diemai

Since I am here , my "lure carver's horizon" has become a lot wider;) ! thanks a lot , guys:worship:...... ,diemai

@ DanCampbell Personally I never dipped any lures into anything , but a Finnish friend dips his lures into thinned concrete lacquer several times for a rock hard topcoat . I had once asked him about the required consistency of that thinned stuff , ......he replied , that it should be like pee . As far , as I'm concerned , the paint dip has to be thin enough to allow all drops to come down off the blank , before the paint starts to set on the lure . On the other hand like this you might not achieve sufficient coverage with the first dipping and need to repeat one or two times(for a primer coat) . Just my ! Check the thread "looks that simple the Finnish way"(utilize search function to right) , there are two video links in there , ......I guess , that it is the second part , where a sequence is shown , where lure blanks are dipped in primer . The guy there is speaking Finnish , but maybe by the looks you could figure out about the consistency to compare to your own primer dip ? good luck , diemai:yay:

@ Mart Many lurebuilders in Germany use epoxy resin and hardener , there are a few suitable brands/types around . I mailorder mine from a German tackle and component supplier , ...it's not that easy to mix(10:4 , resin:hardener) , but it sets pretty fast , so I do not neccessarely need a rotator(if utilizing one , you could take slower curing stuff , also your coats could be made thicker). In Scandinavia some guys use floor clear paint or concrete laquer as a topcoat on lures , they'd thin it and dip the lures several times , ......I have some Finnish homemade lures coated that way , ......rock hard I can only say ! On an Australian site I have heard for the first time about using modelling dope as a topcoat , so I have also tried it out . It's available in every RC model shop and does not cost that much(at least over here) , no mixing required as it comes straight from the can(but may be thinned , if desired) . Disadvantage is , that the coats come in quite thin and the stuff might dissolve and smear some paints underneath(at least felt pen ink) , so it's better to apply acrylic clear first to protect paint design and felt pen signature . But the modelling dope coat cures pretty hard ,.... I apply it on my epoxy layers , as it still cures a little harder . greetz , diemai:yay:

@ 21xdc Quite a few years ago I did experiment with these as well , but for some reason I did not like them , .....guess it was only because they don't look "traditional" . I could get them only in quite small sizes over here , anyway . But what I seem to remember is , that they cause quite a vibration to the entire lure , causing it to "tremble" somehow . I guess , that is because they spin a little slower than an "ordinary" blade , so the circular force and weight of the single prop blade make it act that way . I can imagine , that if the single prop blade was large and thus heavy enough , it could have an effect on the trailing skirt and transmit that "tremble" into the skirts strands . greetz , diemai:yay:

@ mark poulson , @ KelpKritter , @ paintsniffer Just had look over , and probably I should keep my mouth shut , as I am not used to work with PVC:huh: ? But one thing came into my mind , ........you guys in California don't fish for muskie with your baits but bass , do ya ? I suppose , muskie are a lot stronger than bass in fight , just because of their bigger size alone:? ? And I have seen on video the way American muskie anglers toss in the fish , nothing much like playing the fish patiently as we do with pike in Europe , as we are most likely fishing lighter gear . Anyway , I mount my screw eyes similar like Mark has already described ,..... only I would extend the pilot hole a its entry to a bit larger than double eye shank dia , almost 1/4" deep ,........ after twist in the screw eye with some epoxy glue smeared on it's shank , thus a kinda "glue plug" would set in the extention of the hole . No problems yet in any wood lures , even pulled out an approx. 47" pike with a lure rigged like that , no problems at all ! good luck , diemai:yay:

@ paintsniffer I am very fond of the old "Heddon Zara Spook" and also homemade versions of it . These cigar-shaped baits have their weight located somewhere within the last quarter of the body length in the rear to provide the walk-the-dog swimming pattern on the surface . Thus they float up a little tail down(check picture of a homemade) . The more to the rear the ballast is located , the sharper the sideward course would be , but the shorter the glide path . The line tie on such baits is located a bit under the chin , so on a jerk the chin skims the surface , to provide some lift to the lure to keep it on top . I also have a version of such stickbait made by "Berkley" , BUT that ones tow eye sits right at the tip of it's nose and thus it acts different , ........it most likely dives one to four inches below and(off course also ocassionally breaks the surface) does it's zig-zag course most likely submerged . I don't know , how far you want your lure to go down , whether just a few inches or a few feet nor which body shape you're intending on , but over here there are a few glider models around , that float at rest and dive on retrieve , .......I guess , that it is all a matter of buoancy , line tie location and eventually the body shape . You may check Lurebuilding 101 (english version available) , look for "Hybride Jerkbaits" , I guess , these are floaters , that dive on a pull . good luck , diemai:yay:

@21xdc Alright , good luck with it:yay: , ........eager to know about your results as well ! greetz , diemai:yay:

@ 21xdc Shame on me:o:o:o , ......really overlooked that ,... I am sometimes so focussed on weird bait constructions , ........sorry:worship: ! I have seen triangular keel weights cast on a wire coil to tie bucktails on ,.... I guess , you mean such design , but with the weight cast rigid onto the center shaft to assure the hook to ride upright . But I believe , that for this purpose the buzzbait head would not be deep enough , not providing sufficient keel effect . Do you want your keelweight ahead of or behind(hidden under the skirt) the blade ? I have tinkered a bit with different inline spinner designs during the past 15 years . I have tried making them weedless by rigging a heavily weigthed and deeply bent worm hook ,....... with smaller blades it really avoided twist and rode upright more or less . Also made some with the tag end of the line tie eyelet bent about 90

@ 21xdc A colorado blade generates the most circular force of all blade styles and spins almost 90

@ Thad If your lure blanks are going to be of repeatative equal length , you could try making yourself a jig for bending the harnesses , .......just a piece of wood with some nails in it with their heads snipped off , ............these are to make the initial "U"-bends of the single eyes of the harness(don't know , whether you intend to wrap the eyes close or leave them open) . Otherwise..... it works quite well to bend the harness one by one after a lure blank or it's 1 :1 scale sketch . good luck , diemai:yay: