spoonbender

Welcome aboard Brad. I'm a newbie here too, have found tons of good info and great people. Nice knives by the way!

Ran across this today. Anybody have any experience with this stuff? Looks like a reasonably priced possibility if it's truly clear. The link.... http://www.ecopoxysystems.com/resin.html

Cereal Killer....you owe me a buck. That's what I just had to drop into the cuss jar after reading your post. First off, please let me apologize if my post offended you. I agree with you that some dudes get a bit full of themselves and it starts leaking into their forum posts, but it's pretty easy to just page down and get into more enjoyable content. I've yet to encounter anyone on this site that isn't here for reasons other than wanting to learn new ways and pass on their experiences for the benefit of their fellow man. I'm in a technical field and am accustomed to using technical terms to describe my thoughts/idea's, but didn't consider my use of them to be above anybody's head. Anyway.....no harm done, hope you have a better day. Next time you feel like choking me through the computer screen, just put down your highly caffeinated drink and step away from the keyboard......or give me a call and we'll go fishing.

If you have a Motion Industries store in your area you can get it fairly reasonably.....here's a link...... https://www.motionindustries.com/motion3/jsp/mii/productSearch.jsp When you load this page just type in "Devcon 2 ton" in the search area and it will display the available quantities and prices.

Rayburn Guy's thread about "Let me see if I got this right" post got a little long so will politely hi-jack it for just a second. I experimented quite a few years ago (70's) with laminating different densities of wood for muskie lures, specifically a Jake/Grandma's type. I was able to improve on the action, particularly the body roll by using hard maple for the bottom portion of the lure and basswood for the top part. The thought at the time was to give it a low center of gravity while still maintaining enough surface area without adding action dampening lead weights. Everything worked fine until the finish failed and allowed moisture to destroy the glue joints on the half dozen lures I built. After reading the fine idea's (and formula's) about SG's and COG's, I'm now fantasizing about resurrecting the project. With the better materials available today, might be able to get one to last longer than a couple years.

I just warm up the wood a bit with a heat gun and brush the rot doctor on. Seems like the epoxy gets drawn in a bit better as the wood cools. Two coats will seal the deal as long as you are accurate in the 50/50 mixing. If you don't have a turner and get a few runs, it sands out fairly well. I have some basswood musky baits that have seen quite a few years of use without any blistering or popping, seems to hold up well.

Mark is correct, lips only getting dipped. I use Rot Doctors penetrating epoxy for sealing wood lures, here's the link..... http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/product.html#sealers

Good stuff guys, thanx. I tried the Trojan idea again last night with marginal success. Used the fingertip from a nitrile glove, stretched it over the lip and then made multiple dips in a liquid rubber grip material. Will let you know the results once it cures.

I've been using white electrical tape for masking lips on crankbaits and have been hankering for a quicker, neater, cleaner way of doing it. The tape is ok for coverage but the adhesive can be slightly reactive to solvent based paints and it's kinda time consuming wrapping and unwrapping the lips. I've considered making re-usable lip condoms using rtv or something similar but suspect you fella's have a few better ideas.

Awsome job fella, I'd be afraid to throw that in the water for fear of losing it..

I use Crown point bits, similar to brad points but much sharper. Spin 'em as quickly as possible, makes a clean, burr free hole. Actually creates a small disc where it exits if properly supported. They're available from just about any woodworking supply....but a mite pricey for the good ones. I've also used the little spot weld removal drills for shallow holes, leave a really clean edge and have a nifty little spring loaded center so it doesn't wander on irregular shaped surfaces.

Woodworker...what type of thermostat and tubular heater are you using?

Any of you fella's use a heat source when turning/drying finishes? Here in Northern Wis the outside temps are less than optimum for curing paints and epoxies. As my garage/shop is heated with wood and I don't always care to build a fire in a cold building for a couple hours of finishing, have toyed with the idea of using heat lamps or elements to reduce cure time. My spray booth is already heated but would need to add something to the turner. I do primarily plastic body crankbaits and trolling spoons with vinyl, acrylic, and epoxy finishes. I'm assuming temp control would be the biggest challange....

I havn't specifcally named hard baits because they're usually a knock-off of an existing lure, but I do name the color patterns. A few examples are; Trans Yellow/Gold with Trans Orange back is "Monkeypuke" Dark Blue with white spots is "Monica" White with black spots and red head is "Dalmation/Bloody Nose" Green with Blue Back is "Dolphin" Fluorescent Yellow with Fluor Orange back and stripes (flames) is "57 Chevy" Most of these are actually patterns commonly found on trolling spoons but I apply them equally to stickbaits.....

Similar experiences with crankbait quality, good and bad. I use mainly stickbaits for salmon and walleye trolling so bought plenty of 'em over the last 30 years. The only decent quality lures available today are the original Rapala's, Bombers, Lucky Crafts, and Reef Runners. Rapala plastic bodied sticks, Storm Thunderstick jr's and Smithwick Rogues are questionable at best. As far as DIY unpainted lures, I purchased a few LuckyCraft knockoffs from Jim at PredatorBass and was surprised at the quality for an offshore offering. Similar knockoffs I bought on E-bay were not completely glued and leaked, had to seal before finishing. Guess the rules still apply when buying tackle....Caveat Emptor.

22 pounder is a decent laker, was it a lean or a fat? That Bloody Nose is still a pretty popular pattern, catches plenty of trout. Once I catch up with a couple projects I'll send you folks a few pics of some of the more popular colors down here in the Apostle Islands.

Don't know if it still applies but DO-IT, IDEAL and other mold companies used to solicit ideas for molds, might work something out with them if there's not a patent infringment issue. A friend licensed a disc jig many years ago with a company that made molds for Herters, didn't make a lot of money but got a few free molds for his own use.

AMEN....

I also fish Lake Superior and have been custom coating spoons for some years. My go-to material is powder paint but I sometimes add highlights and accents with vinyl paints from CSI. One of the more important steps in powder coating is the baking to cure the finish, gives it much more durability and gloss. Some glitters and color shifting pearls are used in powders that can give a unique look to your spoons and dodgers. Hope the water temps are cooler by you, fish are getting pushed deeper, harder to locate.

I was in the same boat, couldn't resist the Wally World Folk Art paints and experimented with different methods of thinning. I had good results with Future floor finish, had the most gloss and coverage, but with certain colors it caused clumping. Plain water worked but seemed to reduce the flow characteristics. Windex was the best overall thinner for all colors and it worked well in my cheapo Badger. As far as the ammmonia issue.....defer to the Iwata owners as to it's applicibility. I'm leaning towards use of more water based paints as my wife claims the years of inhaling regular solvent based paints have caused brain damage, a claim I would argue if I could think of the words...

Actually, they have a great looking jointed swimmer called the Revolution Shad that comes in several lengths including a 9 and 12 incher. Getting an unpainted one for a reasonable price may be an issue....

I'm looking for a source for unpainted swimbait bodies from 9 to 15 in in length for muskie fishing clients. See 'em on e-bay but have not found a conventional online low cost source.