rustyman

I use a rotiserie that i made two discs on either side stabbed through the spikes with coffee cup holders. I use metal i bent into "s" shapes with rubber bands to hold the lure. Mine has 8 bait spots.

One of my bigger baits i actually cut a slice of low density foam from hobby lobby and joined it to the wire harness before pouring the resin.

Metalworks stamping corp. i think he makes the lips for most catalogs. Cheap too.

Thanks bob, I should have specified that I was refering to muskie baits when I said "thin".

I made some shallow cranks that are 1 inch wide. They have a real good wobble. Whats the good and bad aspects of wide and skinny cranks. Skinny to me is the standard 1/2 to 3/4 in thickness.

I have a lure I'd like made out of abs plastic instead of wood. Anyone know of someone who could do it for a good price? I'd also like to keep it american and not go chinese. If you would like to PM me instead feel free. Thanks, Rusty.

Spiral bit is a no go. I've been using the disc like you have, I just thought that using a router might be faster when making a bunch the exact same. Going back to the disc. Thanks for the response.

I don't know how many of you use routers, I bought all the stuff to duplicate cranks so they were the same and got a big let down. I rough cut the baits to within an eigth inch and was doing fine till I hit the end grains. Major tearout happened. I tried going reverse but still ate it up. I'm going to try a spiral type cutter here in a bit. Didn't know if any one had a good tip. Using basswood.

stamina tackle also has lengths of wire in .051 and .062 for cheap and around the foot long lengths.

Thanks Rod, sorry I missed the sealing part before I asked, when you say sanding sealer are you refering to polyurethane,or laquer product or is sanding sealer a product on its own? I would use cedar but I want the baits to ride high in the water and I have a bunch of free basswood thats an inch thick and I don't know if cedar is as bouyant. Thanks

Thanks for posting that, I will try it. I think I can get those spiral bits through work for free.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I know muskies tear up baits, I've just never had one destroy anything the first time with such a short fight that bad. Might help to say I use basswood so its really soft. I also used a primer first then enamel paint. Do you think I should be sealing the baits with a Laquer or poyurethane spray before the priming process?

At least I caught my first fish on the second trip of the year a fat little 40"er. Too bad it cracked my new crankbait I just finished. I used something called lustre coat epoxy resin that my grandpa used on cypress clocks. I used two or three coats of the stuff. Does anyone have any preference on muskie baits or is devcon and etex the all around best? The stuff I used doesn't seem to be bonding well to the wood as I can just peel from where it cracked a chunk off. The only reason I used the stuff is it was free and the baits were for me so I didn;t care to much.

Wondering how the pros here cut out lexan lips. I've cut a few 1/8 in. lips for my baits close to size then try to use my disc sander but it heats up and makes a blob on the bottom. Wonder if it would be better to buy a few. Also does anyone have any idea on how long most epoxies like etex reach maximum hardness? Thanks, Rusty

I used smooth on urethane and they suggested using plasti kote primers for it and they seem to work the best. I still notice the paint kicks sometimes even after using alcohol wipes. Maybe an adhesion promoter might work also. I don't know if putting a coat of etex would help first. Also try dusting the mold with talc, it will give the paint something to hold on to.

I've heard you should wear respirator when using microballoons because of the way the get in your lungs. Something else to think of is plastic won't take a paint well so maybe you need to use a plasti kote primer or seal it first. Just throwing something out there.

Thanks for the post nova, I think I will do the cheap wal mart frame and just piano hinge and separate the halves. Great illustration.

I had some of that squishy foam planting blocks for use with artificial flowers that I knew would be good for something, I was right. Instead of using clay, I just pushed the jigs half way in that and bondo'd over them in a box I had clamped together. I wanted a flat surface to clamp and didn't want to wait for POP so I used urethane that sets in about five minutes. Molded jig heads look great.

Wanted to make a two piece bondo mold. Since bondo is not liquid would it be better to mix it, pour it into a container and push half of the jig head in it, or push half the jig head in model clay and coat it with a release and scoop the bondo on top? Has anyone tried using a two part urethane for lead pouring? Didn''t know if it would melt or burn with the temps? Thanks, Rusty

Thanks John, is that stronger than jb weld?

Trying to find the best way to join a stainless .041 wire to the bottom of a 10/0 straight shank hook. I want to make a loop to tie a leader for a big worm so the hooks set evenly. I had a jeweler use a lazer and worked good but I don't want to pay 2 dollars a hook when each bait has three. The hooks also have shrink tubing on them so can't use a torch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lure craft sells a soft plastic paint. I've heard the smaller compressors don't last. You can use any size comp. you want just make sure your hose pressure is low enough.

If you mix in glycerin, which you can find at the pharmacy instead of straight water your product will mix better. I use five drops of glycerin and one drop black acrylic paint to one ounce of silicone caulk. For big muskie baits I stipple the first layer then spatulat the next. After that I build a box and set the piece inside and pour POP on it. Flip it over and you have your level mold. I love cheap molds.

Thanks for the replies. I am thinking of using the plastic potato chip clips and making a channel the same as the hooks in them with my dremel, then joining the two spaced clips with a thin rod with JB weld. Each clip would be on a dow rod that is joined into a 1x4 off to the side. I'll post some pics when I'm done if it works. This was my first blunder, it held the hooks but got in the way of the pour. Would like to do the after pour adding of them but would have a hard time lining up the front eye. This is just a proto mold to see if it works, thats why I dont have a spot for the eyelit, its so I can see where it works best. Thanks guys.

Those terminator t4s with the single n#4 hybrid is one of the best prespawn and spawn bass baits ever. Bass will come off the bed to hit them. That titanium is some crazy stuff, I don't think it helps you catch fish, it just doesn't bend up like stainless.