Frank

Well that bait is not in his video but the man has a way with his baits. It gives me a few ideas on making hollow baits. Thanks Diemai

OK I will ask what other thing are there to put in resin to make it float? Or could I ask Rookie what do you add to resin to make it float? After reading the post I am thinking something as simple as saw dust,something that floats well but adds strength. And I guess when I said that adding the mbs to the mix seems to weaken the resin, I guess I am not the only one who feels that way? The only reason I worry about these thing is that it is just my way of thinking. Adding air bubbles in glass balls has to weaken it to some extent, especially at the equal amount ratio. When I pour with 100% resin I love the finished product but it swims badly. The more I make it float, then sink with lead the better it swims. I think this is a good thread also cause you really got my attencion,but you already know that. Husky how about bubbles in the casting when you pour? Do they gather at the top of the mold where the two halves meet? Thanks for that reply that means that my mold was really bad.

I live in central ca there is not to many humid days to speak of I think we had one the other day it was about 50%. Now that it is cooler it takes alot longer to remove from the mold. OK Rookie what kind of resins have you used now that I am calling everyone out. By the way I guess you have some what of a following over here. I would like to get ahold of one of your baits for my personal collection. Husky I only make jointed baits at the time but when I start on the one piece ones it will be wire through like yours. How are your parting lines after casting is there alot of clean up? The reason I ask is my first mold was like that and it was just to time consuming to clean up. But then it was my first and have learned alot since. One other question have we confused the original posters yet have not heard from them in awhile?

Same thing here Amac make it float good then sink with weight in the belly. Swims much better this way. Thought about casting an air pocket in the top but I need this area for hardware. Husky I still want to try your resin and am looking forward to it. When I add 50% mb it seems to weaken the resin to much for me but I have not had an eye pull out yet. I really dont know how much but it is sure way easier to drill.

Talked to two different co. about the large price differences in the resins. One that only sells the high end resins said they use 100% resins no fillers to reduce the quality. This co. has a following that demands top guality only and that is why they do not put any fillers to lower the cost. The second co. makes both high and low end resins. He said the same thing that there is fillers that you can use to cut the cost of manufacturing thus it get you to the price point that helps you keep up with others in the same range. Again it is price point that drives this not the product quailty. Yes the cheaper resins might work for some but if you look at the cost of the resin in a 5" swim bait the differance is in cents not dollars. I go through alot of work on my baits and dont mind paying a few cents more for the highest quality resin available. I have always said that you get what you pay for. For some info on what I do for a living I work at a auto body shop and work with the best products I can get my hands on cause it just cost to much to redo because of poor quailty products. We also have a life time warranty on all our repairs. I cost well in excess of a thousand dollars to refinish a car you dont want to do it again. That said I still would like to try any resin I can get just to see the differences in the products.

Anglers workshop Been using them for years (more than 10) cause of Great customer service and knowledge. Mud hole a close second but only cause a friend works there now and he has brought up there customer service alot. Ive had a repiar business for more than 10 yrs. Dont get rich but make a few extra bucks. Good luck in your new venture. Frank

Yes it is but my point is that it only covers one companys products not Huskys Not Kelpkritters not my one from tap or any other ones. Let me put it this way why does the price vary so much if it is the same product. Are the spec sheets a good way to compare. Tomorrow I will call someone from one of the companys and see what they say. You can watch this a hundred times and it is still hard to make a mold that is free of imperfections cause he does not get that detailed in this part. Husky have you used any other resin that you care to share with us? Also nice link it has alot of info Thank You

Larrys dvd only has products from Alumilite as he is good friends of the VP at that Co. I would like to try them all and really see the differance for myself. The differance that stands out to me is the tinsle strength in psi, they are all over the place, if that is even important.

I am now in the process of making swim baits with two products. One is from tap plastics and the other is Alumilite. They are about the same product as far as casting goes. The one from tap is local. I have alot of these baits out there for some on the water R&D and have had no one complaint about breakage or even paint problems for that matter. Here is my take on the mold process. It sound easy to say I am going to make a mold and cast a swim bait,But that is because you have not done it yet. When you make a mold it is very important to understand how you will go about it. Like you I was going to make a two part mold, all three pieces in one mold. Boy was that a mistake it came out so bad it is not good enough to be a paper weight( more embarasing than anything else). But I did learn that if I was going to make a mold it would be a one piece. Now all my molds are one piece. Less clean up of the parting lines. Use the firmest rtv silicone you can get away with and try not to stir air in the rtv so you dont get bubbles in the mold. I use a vacunm to remove what I put in now. As for the resins it is nice to have a thin 2-3 minute pot life one. I use a scale to measure the portion and when I add microballoons I add them to the thin product while it is on the scale. Most of mine are made with 10% mb by weight which work for me. Then I add a split shot to the belly of the mold to keep it running true. Plastic cups are the ones I use for mixing,I use two one with the thin part with the mb then one for other part. I pore the thin one into the thicker one and stir with a FLAT stick to prevent putting small air pockets into the mix(champain bubbles if you think about it). Open the mold and pour in to the point of over flowing then release slowly to let as many bubbles out as you can. Wait longer than you think and then remove the part. Sand the parting lines and pore spouts install hard where and paint. As for bondo it is not a good product for this as it is to soft and pourius. All it is is polyester resin and mb. No strenght there. I have not seen other products like this at any store other than tap plastics. This stuff is pretty special not your every day resins. When you go and pull the trigger on this I would put most of my work in the molds because remember if you rush your molds all the imperfections will be in every part you cast untill you make a new one. My blue gill head is on the fourth one but it is real good now.The tail is on the third one and i will redo tommorrow. But alot of rtv also it may seem to be alot but it goes fast. Just my 2cts on the subject. And yes it is fresh on my mind. Hope this helps

Ive been using that kind of product for a while now and it is very differant from wood. Mark is right it is best to make it float then sink with ballast. Or like me you might get a surfing action(on the largest surface area). I changed from wood to resin about 3 mo ago and am still working out the bugs in my casting skills. But the action is definatly not the same as wood. By the way the stuff you are looking at is real close to what I got from tap plastics. The molds seem to be the most important thing though.

I have an old badger 150 and it has holes in the air cap but my new one has v cuts and not holes. On my old one it use to get a build up near the end and the new one does not do that. But my thinking is that it is easier to make v cuts than bore 4 holes. Bean counters way of saving money. As for choking the gun use a rag on the tip instead of your fingers. Just my

You are not alone with the flex coat type finishes. I like the way they work and am very used to them. As for gel coat I think it is just to rigid for my needs. I think it is a polyester based resin, and these resins seem to lend to fracturing when impacted.Ck out tapplastics.com there is some info there on gel coat.

Post this in homebrew tools. You want to get ahold of cadman. There is a long post so go to the newest posts and you will see.

Could I get that info also Please. fcrod2@yahoo.com

Harbor Freight Tools Had this in mind for a long time see what you think if you put the hooks on this.

It is Glue isnt it? Looks real good.

Finally got the photo to take. Look at my photo to see the leaf with the scales under the leaf. The bottom of the bait has white over the edge of the leaf ,no clear just paint . Here is a link on supplyshttp://www.coastairbrush.com/products.asp?cat=651

Well I am surprised that no one uses gold leaf. It comes in many colors and some varietys are pretty inexpensive. They also have copper, aluminium, silver and a few multi colored mottled ones which can make some pretty interesting backrounds. It does take some practice to use but not much. It is so thin I dont even have to hide the edge I just paint right over it and it does not show. For adding scales I put the netting over the primed and spray with clear down the middle of the bait. Let dry for a few minutes and peel of the netting. Now the scales are high spots on the bait and put the leaf over the side and get a 3D shiny textured bait. Blend color over the top and bottom lines are gone and the scales are blended in. If you dont like the color of the leaf just add candy colors over the top to get the color you want.

MSC Google Search Results Ck this one out not a bad price but there is many out there. As for the speed you can get a router speed control so you can slow the rougter. Just a thought. I want to see it work.

I agree with Pete I think you need a ball end mill. they are used for metal working but are really slick for wood. Is your router set up with a fixed size collet or is it ajustable? I use an 1/8"(3mm) four flute carbide bit to mill out the hinge area for my swim baits. These only cost about 8 dollars US . I would tell you how long they last but I am still using the first one. Also on these bits I turn them about 4000 rpm really slow for a router. I tried to get a link for these but the web site is to confusing. ENCO, MSC, RUTLAND TOOLS or any machine tool supply house. These come really sharp when you gut them and cut like butter. If you try these I think the ridges will be smoother.

Vary nice Dave looks like a good one . Any chance of getting video on the operation. I do better with moving visuels. (is that spelled right?) I want the plans if there is any. Frank

Well said Dean Last night I was writing the same type of post but could not find a nice way of saying what you just did. This I thought was a learning board and it is good to use differant products. If it was that simple no one would have to post anything.

Ive been reading and reading this post trying to understand why the primer color is important. This is my opinion. If the colors you use are opaque and you can see the black under the silver you need more silver to cover the black. If you can see white under the silver you need more silver. If you are trying to achieve a tranparent look then you need an undercoat that will complement what you are trying to do. I hope this does not confuse you even worse. But if I had to buy different color primers I would buy black and white then you can mix any color from light to dark. I use different base coats to get this look.