Frank

Thanks for the info If I cant find one I will hit you up. And more control sound good to me. Frank

Well for a moisture trap to be honest I have a true commercial 5hp comp. with a 80 gal tank and a moisture trap that is more of an industrial type. A moisture trap on smaller compressors is a must if it gets hot at all. This happens when it runs alot. The temp of the pump gets so high that it starts producing water in the air. As for the size of the tank there is alot of poeple that think bigger is better but it is more important to have a motor and pump that can recover as QUICK as possible so heat is not built up in the pump. Another tip is to put the compressor in a place that has a good amount of air flow or even put a fan in the summer months to cool it down. If I had to put a moisture trap on I would put two one right after the tank and a small one where the air brush hose begins. Another thing I just remembered is to keep your hoses of the floor and up as high as you can cause it is hard for water to run up hill and will keep moisture in the tank and not on your work. At work we have a screw comp. and a refrig. unit to cool the air right after the tank, no water ever and tools last forever. Drain your tank often to keep it in good condition. This is on the bottom of your tank. Hope this helps. Frank

The last time I poured I rested the cup on the bench and tipped the cup it was better but side to side movement was a bit awkward. I will keep trying . Were did you get the beaker from? And the cozy is a great idea. Thank You

I do not give up so easy and I will never give up on hand pouring. The pot is there and it has a pour spout that does not move around like my hand does. As for the dimples how do you get the air out of the plastic. At times it seems worse than others. It seems to me that it is not so much an over pour but a miss on my aim when moving around from spot to spot. Thanks for all the support on this Guys. Frank

Been trying for two days now and I am getting better.I have a pot I should just fire it up and try like you say.Dont want to get to much plastic going at one time though. Another thing I am getting is dimples on the side of the bait mostly toward the top. Any suggestions on that? Or maybe I am just to a*** about it. The aluminium ones are better but not there yet. Thanks for all the responces. Frank

If it was me all over again I would not go the solvent route as with HOK and Kustom shop all great products but why put yourself in harms way cause of the solvents. Auto air has all the colors that match what you can get from the other companys but water based. Just finished painting three swimbaits and the house does not smell at all. And no I dont paint in the house but the smell of the solvents still get in. Do yourself a favor and go water based you will never regret it. Buy the way if you dont think it is any good where I live now there is NO solvent based paint available to buy or sell and the water based is just as good. Even wheel weight are going to change from lead to steel soon. Not that it is a bad thing but we have no choice. As for kits ya tcp has them but I would buy the ones I need so you dont end up with colors that will rarely get used if at all. I add to mine when I have to order some of the basic colors. If you are good at mixing colors the kits might be alright but you are limited in the basic kits. Maybe if you want to order single colors you might want to start a new thread and get some basic colors that guys use here on the board. I know I have some go to colors that I know dont come in any kit. Unless you but the mega kit from Auto Air but I think that is about 1g, alot to start with. Sorry for being long winded. Frank

I know what they are but how many do you need to match what the washer weight and where do you put them. I am guessing that you cant hide them.

Seems to me that the dot thing will almost look like the washers that you dont like. How many of the dots will you need and where do they go. The lead tooth pick thing look very promising though. As for the heavy hooks that has not ever done any good on my baits. I would rather put the weight where i want it rather than where I have to. As for drilling a hole in the bait if it dont work you will not be out much now will you.

Well lets say that I am picture challenged. But here is what I am doing.I am pouring into a rtv mold made by lurecraft. I am using a pyrex cup at a temp of 360 to start down to 320 at the end. I pour the body first then move to the tail. The top edge is where I dont like the sharp corners from shrinkage. I try to overfill and seem to get the same look. The best open pours that I have done is in a mold made by Bob but it was aluminium and it was a worm. I have also made a pop mold of a fluke and just cant seem to get the tails even. I like the idea of the small injector I will try and do that. Thanks for the replys so far.

Wondering if you guys can give me some tips on pouring open molds. The top edges look real bad and was wondering if there is some kind of trick to pouring.

You will have to add something to make it float but in clear resin I do not know what you would use unless you can cast a air bubble in it. My thoughts on this is to make a mold that you do not fill up and then roll it till it cures. I saw Larry do this and it stuck in my mind. Wondering if it will make alot of bubbles though.

How about drilling a hole in the bottom and insert lead shot then seal the hole. If you have a small scale it should be pretty easy.

Alumilite makes a clear but to make it bubble free you will need a pressure vessal. I have had some but the results are really not what I want yet.

The best way to prep is to scuff with a pad that is used in the auto refinishing trade. 3M has four differant grades here they are from coarse to fine. Red Gray Gold White. For what you are doing the gray one is the best. It will give you the best tooth for the following processes. These pads will do a more complete job in less time. You can get them at an automotive paint store were you can ask what plastic adhesion promoter is available in your area. The reason I cant give you certain products is that some of ours are only available here in my area. To help with preping them use them with water and a little dish soap this will help clean and prep at the some time.

Here is two ways i do it. I use a scale to measure. 1 Add 5% by weight to the resin this gives you about 50% by volume. Then add lead to the bottom.This swins OK but if the profile is tall it may want to lay over when retrieved to fast. 2 Add 10% by weight to the resin which is about 100% or equal parts. Then add more lead to the bottom.This swims alot better in my opinion. One tip for adding the mb is to add it to the yellow part of the resin. It is thinner and will release bubbles easier. Mix it in and let it set as long as you can to release the air. This will make your pour better with less air. When you add the mb like I do and you add it to one part only, you will add double the percentage cause it will be only in one part. Example if you mix 20gms of part a or b then in the yellow resin you will add 4gms of mb. Hope this is clear enough.

Before every body goes out to buy automotive clear coat the catalyst does have a shelf life. You will find out the hard way when you open it and let it set around for a while. Un less you have a perfect place to keep it. And also the two part auto clears have a chemical that I cant spell that can absorb into your skin eyes clothes if not protected properly. Leave that stuff alone guys unless you can protect yourself and the others in your family. At work when we spray we even have an air supplied mask. That tell you how bad it can be. As for a one part automotive clear the only other one I have used is Laquer but that has been gone in my area for more than 15 yrs but that was way to brittle for this application. And it is way more durable than the epoxy glue that everyone uses.

Go to rod building.org and ask there is a big get together there coming up they can help you I suppose. Tom Kirkman is the moderator and he is in High Point NC.

Well said Delw I now have two injectors from two companys one is yours. Let me tell you that at home I have a mill and lathe and my thought were the same as posted above I was going to make one myself. After getting yours I threw up my hands and said that I cannot do that good of a job in a day. So is it worth making my own NO the quality and craftmanship you put in yours is second to none. At least from what I see. Once you see all the work that is done in the Delw injector, it is a wonder that he can sell it for such a small price. I will tell you all one thing if he was making these as a sole source of income he would be eating rice and beans not steak. Now like I said I do have machines at home to make this and at least I believe my time could be spent doing other things and leave that kind of thing to the ones that do it Well. Can you make an injector, yes and it will work but can you duplicate the quality in Delws at home, I dont think so. This is not a post to say any ones injector is better than any others just that the workmanship in Delws is high. When you get one you will see. When you get two you can compare. When you make one yourself you will understand. Just my two cents worth. This is a classic example of stepping over a dollar to pick up a nickle. Frank

That is spot on KF. If you want a transparant color use auto air they have many colors and if they dont you can mix one up yourself. This is one of the reasons I chose auto air.

Nice I am in Los Banos but work in San Jose.

Thanks for the email reply

I use netting found at fabric stores for the scales. Spray a base coat when dry stretch the netting and add another contrasting color dry then pull off. Your resin question as for what I use it does not float on its own you have to add micro baloons so it will float. What area in Ca. are you from?

Thank You Frank

This sounds stupid but what is bobs site?

Also would you like to be doing something for less or nothing at all. These are hard times for some and a little can make the differance. Just my thoughts