Big Epp

Thanks, I was really happy with how it turned out! I've not done much detail carving before, but I'm trying to get more into it as well as making some swimbaits (big, little, in-between). I've made patterns for 5" crappie and bluegill, 8" smallmouth, 10" walleye, and a 2" topminnow. The wood is California redwood I got doing a demo job on an old kit house. I'm excited to have it, as it's basically impossible to get any out here. It carves like butter and floatslike crazy. It's so pretty I'll probably make several with no paint. They look kinda folkartish that way... In the picture it's got a coat of miwax wood hardener.

I too use scraps. It's fun to work with different woods and have to adjust accordingly. One thing you can try is making the front face of the lure concave, flat, or convex. Each of those will give a different swim. Additionally you can adjust the distance of the line tie from the nose of the bait to change the action (quite dramatically!). Thickness of the blank matters too. A thicker bait will require more lead to get your preferred sink rate. One thing I do is try to use the same pattern for different baits. With this pattern I can make 2 different glide baits, a lipped crank, and a lipless crank just by adjusting the position of the lead and the line tie.

I did this with a dremel and a cone shaped stone. It's more impressionistic, but I like it!

Is there a general ratio of resin, lead, and microbaloons to get different sink rates?

Thanks for including the original post. All I know is what I've seen on YouTube, so I'm definitely a resin noob! I got an Alumilite molding kit on clearance along with some extra resin and mold making goop. Some basics (correct me if I'm wrong): 1) pure resin sinks. 2) you get buoyancy by adding microbaloons, which are tiny glass balls that are not good to inhale. 3) you can add ballast or make it sink faster by adding birdshot. And that's about all I've got.

I would love to learn more about resin and pouring and stuff. I just started another thread to move that conversation off this one. Great stuff!

Hey all. On another thread there was a great conversation about resin, and I would love to learn more! I just bought all the basic molding stuff and am excited to get started.

Thanks again for your tips! I went out today with one of my jigs and caught 3 largemouth. Biggest was 19". Yesterday I fished a spinnerbait I had redressed, and caught 2, biggest was 18". I'll post a couple pictures in the gallery.

I just picked up one bottle of candy paint. Some sort of blue. It was on clearance so I figured I'd give it a shot...

I'm no expert, but I'd try thinning your paint. I can shoot pretty well at 10-15psi if the paint is thin enough. Not that I do often, but I've done it. What kind of paint are you using? I've found different paints spray differently. I usealmost all created paints, and there is a big difference between the pearl paint and the opaque paint. My airbrush came with some paints (not surethebrand) and they aremuchthinner and spray better at lower pressure.

Sweet, maybe I'll try it and see. I suppose there's also a difference between MCU and OMU, though I don't know the specifics.

What is your preferred method for carving scales?

How does KBS do with soft plastics? Don't some MCUs react to the softeners? I have used an oil modified urethane gym floor sealer in the past. I really like it, but have been careful to keep it away from plastics.

Before I started airbrushing I asked a professional what his recommendation was and he basically said, "buy the best and you won't regret it." He recommended the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. It was pricey, but I had some startup money available. I use a 6 gal shop compressor with inline moisture trap and pressure valve. No problems thus far (2 years).

So from the post it looks like it's "coming soon," which is great, because I haven't started painting yet...

I missed it too, glad you said something!

I've been finding the center of balance and then measuring an equal distance away from that. I guess with a two piece bait I'd find the center of balance on each piece, and then do a float test in a 5 gal. bucket before applying any glue. I think this works, though I haven't consulted a physics textbook (or @Vodkaman!) yet. Great gill detail, that's impressive!

Love the ideas shared so far! I too prefer round beads...I did find some beads made of volcano rock too, which I thought was pretty cool! I really like all the colors and styles of plastic beads available. I get most of mine at Wal Mart in their jewelry section. To compensate for the light weight of the beads I use an appropriately sized bullet weight. I'll often use enamel paint over the bullet weight. Sometimes you can find them pre-painted. So many options...