bluetickhound

I thought the same thing... As lazy as I am I can't believe I didnt think of something like that!!

Thanks Mark! I also wondered if perhaps the brush itself might have been the problem but what you said sounds more likely. I'll wait until tomorrow, sand down and try again using DA to clean up with. BTH

Water.

Sorry for the late reply but the answer is no... ACC has no perceptible odor at all. What I have noticed tonight is that (barring operator error, which is ENTIRELY possible...) ACC doesn't seem to like second coats... The lure I'm making for a friend is going along great but after swim testing (which required drilling a home to add ballast) I sanded down the lure with 400 grit, recoated and I'm seeing spots where it's not covering... Not really "fish eyes" so much as its almost like silicone surface contamination... I wiped the lure down with a clean, semi damp ( practically dry but not quite) lint free cloth and still have an unacceptable finish.... Will re-evaluate tomorrow and try to see where I went wrong...

Gene Thank you so much for putting me on to the Murphy knife. I thought it was Ben but after looking further he is right. You first mentioned it and it has been a Godsend for my lure making. I visit Townsend two or three times a year an cant BELIEVE I haven't stumbled across Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers before now. I've been to the dulcimer shop but that's the only place at Nawger I've been to. BTH

Most definitely! Quite literally... I'm hooked!!

Thanks guys!! I'm seriously thinking of retiring 001 now... I'd hate to lose it!! 002, 003 and 004 are very close to completion and #'s 005 thru 011 are in various stages of completion. 003 is going to a friend this Friday for a Florida fishing trip. I can't wait to see if it'll net him a fish or two!!

Maybe a little late to the party on this but ever since the update I cannot login on my home laptop. (no problems with the iPhone however...). I get an error on page message and when I double click it says: HMTL Parsing Error: Unable to to modify parent container element before the child element is closed (KB927917) index: php Code: 0 Line: 0 Char:0 What do you make of this? I was able to login fine before the update. Other than not being able to upload photos (which I'd really love for this phone to be able to do...) I'm perfectly happy operating from my phone. Thanks!! BTH

Ben, was it you who put me on to Smoky Mountain woodcarvers Murphy Knife? If so, thank you from the bottom of my heart!! That thing is awesome! Aaron, look into this knife and you'll be glad you did.

I'm not even going to lie... This fish might have been a pound even but it will always be huge to me... My first fish on my first lure! Whenever I can get my computer to cooperate (or get replaced) pictures will be forthcoming...

This. Even in my short two months as a luremaker I have found the best way to get slowed down is to get in a hurry... Especially where painting is concerned (for me anyway... I had painted motorcycles for a few years and even though the techniques are similar painting wooden lures is different from painting metal tanks and fenders...). One other thing I have learned is to know when to leave well enough alone... I have screwed up more than one lure already trying to go from "good enough" to "perfect"... BTH

Not to pump my thread but have you looked into Amazing Clear Cast? I think it's a newer product (I got mine at Hobby Lobby). It dries hard but has some "give" to it. By that I mean that on a test piece I coated a dug a thumbnail into it deep enough to leave a very noticeable scratch, came back in an hour and there was no trace of the scratch. I have also clamped down on it with needle nose pliers ( not enough to tear the finish but deep enough to leave a "print") and had the same result. D2T and Etex are the old guard gold standard for lure finishes from what I gather in my short time here so far at TU but ACC is definitely worth looking in to if you have concerns about toothy fish.... I don't know if it would help if you wre worried about fishy teeth but that's another thread for another site!!

I made a rectangular frame that pivots at the center with opposing screw eyes and I use short lengths of wire ( actually scraps from my thru-wire) that I bend to hang the lures on. I can take my needle nose pliers and bend the wire to snug it up where the lure doesn't "flop" while turning.

Honestly, I haven't noticed any real odor at all. I'm doing a lure for a friend tonight so I'll pay closer attention and get back tomorrow.

I brush it on. It's a little thick to spray, but not as thick as D2T.

My experience (as short as it may be!!) has been to leave lures on the wheel for at least 4 hours. I have found ACC to be an excellent medium for making fish eyes also. What I like about ACC is that it dries hard, yet is resilient. Once cured, it seems to "self heal" from scratches. I even clamped down a little bit (not hard enough to tear up the lure but more to simulate what a toothy fish might do) with some needle nose pliers and two hours later... Presto!! Good as new.

If a numbskull noob (2 months and approaching ten complete lures in...)like me can do it I'm sure you will do just fine!! The guys here at TU have put me light years ahead of where I'd be if I were trying to figure this out on my own!!

Got my Rikon this week and I LOVE it!!! It didn't take long to set up (there's actually a YouTube video on exactly how to do it) and it cuts like a dream. I doubt I'll ever use my scroll saw again. Amazing how being able to KNOW (as opposed to HOPE) your cuts are totally accurate will do for your confidence/enjoyment!!

His wife already wants to have a "word" with me when they get back for turning him on to that place!! I wonder how much money he spent there??!?

If I can ever tear myself away from balsa and move up to harder woods this is the tutorial I'll use to get going. I have a buddy who is vacationing in Townsend Tennessee this week and I got him to drop by Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers and pick me up a Murphy knife. I can't wait to try it out!!

Both Mark and Jerry give solid advice but I'd add this to everyting they said...If you are using balsa you might want to check the archives (the search function) for any one of the threads about through wiring... If you are using basswood or any of the denser woods screw in eyes or hand twisted SS wire epoxied in will hold up just fine.

Ok.... Here's my verdict on ACC... It's waterproof (at least it is for 36+ hours of submersion...) it lays down as level as glass, it likes sharp edges a little better than D2T and needs no thinning whatsoever. It also dries a bit softer than D2T and I can dig a thumbnail deeply into the dried finish, come back in an hour and it's like nothing happened. I have got a lure on the turner now and when I get it completed will update further on how it performs in a real world fishing situation. I wish I could post pictures but until I either get a new computer or somebody at TU can tell me if I have a signup glitch with the computer I already have I'm stuck with my "smart" phone....

Ok... I went ahead and got it ( mainly because I had the 40% coupon knocking the price down to around 12 bucks!). After mixing it up and coating a couple of pieces of test wood I can say that so far it's a "qualified success". Downside is that it takes at least 24 hours to fully cure (and I still have about 4 hours left on that...) but as it sits currently Amazing Clear Cast (hereafter to be referred to, in true TU style, as ACC) is a winner. It dries to a slightly flexible finish and is clear and bubble free, and I mean completely free of blemish whatsoever. The true test will come when I put the test pieces under water for a length of time to test water PROOF vs. water RESISTANT... The packaging makes no mention either way. Here's a link to the site http://www.alumilite.com/ProdDetail.cfm?Category=Casting%20Resins&Name=Amazing%20Clear%20Cast

Has anyone tried the Amazing Clear Cast? I looked for it in the search function and didn't see that anyone had posted about it. It's a two part clear coating and casting resin. I see it at Hobby Lobby and it seems like it would be a good strong topcoat type of product. I may take a flyer and spend the $20... If I do I'll post a review.

I tried using a tack cloth on Lure #3 (yeah... I'm a noob...) to cut down on surface contamination and was not impressed with the results... Still some blemishes in my D2T..Minor blemishes, but blems nonetheless.... I had better results just carefully wiping down with a dry, lint free cloth on Lure #2 and will go that route from here on out.