proceeded to paint and clear that afternoon... just to see if it worked. I also had another lure that I poured the day before and baked it at the same time. I did not have any bubbles come up from underneath on either lure. However, the paint definitely "stuck" better on the lure that I let de-gas for 2 days vs. the 1 day lure. All in all, I feel that my lure was as tough after 2 days (w/ cooking in the oven) as a lure that I'd let sit for a week. Figured I'd pass on that guess-n-test.

If you do a 2- piece mold with all the lure pieces in it be sure to arrange the pieces to allow air bubble to escape. If you see a spot where air "might" get trapped... It WILL get trapped there. So don't be afraid to have several vents... its way easier to trim a vent then it is to hassle with filling the holes.