joelhains

Heat stabilizer can help but it won't stop yellowing altogether. I like to reheat sprues with some uncooked plastic. Seems to helps get more reheats and less yellowing. And as has already been mentioned, reheat in short bursts and stir often to maintain a consistent tempature in the mix

I've been watching a few of the vacuum forming vids on YouTube. Looks easy enough to build the vacuum forming machine and you can find tons of the PETG plastic sheets on eBay. Not sure what thickness is best for making small swimbait containers though.

Thanks guys. I still have to tweak a few things. I might need to increase the spacing between the blades. It takes a lot of pressure to cut thought the tails. I need to figure out the hardness I want out of the plastic and number of dips relative to the tempature of the plastic too. These are triple dipped but I want a thinner tube with a firmer plastic I think.

I think I've finally figured out how to dip tubes. These are my first tubes that look decent!. I'm dipping on aluminum arrow shafts cut down to about 5-6 inches in length. I bent a price of wire put it inside the shaft and poured lead down inside to hold the wire in place and close off the open end. I also made my own tail splitter using utility knife blades with prices of cardboard between each blade epoxied together.

I guess I better dig out my dremel. Thanks guys!

I just put them in bags. As long as the tail has room to stay straight it should be fine. Make sure you let the bait have a chance to cure before you bag them though. I lay them out straight on a flat smooth surface and leave them there for a few days before bagging them.

I have to make a minor correction to my last post... I said I was getting the Griffin as a gift for the holdays, and I did. By it wasn't the Montana Mongoose I'd requested Santa bring me. I received the Odysee Spider instead. I hate to admit I was slightly disappointed when I saw the box but after using it nearly every day for the last week and a half I love it! It is everything I could want out of a vice. It holds nearly any size hook firmly. I had hooks from size 12 to 7/0 trebles and have had no problem at all with it. Right now I just can't see any way to justify spending more on a "higher end" vice.

Smalljaw, are you the same smalljaw who post youtube videos of tying jigs/flys (if so...thank you). Would you be able to post some pics (or video) of your spraybooth? And maybe your setup for spraying powder paint? I've just been swishing the spinnerbait head and hook in the jar of powder. It works ok for smaller sizes but my 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits are difficult to get a nice even coat. Thanks

I just want to write a short "thank you post" to all the contributors of this fantastic site! It seems every time I log on, I learn some new technique whether it be for pouring plastic baits, making jigs, painting or forming wire etc. I recently had a 8 hour drive to visit family for the holidays and I spent most of it just reading through threads in the different forums picking up things here and there I wanted to try when I got back home. This site is comprised of some of the best people I've encountered on an online forum and I've been a member of more than my fair share of them. So many folks with huge amounts of knowledge and experience that they are willing to share. Its amazing to me how helpful you all have been and continue to be. Thank you all!

I think the chamfered plate along with a deeper slot are a great idea. The deeper slot should also help reduce wear to the main body of the jig. I have been playing with the spacing of the pins and like you mentioned I'm finding there is going to be a lot of trial and error involved. I'm still working on that aspect.

Vodkaman, I've been studying the Dubro video myself as well. Here's what I've come up with so far this morning. I just used scraps and pieces I had laying around the basement and garage. I used a piece of one inch oak trim. Old dull drill bit as the posts and a couple screws for the barrel wrapper. I still have a few improvement to make but it is functional and I've seen much better results already over trying to twist these heavy shafts by hand.

I think I'm going to attempt to make my own tomorrow. Looks fairly simple.

Yep... I need that!

I'm wanting to start tying up some heavy duty musky sized bucktails now that I live near some decent musky waters. Yesterday I picked up some supplies and have been attempting to twist, bend and cut this 0.051 wire. This is a lot heavier stuff than the 0.035 I'm used to using for my regular sized bass spinnerbait. I think I'm figuring out a decent method for getting a half way professional looking twist on the wire (for now I'm just using a vise and pliers to twist with... No professional bender) but I can't seem to get the tag end cut off close enough to the shaft. What do you guys use to cut off tight to the shaft? I'd like to take off that extra 1/8 of an inch.

Yes it must be water based. Not nearly as dramatic a reaction thankfully. It could have very easily popped or exploded more violently than just the slow bubble.

Do you have any pics of your modifications?

Wouldn't the bacon grease go rancid after a period of time?

The Griffin is the one I went with. It is going to be a chirstmass present so I'll get to put it to work in a week or so. I bought a cheap one from bass pro to get me going but it's a pain in the butt. Look g forward to using it. Thanks for all the recomendations guys!

... It doesn't work lol!

I'm looking to get a fly vice and hopefully be able to pick up a descent one for my price range. Years ago when I was in high school I got into lure making and I had a cheap $20 vice but I mostly just used my hands because it wouldn't hold hooks well. Since then I've moved away from fly fishing and Ive been making soft plastic baits, spinnerbaits weedless bass jigs etc... Now I want to get back into fly tying and I will also use it for tying lead jigs for bass and walleye using up to 5/0 heavy hooks. Any suggestions for a good quality vice for around $100-$150... also what are some features I should be looking for? thanks

Are there any companies that sell musky sized bait molds? Something like a bull dawg or similar? Not really looking to have a mold custom made. I expect a mold like this to be expensive but I haven't seen anything out there.

This thread just brought to mind old memories from my childhood. When I was probably five or six I remember finding small pieces of scrap sheet metal with holes already in them from my dad's work shop. My mom was a florist so I got a hold of some of her florist wire and bent them into the shape of a hook them attached them to the pieces of sheet metal. They were my five year old version of a spoon!

I've got a piece of granite counter top that I put under the lead pot. Its was a left over piece from cutting out the opening for a kitchen sink. Its about 2x3 feet and an inch thick.