Anglinarcher

Good to know. The stuff THD had on the shelf was not nearly that buoyant.

Dave, I/we sure miss your tank and videos.

I think the hood will work, but a booth would always be better.

Welcome to the site Jason. But, I am not quite sure I agree with the Obviously doing it right is important, but the definition of quality equipment is going to differ and change as your experience level grows. Hopefully this will get others to jump in here, but I have "poured" for years and I still don't think I am ready for a Lee Pot or an RCBS production pot. Still, I like how you think!

Most of the fumes can be sucked up so I would not worry about it. But, if you can get it so the spray is toward the fan, that is better. It sure sucks to be painting with solvent based paints in the winter in cold areas. I hope you find a way.

Yes, all modern range hoods are explosion proof. You can purchase one from Home Depot or Lowes, etc. Often you can get one from contractors that do remodel work; they would much rather sell a used one to you then pay for disposal fees. Check out Craigs List as well.

I don't know the slab buster so I cannot help there. Most new guys and hobbyist dip to make small tubes. You should be able to do a search on dipping tubes bu going to activity at the top right of the screen, follow the pop up down to search, click on it, and go from there. There are several good videos on YouTube as well showing tube dipping. PS, I see you are very new to the site. Welcome to the fun.

The PVC is near neutral to begin with. With hooks, it will sink slowly, depending on the weight of the hardware.

I just don't remember. It comes in many different colors, I do know that.

Last things first. ROFLOL - Seth never told me that story. If/when we talk next I'll have to ask him. By the way for the rest of you that are wondering about our inside joke, Seth is on YouTube and had a fishing show for a few years. The crashing economy killed the show a few years ago but he is a heck of a good fisherman and teacher. I don't think he ever made a lure in his life, but he sure could modify, adapt, and work them. OK, I thought you were thinking your idea was new, as in new new. Still, my point is that I know it will work because I have some that work and are so very similar. I tried to find them online and failed, so they must not have been popular for River2Sea. I may have been wrong on the center joint though. The more I think of it the more I am not sure. The joint should just provide more freedom for the front and tail to work separately. As for material, the sky's the limit. Of course Rod hit the nail on the head. Try, learn, try again. Mark has mentioned PVC which is an excellent option. It is easier than wood because it does not have a grain to deal with and it is always consistent. I found it harder to locate, but Home Depot has some in your area (not the same brand Mark uses). and Bob has mentioned the popular Poplar (HEHE). Not as consistent and I find that I need to customize the ballast on each one, but can't go wrong with the traditional old standby. Paulownia was impossible for me to locate in the Spokane region, but there is a woodworking shop in Spokane Valley that might be able to get it, or you can get it online. I cannot help with that one. Now you know I am a resin guy, but I would start with PVC and get my shape first. You can also make by molding a rough shape using Alumilite White with the max amount of microballoons. This is as easy to shape as PVC and easier to get of you already have materials on hand. I would make my mold from the blank I made. I would use Alumilite White, Rotomold style, for the surface and use 610 foam for the core. Once the proper amount of Alumilite White, Ballast, and 610 foam is figured out, it is extremely repeatable. You could also use Alumafoam (same density as Cedar) and add ballast as necessary. Every single method mentioned above will work. The resin is most repeatable, but would take the most time to get it dialed in. The PVC is the easiest IMHO for single samples. In retrospect, Rod said it best.....

Ouch, I will come off as a contrarian here. I don't normally disagree with Travis or Nathan (Please don't retaliate Nathan - LOL), but it can be made to work. You might need to alter the ratios some to tweak it. And, just to keep up the trend (oh boy), the lure is NOT NEW. Sorry Fish. River2Sea made the lure for some years that looks almost exactly like your sketch. A little deeper profile on the front lure section, but a shallow diving (2 to 3 feet) lure with the same extra large curly tail. They did not use the treble to hold the tail though. I know where you live so see if you can contact Seth Burrill in Spokane. He is the one that use to have the fishing show on TV there in the region (Anglers Xperience). He is the one that got me into that lure for the Big Pike. I contacted River2Sea and bought all they had left at the time (maybe 4 or 5 rainbow colored). I still have some of them but they are in storage and I cannot find them right now. So, the lure will work, does work, and for the life of me I don't know why they stopped making it. Perhaps with better marketing it might sell well now. PS, it worked on the big Walleye on Roosevelt in December at night as well. I give it high ratings. I just wish I could remember the name. I know it went out of production around 2010.

Yes, and no on the exposed motor. I think the guys on here tend to get a bit over concerned....... to paraphrase the Great Bard, "Much ado about nothing". Get the SDS (Safety Data Sheets) on the paints and clears you use. I suggest that you will find that the the fumes are not as flammable as you might think, and require a specific air/fuel ratio range to explode. As long as you keep the air ratio high enough, the fuel will not be concentrated enough to ignite. Having said that, I am speaking as an experienced Engineer, Safety Officer, Quality Officer, and a host of other useless titles. I can read and relate the SDS and know how to get a "sniffer" to check the air if necessary. But, in today's world, we all need to be lawyer proof so we all say "be safe, be very safe". Get your SDS, review them, contact one of the hood suppliers and ask them to suggest the least expensive one that will work for your products.

Well, probably not so much. If you use a good organic vapor protective mask, and if no one else enters the shop until the fumes are cleared, then it could be ok, but it would be problematic for you if you have any employees or visitors. For "hobbyist" like myself, just opening the window and spraying right out the window (assuming wind is not blowing it back inside) would be just fine. But.....I know you are more then a "hobbyist" like myself.

You have two options available to most of us. 1) You can paint with almost any paint, including water based paint. They look great, but they won't keep their paint job. Paints, in general, won't stick to plastic. So.......We use to airbrush our hollow body plastic frogs or other soft plastic lures, then we would dip in clear hot plastisol. The clear plastisol will seal the paint and protect it. 2) New paints are available now that will stick to plastic. They are solvent based and should not be used without proper mask and/or ventilation. I don't use them at this time, but I understand that they work well. These paints can be and are used with airbrush techniques. They also make a clear that you can protect them with, but it is not necessary if painted over the new paints. I am pretty sure that someone will post the name of it on the site now. I just don't remember the name at this time. Sorry. PS, it has only been out for a few years now.

The answer is 'it depends'. Lots and lots of variables involved. I seriously doubt any single simulation program could deal with all of the variables involved so it sometimes comes down to trial and error. In my experience, if the front of the bait is thin, there would be sufficient water flow, but it would alternate to each side (hydrodynamic flutter). There would still be alternating flow, but much larger periods, with fatter bait fronts. I hope this helps some, but this is a pretty tough question to answer.

Only my wife would know that. Never mind, I take the 4th.

Yes, I have had that happen, but, as Bob indicated, it was due to glycerin. I lived in Louisiana for some time and I did not think about the 90+ % humidity versus the 15% in Washington State. I used the same mix I had been using and it would not dry at all. Glycerin will actually draw water out of the air if the humidity is too high. In Louisiana, I just thinned with water and it dried just fine, in minutes. Also, with the high humidity I had zero tip dry on the air brush. LOL

Merry Christmas to all. You are all Awesome.

Funny how one of us likes something and others don't. Personally, I found neither the LifeTone or the Kolor all that great. They did do a fair job of giving a natural silver or gold, but for the "POP" that many of us want for Silver or Gold, they just don't do it for me. And they both dull a bit when I use a clear coat, epoxy, UV, MCR, etc. And yes, I also hate the solvent issues of the above. Still, my talents are different than others, and I don't profess to be an artist. I use a primer color because I have to hide my molded in ballast. I almost never sand before or between coats, but I start off with a resin bait. I use a heat gun between coats if necessary, but almost never need to. Still, I bet Kevin can paint baits faster then I can make them, so ...... I sure would like to see some samples.

Welcome to the site. TU is very active, but some topics are a little difficult to answer. If I understand correctly, no issues with the mold process. It would be easy with Silicone. Because you are looking at using an injector, Alumilite HS2 or Quickset would be good. Plat 55 would also be awesome. A non silicone option would be the VacMaster 50. Now, not a fan of the plastic syringes. Netcraft use to make a injector made of plastic but I don't think they have it anymore. The other injectors are more money for sure, but you will have far less chance of adding another Because you will be adding salt, I would really suggest one of the metal injectors. The amount of salt is kind of up to you. Some of the guys are now using glass beads to add weight, but if the salt is for "taste" and not weight, then it is a very personal thing. I am attaching a link so you can see how some of the molds are made, but YouTube is a good source as well. http://www.makelure.com/store/pg/54-How-To-Videos.aspx Good luck and let us know if I missed something.

Your point is well taken Dave.

Bichon, a dog, my best find ever. LOL I have been out of Polar Bear for a long long time, but about 20 years ago we got a Bichon Frise as a non-shedding, allergy free dog. It was awesome for my wife. We were told by a groomer that the pup should not be trimmed for the first year. Well, I'll tell you what. After a year the hair was dragging the ground and there was some 6 to 8 inch long hair. When using a laser light toy I discovered that it worked like fiber optic material, just like polar bear hair. It was the most incredible hair, soft, strong, flexible, super white, in short, as good or better then Polar Bear. I just can't find a groomer that agrees with the first gal. Cannot find any groomer to let me have long Bichon hair. LOL I miss that dog as well.

That one worked very well. I like the result. You know, for a more natural sheen, I will probably stick to my leaf material, but... For an extensive flash I see this as a great option for a chrome now.

Same here. The silver version is my normal one, but gold colored "aluminum leaf" and even the other metallic colors are pretty nice.

Show us a pic so we can compare. I looked high and low at the local Walmarts and chrome seems to be a no-go. I have to look when my wife is not around; she just doesn't understand.