spoonpluggergino

Thank you Hillbilly I only make baits for myself and some friends, I do not sell anything, just a hobby. I am staying with Alumilite works great and I know how to use it I build large muskie baits and I was trying to save a little money, but in the end by switching I would not save anything just re-ordered the 4.6 LB mold making and the Alumilite white 32 OZ thanks again for your input Gino

I have been building baits out of Alumilite products and it is really nice, I really like the way the baits come out, but it is a little pricy, is there something cheaper beside Alumilite products As anyone used Feather Lite lightweight urethane casting??? I have watched some videos looks pretty good but not sure how good it is Thanks Gino

I have been using Thrifty Vac for over a year, works fantastic and no mess super easy and fairly cheap

I just started using KBS in the last few month, not sure to how many coats you guys are using and How many hours apart before dipping for additional coats Also for FYI I purchase a Thrifty Vac that fits over the larger Mason Jars when done dipping the baits I pull a vac on the jar with their Vac pump and takes out all the air and it doesn't leak They supply extra lids with a vac valve, works great, can be purchased at Amazon

Cannot figure out how to submit new topic, so I am replying to my own topic in the last 4 or 5 days I have been searching for various flat stencil, here are the sites that I have searched Artool, Aerospace, all over amazon, purchased stuff from Insane stencil, cool stuff Artool has texture F X and F X 2 that are similar to what I want but not quite the same I am looking for stencils that looks like Crackels, Lightening, Camouflage, Irregular spots like crappie pattern, branching Any one that has access to different stencil maker I would definitely look them up to see if I can find what I am looking for Thank you Gino

I am having some problems with the primer not adhesion to the wood after sealing the bait, is there some other preparation after the bait is sealed before applying the primer paint ? I usually I sand down the bait sealer than I wipe it with a damp cloth ad now I also dry the bait in a electric oven to 90 degrees I did switch primer paint in the past i used white rust-oleum primer, now I use Zinsser prime which I really like Any suggestion welcome Thanks Gino

I am having some problems with the primer not adhesion to the wood after sealing the bait, is there some other preparation after the bait is sealed before applying the primer paint ? I usually I sand down the bait sealer than I wipe it with a damp cloth ad now I also dry the bait in a electric oven to 90 degrees I did switch primer paint in the past i used white rust-oleum primer, now I use Zinsser prime which I really like Any suggestion welcome Thanks Gino

I am having some problems with the primer not adhesion to the wood after sealing the bait, is there some other preparation after the bait is sealed before applying the primer paint ? I usually I sand down the bait sealer than I wipe it with a damp cloth ad now I also dry the bait in a electric oven to 90 degrees I did switch primer paint in the past i used white rust-oleum primer, now I use Zinsser prime which I really like Any suggestion welcome Thanks Gino

I am having some problems with the primer not adhesion to the wood after sealing the bait, is there some other preparation after the bait is sealed before applying the primer paint ? I usually I sand down the bait sealer than I wipe it with a damp cloth ad now I also dry the bait in a electric oven to 90 degrees I did switch primer paint in the past i used white rust-oleum primer, now I use Zinsser prime which I really like Any suggestion welcome Thanks Gino

This particular mesh i use myself, it comes from lingerie bags that women's wash their lingerie's, bed bath and beyond, Walmart has them to, you can also purchase tulle or bridal veil at Hobby Lobby. but they are thinner material Gino T

I am having some problems with the primer not adhesion to the wood after sealing the bait, is there some other preparation after the bait is sealed before applying the primer paint ? I usually I sand down the bait sealer than I wipe it with a damp cloth ad now I also dry the bait in a electric oven to 90 degrees I did switch primer paint in the past i used white rust-oleum primer, now I use Zinsser prime which I really like Any suggestion welcome Thanks Gino

Is there paint that are not water based and that can be used with an air brush, I realize I would have to wear a respirator mask Thanks Gino

I have been using Alumilite alumiV for a while now and I love it, I had to buy a 4 foot dual bulb lamps and the uv high output lamps are 365 nm, reason for 4 foot lamps because of large baits I build, I also installed a 9 rpm motor to rotate bait while curing. The finish is high gloss and rock hard Gino

If you go on make a lure website there is a video by Larry that will show you that you can pour lead in the alumilate mold, also there are other mold material that you can pour lead Gino

Hello MarkNY I build lots of glide baits and most of the really good stuff I learned it on this site. I use PVC deck board and it works really good, but because I make this for muskie fishing I use hard wood dowel pins for the tow line and hooks, most muskie guys builders use hard wood like maple, oak, beech and a all bunch of other hard wood. What it makes the bait glide is the placement of the lead in the belie of the baits, for example on a 8 inch bait I will install lead at about 1.5 inches from the front and the second lead about 2 inches from the back and it can vary. Initially when I start to weight a bait I will have all my hardware installed than I put the bait in a vertical beaker full of water than I start hanging lead from one the tail hooks until the bait starts very slowly start to sink at that point I know how much lead I need and it's a matter how fast you want to sink, for me I like really slow sinker, once the total ballast is known now I use the kitchen sink to distribute the lead at the two belie holes where the bait is sinking level, you can also use a large clear plastic bin if you need more depth. Another tip you can make lead molds out of hard wood to pour the lead that you need for each hole, than insert them in the bait. Once you get started you get all kinds of ideas to lead the baits, I made bunch of different lead baits with a wire hangar from a few grams to 20 grams and I use these lead weights to figure out the amount of lead that I need for a particular bait, note the vertical beaker it's almost a must, I have two the bigger is 3 inch by 21 inches tall. Here is a website that has a nice page on building baits including glide baits, the site name bustingbass .com Hope this helps, if you have any question I will be glad to help Gino

wire through it's really a sure way for the hook or the tow screw not to come out, especially if you are a musky nut like me, but there is other ways to do the same job, wire through it's time consuming and a pain to dril through the bait. and then plug all the holes that you drilled For some of you guys that may have not seen my TUTORIAL on how to do a bait with maple dowel pin and the screw backed with a washer than epoxy the assembly in to the body of the bait, it's sounds time consuming and it is not very fast and just as good as wire through, any way see my tutorial named My hard wood dowel pin system Give it a try you will never go back to traditional wire through Gino

I have thinned e-tex in the past, for 1 ml i used about 5 drops using an eye dropper, seemed to eliminate some air bubles, had no proble with it Gino

​Hello scrubs ​There are lots of muskie baits made from balsa wood but mostly twitch type of baits, on the LOTW we use lots of Crane baits and catch lot's of muskies, you do have to reinforce the bait with propionate or epoxy and install a wire in the belie of the bait. Reason for using balsa bait is due to has the best action for the twitch baits, outside twitch baits I use a all bunch of different woods depending on the application or type of bait, hope this helps Ben nice to know that they have good service, the lady I talked to was really helpful ​ Gino

Here is some good info on balsa wood for the builders that use balsa. I have been buying balsa from different places and i came up on Specialized Balsa wood LLC and there they advertise different density of balsa wood for different application, this may not apply to the the bass guys, but for the musky guys you may want to look in to it. when ordering your blocks of wood you will see the price, than at the very bottom you add a note to what density you like than you will see a final invoice that will reflect the additional cost, a little confusing but it is understandable once you order the first time, I ordered the heavy and was 40% more, they have 5 different density and there is an explanation to each density Here is the link https://www.specializedbalsa.com/ Gino

I have been building tons of balsa wood muskie baits and I do use propionate which it works just fine, but because of muskie fishing I wanted the surface of the balsa a litle harder, the last batch of baits I made I used Devcon two ton on two baits and thinned it really thin, like water, I brushed it on the plain balsa and it soaked in to the wood like a sponge, I really liked the resolt, I had only sand down to raised wood grain and no need for a second coat, would not absorb any more epoxy Hope this helps Gino

I use Rustoleum 2x primer, are there better primer than Rustoleum, or what about Krylon and Kilz Thanks Gino

My Porter Cable compressor will be shipped to my local Home Depot on Sept 9th, the day before I leave for LOTW, now I have an excuse to build more baits so I can test my new toy Here are the stat on my Iawata compressor, by the way it's a great compressor for painting baits, super quite and never any problem, now going on seven years !/8 HP .64 cfm at 35 psi. the Paache brush .5 cfm to 1 cfm at 20 to 45 psi, any way if I use the .3 nozzle it does a fair job but I do not pick up as much fluid with smaller nozzle and takes a litle longer to clear coat the bait Again thanks for the advice made it easier to make up my mind on purchasing a compressor with higher cfm volume Gino

You are exactly right Musky Glenn. The Iwata is only 1/8 hp does not supply enough volume of air as you stated in cubic feet of air

Thank you fellow basement builders, very good advice, I will purchase the Porter Cable and also purchase two air moisture filters, also like the idea to empty the air tank of air, being a HVAC and refrigeration contractor I am well aware of air loaded with moisture, and being an oil less compressor I do not have to worry about oil contamination Thanks again Gino

I am using my Iwata 1/8 hp springjet compressor to spray the Transtar Auto Clear with a .5 nozzle Paache air brush and the Iwata will not keep up with that .5 nozzle and because I am going to do all my baits from now on with auto clear much faster and easier, I do 3 coats and I am done I am going to buy another air compressor just for this auto clear application and I was looking at Porter Cable oi-less with a tank .8 HP 120 volts, price reasonable 129.00 dollars, is any one on this site using a similar compressor or have a suggestion before I purchase the Porter Cable compressor Thank You Gino