capt mike

I read up on the Jonestones foil. So let me see if I understand. If I paint some adhesive in a pattern or a line on my bait and then lay the foil over it, when i peel the sheet of foil off the bait, the foil material will remain stuck to the adhesive?

I finished my mold and made the first casting. The scale details came out great. Now I can burnish foil tape over the body and the scale relief shows through. Or I can just paint over it.

A fellow coastal fisherman here. That's great stuff. You have several innovations in your work that no one has shown before. I appreciate the time you put into the tutorial. I did a big bass swimbait with foil a few months back and the foil failed. I was using 3m spray adhesive and household foil. I think the spray adhesive was a little too old. I would like to try the Locktite. Where did you get that foil? I 've been loosing my mind trying to find some kind of prism foil for my skipjack baits. I'm working on some mullet baits with foil tape for specks and reds. Been a lot of fun trying to show them something different.

This is a bait I foiled with ac tape. I then coated it with a layer of D2T. I painted with an airbrush and createx paints. Let dry one day and cleared with D2T again. The coating seems to chip easy. I have not been using a turner. Just invert the bait back and forth till it sets up. What is the best method for painting over foiled baits? Does the adhesive on the foil have anything to do with this? Should I clean the foiled bait with something before I cover it? Or is the lack of a lure rotisserie my only problem? The chips are visible on the anal fin.

I searched for info on this topic and was overwhelmed with info. I am looking for the right combination for a lure turner that will accomodate jointed swimbaits up to 10-inches. Maybe 4-6 baits at a time. Plan to use e tex or D2T. What size motor, rpms. Where do I buy it? What size axle, dowels and wheel. Maybe some photos of one and how the swimbaits fit on it. Thanks

Thanks, i'll do that. I like the sound of not using ballast weights. I'll get around to that sooner or later.

Oh boy. That don't sound good. The first one was PVC and this latest bait is cypress. An S-waver is hard to get to swim right. The resin baits that I have been casting are 50/50 resin and microballons. Do you recommend a different mix? The PVC that I am using feels very close to the consistency of the 50/50 mix. I actually made a putty mold of my herring. Boy was that a waste of money. The molds looked like a blob and left air pockets in the casting.

I think I know what you did. Thats hilarious and smart at the same time. I want to see how my idea comes out first before i try to figure out yours. I have a really nice raised scale pattern on my latest bait. I painted some thick acrylic paste through mesh onto the surface of the bait . I burnished some foil tape over it and it shows through really nice. My plan is to cast a mold and pick up the scale details. Now if I could just get this bait to swim right, i'll finish it and post the final product. This is a video of one I finished.

What else do you have to add? I get the feeling you have something to share..or hide.

Dave, that's exactly what I did on my very first mold last week. I molded and casted a completed and clear-coated bait (Bob Smith epoxy). The clear coat is pretty heavy and lost about half of the detail. I was thinking about coating the next master lure with CA glue and fine sanding. Don't you think that will fill and smooth the imperfections, yet leave most of the cuts and engraving to be picked up in the mold?

What do you do to a bait to use it for molding. is it sealed and then sanded smooth? Any other steps?

Anyone use the Dascar silicone to make molds for hard baits? Is this a good silicone?

I did that recently Ben. The scales come out fine in the foil. When I placed the foil on the bait, the scales got smashed back down due to the pressing and smoothing process of application. The scales are still visible in the foil. But they are no longer raised with the texture I want.

I'm trying to figure out how to get scale texture on baits. My 2 ideas are as follows: 1- wrap lure tight in mesh and spray numerous coats of primer to build up, remove mesh, let dry, sand lightly. 2-wrap lure in mesh and brush with light molding paste to build up, dry, sand lightly. Anyone have any insight into this?

what kind of epoxy are getting into a needle? I use devcon and bob smith. That stuff is thick. What size needle?

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I forgot I posted this question. When I looked at the joint in the Monster Jack bait, it was so neat and tight, I had a pretty good idea that the eyes were simply pushed into the holes filled with epoxy. I'm glad to know that this is strong enough. I will begin doing this right away. Heck, it should be easier. One more question. How do you guys "fill" the hole with epoxy. What tool do you use for that. Sounds like an obvious answer, but I know I will get multiple answers. I appreciate the help guys. Mike

Lately i've been using .72 screw eyes and a SS pin for my hinges in small swimbaits (1.5-2 oz.). A friend of mine gave me a Fish Arrow monster Jack the other day. This bait uses .72 eyescrews with an "eye to eye" connection for the hinge. The joint is a wedge shape and the eyes are screwed in tight to the wood. My question is, how in the heck is this done. How are the eyescrews squeezed closed into each other in this tight space. Needle nose pliars won't fit in that joint. Anyone familiar with this?

Mark, I also used Spro swivels. Bending the top eye to make it fit in the hole is what I needed to hear for my next project. I would think the bond would be just as good on wood. Crazy glue gap filler is a new one on me. I'll have to look out for that. When I applied epoxy on mine, I periodically turned the swivel so that it would not set inside the swivel. They work fine, but i'll never know if the epoxy would hold since the brass pins are there just in case.

Sorry, I just found the thread on swivel hook hangers. It did not come up at first . Anyway, I have already made a big bait with two heavy swivels and pins inserted into the body to catch the top ring. I also placed epoxy in the hole to seal it and it works fine. I only partially filled the hole and the epoxy did not hurt the swivel motion. However, that lure was made with two layers and was split when I assembled the pins and swivels. This time my lure is from solid stock. My question is, will the epoxy hold without the pin ?

Anyone use barrel swivels for hook hangers, such as in the ones used in triple trout swimbaits? I f so how are you anchoring them? Will epoxy hold the swivel well enough, or is some type of additional screw or hardware needed?

Can anyone explain how the Japanese Foiled baits are detailed with the scale etched lines? I've seen the cross hatch pattern in baits such as Evergreen swimbaits and wonder if anyone has done this with any success?

I have been using plastic wood to fill in the weight holes in my jointed swimbaits. It seems to leave voids after it dries. What have you guys been using for this?

Thanks guys. That's some good info that I didn't know before. Your'e right Dave. It tore out the bottom and the pin fell out. I'm thinking about trying two sets of screw eyes for the tail joint and eliminating the slot and pin altogether. The tail section is so small on this bait, I don't want to remove any more material than I have to. I am going to experiment with a sheet foam tail fin. It comes in colors and various thicknesses. I understand what you mean regarding the lever effect from a single eye connection point. Too much range of movement at that spot. When that bass shook his head, the tail section was not in his mouth. So it was flying back and forth and rotating in every direction with each shake..and a bass can shake his head incredibly fast. Getting an education here. Thanks.

I'll try to get a pic, of the broken tail, up tonight. Dave, the pin hole is pretty close to the edge. If I situated the pin deeper into the lure material, I guess I could just back the eye screw out further from the next section to line up in there. Mark, I did not make a pilot hole for the screw eye. I bet that would help in other situations. The part that broke was the face of the tail section. There is no weight or hook attached on this piece. Just a skinny piece of material between the pin and joint. I guess the fish will ultimately teach us how to improve our baits. Here's a pic of the bait before it got clobbered.