Musky Glenn

I haven't built any lures from PVC, but the floating half sub merged tells me that the specific gravity is probably in the range of .50 specific gravity which is probably a little on the heavy side of the woods used for making lures. It's always good to try it out and see how it actually works. Musky Glenn

I googled .033 stainless steel wire and got the address below, they seem to have it. Personally, I favor the finer size .031, love the vibration of the finer wire. Just my two cents worth. Musky Glenn http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=.033+stainless+steel+wire&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=IdO&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivsb&resnum=3&biw=1280&bih=514&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12589018753798330530&ei=n8H_TOPbMsGblgeToOn-CA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEoQ8wIwAA#

Great answer Fishwhittler, don't be afraid to take an old plug and experiment with painting it. Don't expect the first one to be perfect, but part of the learning process of getting good. The guys on here know what they are doing, and have done wrong. Great place to ask questions. Musky Glenn

I have built a few rods over the years and have been using braid for nearly 20 years and have yet to have it cut through any of the ceramic eyes. I now buy the cheap Fuji (?) eyes and add extra eyes to my rods. More eyes look better than higher priced eyes of lesser number. Some times my simpler designs look better than the over done ones that end up looking kind of gaudy. The bottom line is it needs to please you. Good luck and post some finished photo's. Musky Glenn

I know some of you guys have the answers needed to keep me from doing so much trial and error stuff. Couldn't get a reply from the search section. I am going to try to pour some lead bodies similar to the Rapala ice jigs. 1. Will Plaster of Paris be a good choice for the mold to pour lead into. 2. Will pop last to pour 20-30 bodies 3. What would be a good material for making the plastic fin 4. Is there a trick for heating and bending the plastic fin to approx. 90 degree angle. Thanks in advance guys, I guess I just don't understand how to use the search feature. Musky Glenn

I used a Binks quite a bit spraying furniture and I don't remember ever having one that wouldn't spray with the cup on, if it would spray with the cup off, Unless the vent hole in the top was stopped up. They will spray with the pressure down to 10-15 pounds of pressure with thin liquids like water. Is the gun holding air pressure in the line, instead of leaking pressure off the line. If it is not leaking air then air pressure will equalize in the line equal to the regulator for a brief second when you pull the trigger. I would check the tip parts for being clogged. They are as easy to clean as an air brush. I used to put a pint of lacquer thinner in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, strip the gun and leave it in the bucket, with the lid on over night and the fumes from the thinner will soften up anything I ever sprayed through the gun. Hope this helps. Musky Glenn

This is a day for family, which allows us to play the tackle game we love. Musky Glenn

Can't help you there, I'm always scraping mine to bring the shine back.

In Western North Carolina we will find them like that once in a while, but not often. Your ideas are as good as mine on what causes the spots. Musky Glenn

Rayburn Guy, Thanks for the tip, I will also try those suggestions. Musky Glenn

Rayburn Guy, I would agree with Mark Poulson, From 40 plus years in the building industry with 29 of those in teaching Cabinetmaking, characteristics of wood are odd. Some woods are considered open grained, like Oak and Walnut. While some are closed grain, like maple and cherry. This refers to their ability to be sealed effectively and not show open pours when the sealer dries. You can see the penetration by the color of the wood if you cut into the wood. But if you have a good bond on the surface of the lure why would you want it to go inside of the lure and add any weight? Wood shrinks, swells, warps, crooks and any other movement is caused by the amount of moisture content that changes in the wood. Moisture content rises, wood swells. Moisture content goes down and wood shrinks. Sealer soaking into the wood will cause the moisture content to rise causing the size to expand. It will dry inside and remain the larger size, even if very slightly larger. I believe it would work best to have DRY wood at room temperature until the sealer dries. This is just my .02 cents worth. Musky Glenn

Before each days spraying, I check my airbrush operation by running clear water through it just to check it for being clean. I usually don't thin Createx, but some times it needs thinning. My air brush mounts the spray paint bottle to the bottom of the air brush so I thin the entire bottle so that it will spray. I usually don't have to rethin it. When I thin, I use water. Before you thin, run your air up to 40 lbs. of pressure to see if that will make it spray. If it doesn't, add a little water, stir, and try. If it doesn't spray, add more water. In case of a really dirty gun, lacquer thinner will clean most any airbrush paint if left sitting in it over night. This usually requires a complete disassembly to remove the soften paint. My paint seems thin when it sprays the best. Trial and error is how I learned. I'm sure someone on TU has a better system for determing how much thinner to use. Musky Glenn

The handiest item that I have sprayed through is a hair net. It is flexible and will conform to nearly any shape lure. Musky Glenn

Try buying your wood 1/2 as thick as your intended lure thickness. Route your grove into two pieces of this thin wood then glue those routed sides together. Used to be a great video on TU on how to do this, but I can't find it now. They still use screw eyes on musky lures. Musky Glenn

Great looking handle so far. I sanded a cork handle and varnished it to get that good shine. When I went to fish with it, it wouldn't let my hand move around on the handle and wore small blisters on my hand. Good luck with yours and let us know how it works out. Musky Glenn

Anyone want to try a top water bait out of Ebony which has an average specific gravity of 1.12, (Heavier than water) or a musky sinking glide bait out of Balsa which has a specific gravity of .2. It really does have a place. Musky Glenn

Great post, I liked the idea of using the bottom of a spray can for mixing. Musky Glenn

Very good idea Spoonbender. Thanks for posting. Musky Glenn

To me, that is a great looking lure. What did you use to get the design on the foil? Musky Glenn

I don't know if this will help or not. I have a wooden bait that will do the same thing. Mine has screw eyes that seperate the two halves and if I open up the distance between the two halves it greatly changes the action for the better. It's like there needs to be turbulance in this area to make the back half react against the front half. I have also had good luck by making the back half a little bit larger in dia. than the front half, so that it can get in "clean water". Just my two cents worth. Musky Glenn

You did a good job. I have a need for one of those myself, thanks for the idea. Musky Glenn

Here's my guess, and that is all it is. I would think one of two things is causing the problem. 1. Shelf life has run out and it is to old. 2. Tooth pick is not getting it mixed enough. I use the brush that I am going to spread the epoxy with to do the actual mixing. I would suspect it is to old. Musky Glenn