Musky Glenn

One of the things we used to watch for with paints was the drying time. Slow was a sure sign of old age. I'm sure it is the same with d2t. (Age doesn't start when you open, it starts when manufactured) Musky Glenn

I finally broke down and ordered a larger supply (9 oz.) of Bob Smith's slow cure 30 min. epoxy. Just wanted to say that it is working fine. I bored a 3/32" hole in the tip, instead of cutting it off. This small hole allows me to place a small amount of each part of glue side by side and judge amount instead of having it pour out fast. Because the hardner is thicker, I pour it first and the additional couple of seconds allows it to spread out like the other bottle and I can judge the size of each "puddle" before I mix them. The first 5 batches have all cured like it should. Well pleased with their product and shipping was fast. A lot cheaper than buying the small double cylinder packs. I bought it through Aeromicro.net out of California. Musky Glenn

I have two and one of them is the cordless type, nice for light work. Battery last good on a charge. Musky Glenn

Good looking bait CedarLakeMusky. Some times they are just funny about working right. Does anyone besides me find that painted blades are harder to get started spinning than plain blades? Musky Glenn

I would suggest you simplify the process until you get used to spraying. I start out with a bottle of clean water and check that the air brush will spray that with no problem. Then I switch over to the paint, if it won't spray I thin until it will spray. I only thin with clean water. Musky Glenn

It's like Jerry Clower said about getting a new coon dog. "Some times you just have to hide them in the pack with the rest of the dogs"

Iam, Tails on shallow invaders don't hold up very well. But the main thing wrong with the factory tails is they are to stiff. To solve both problems I made a plaster of paris mold so I could pour them as needed and make them softer also. That works much better than spending $7.00 per tail. I have started making a larger version of the Shallow Invader for my own use and it uses the same factory tail. It is eleven inches long and is actually easier to work than the factory model. Raised five on it one day in Virginia, didn't catch a one of them. To repair rubber tails, use super glue GEL. It also works to heat a knife blade HOT and insert it between two pieces (where torn) and melt both sides, remove knife, press both parts together until cool and it is good as new, almost. Little River, that lake on the state line would be Calderwood. The lake between it and Fontana is now stocked with MUSKIES. First time was last Oct. so look for some there in the near future. The name of the musky lake is Cheoah. Calderwood and Cheoah are both great Trout lakes. The area of the French Broad River that has the best muskies is between Asheville and Brevard, NC. Musky Glenn

Rayburn Guy, Nathan and Mark, Thanks for straightening me out on posting photos. I took my hollow hell hound to the lake this morning and it would turn a little better but still not right. Mark you description of how the weight works makes sense and will be my next try. I am also going to make the third lure with a thicker bottom so I can round off the bottom instead of having it so flat sided. That may be making it act like a glider instead of allowing it to turn "out of control" which may start the side to side glide. Thanks guys, this was a big help. At least I have a new direction to try. Musky Glenn

Mark, Not knowing any better than I do and being an active shade tree plumber and it being pvc, I just used my handy dandy pvc plumbing glue. Works like a charm. I am going to try the new hell hound out in the morning and if It works I will post a photo of how it is made. I hate having to post photos in the gallery instead of where we are discussing a lure build up. To much jumping back and forth to try and maintain a line of thought, which I have trouble with any way. I really can cut a lot of weight off a lure by ripping it down, taking out the inside and gluing it back together. Weight distribution seems to be critical, just can't get a handle on it. The only thing that keeps me working on this is the fact that the original would jump to the right just like it was supposed to. If it will do that, then it is missing something to make it jump back the other way. This new one won't jump either way. Just absolutely straight ahead. When they are right they sink about 1-2 feet and "walk the dog" with easy pulls that make the lure swing from side to side by about fifteen inches. Deadly on muskies. It is an extremely easy lure to work when it is right. Throwing the weight is the work, thus the work to remove the weight. I will gladly accept any ideas that any one has!!!! It used to be that the thing that I knew the least about was electricity, now it is proper weight distribution of a musky glide bait. There are plenty of you tube videos of good musky glide baits if you want to see one in action. Maybe I know so little about weight distribution that it isn't weight distribution that is causing the problem. Musky Glenn

I don't use mcu's because of the odor of xylene (?). I only posted this because there was so much trouble in getting DN. Several of the sites mentioned using bloxogen (?) to prolong shelf life and one site mentioned flooding a thin coat of the proper thinner on top of the mcu for the same purpose. Mark- It is over a 100 degrees in the sun here in NC and that is all it takes to keep me off the lake. lol I have been working on some pvc lures, musky size and found a design that seems to work nicely. I raised 5 muskies on it one day. The next six that I made I tapered the tail thinner to give it a more natural look. Well, you know what that did, killed ALL the action. That has kept me off the lake also. I have since added wedge shaped pieces to the rear sides to try and get the action back. When will I ever learn to leave well enough alone. . Still working on that hollow bodied hell hound. I modified the first one right into oblivion. The second one has no action at all. It has a top and is only open 1/2 inch in front and back. I have moved the weights and hope to try it again tomorrow. Got MUSKY club meeting tonight. Love this thing called retirement. Musky Glenn

With a back ground in the building trades and teaching cabinetmaking I came across the use of moisture cured urethane as one of the best wood floor finishes that we used at that time. I was doing a google search of mcu and found there was a lot of information about them but not much in the line of availability or pricing. A lot of the information was related to paints instead of clear finishes so be careful when reading descriptions. One interesting item I did find was on the coronadopaint.com web site where they mentioned an accelerator. It is Conoguard mcu accelerator 3825-1B. It said it increased recoat time to 30 min. I have not used these items but they sound promising. All the mcu that I used was special ordered from my local paint store. A lot of paint companies sell it, but I don't push any one brand over the other. As they say, "I don't have a dog in this fight". lol Musky Glenn

With the Believer, there is a difference in action between the two line ties. There is a bigger difference in running depth and that is usually the deciding factor. River or lake, casting or trolling. Musky Glenn

Believers have two line ties and have been popular for many years, and they catch muskies. Musky Glenn

Good luck Mark. Musky Glenn

Norman dd22, deep little N's and Shallow Invaders. Musky Glenn

My shopping cart said 1 oz. was $19.00. Musky Glenn

I agree with BassBull, It is quick with a "big eye" needle. I make up the bodies in different colors before I put them on the jig. I don't use a special body, just cut up a 6" worm into the sizes I want. Musky Glenn

I agree with BobP, sounds like another line of varnishes and polyurethanes. Musky Glenn

Thats a good idea Mark. We tee our musky hooks for a different reason. To save the paint wear on the belly of the lure. So our flat is to the body and the other point is straight down. Musky Glenn

Mark, if you cut off the treble hook leave it long, drill a hole in the lure for the long end you cut off and use a small screw through the eye of the treble. At least it won't be swinging down as low and will limit side movement. Musky Glenn

Hide glue is made from animal bones and hides, especially cows. Used in the furniture industry and is available in powder or liquid form. Never used it myself but have asked that question on many a test. Musky Glenn

Don't take it so hard. Just think of all the effort you have saved me.

Littleriver, We are all just trying to understand what takes place with a problem. Your suggestions are well taken and I appreciate reading all you write. The only experience with microwaves I could relate that to was what had happened to my frozen dinner after one minute, not much. That was a good article about microwaving wood. One sentance he used caught my eye. " 3/4 inch thick wood requires about 15 minutes simmer time in my microwave.". It is hard to understand the emotions a person has when we are reading typed words. I never mean to offend anyone who is trying to help me understand a problem. Thanks for your help. Musky Glenn

Most moisture goes in and out through the end grain, that is why they put wax/paint on the ends of hardwood lumber. (This is usually done my the consumer) For air drying lumber which is how most of us do it with lumber, takes approx. 1 year per 1 inch of thickness. You want the moisture to leave through the sides and edges and not the end grain. If it leaves through the end grain, that end will shrink faster than the rest and cause a crack from the end toward the middle of the board. All that being said, I doubt that one minute in a microwave oven will make that much difference in true moisture content. It would not be the first time I was way wrong. Average moisture content for a location varies greatly. Here in NC we are usually around 12-16 percent air moisture content. This would be the moisture content of true air dried wood. Dry kiln lumber is usually around 6-8 percent moisture content. This will change quickly as it is stored in our 12-16 percent out door air. Moisture control was the largest problem we had in a school shop setting. It will change the size of lumber. A 2X4 eight feet long can hold as much as three gallons of water. That would be about 100 percent moisture content. As it dries down to 27 percent there is minimal shrinking as the water leaves the cell cavity only. After approx. 27 percent on down shrinking happens as the wood is loosing water in the cell walls which causes all our warping, bowing, twisting, splitting and all those other things that drive us nuts! Time out. Musky Glenn

Thanks for the information. I need something different to attach lips with and now I know what to buy. Musky Glenn