exx1976

You may want to revisit the type of epoxy you are using. Everyone is so quick to recommend etex, but I've found it's actually pretty terrible. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG cure times, inconsistent batch-to-batch, WAY too many bubbles, all manner of nonsense. I switched to Amazing Clear Cast. It cures faster, harder, and with none of the problems that etex had. It's also only in the mid-60s in my shop as well. No issues.

That's lexan, not cb. Completely different. No way in hell I'd use a router for cb.

I'd be very interested to hear how this works. I think the material might be a bit too brittle to use a punch press. I'm very interested in getting some .060 or .080 CB lips instead of just the .031 that are commercially available...

Followup: 5233K51 from McMaster-Carr was perfect.

I'd be careful with that. Iwata says immersing an airbrush can damage internal o-rings over time. I'm barely capable of operating the damn thing, not sure I'm up to the task of repairing one. LOL

Yeah, apologies. I seem to forget that there are folks here making smaller baits as well. I don't use anything smaller than a 3/0, and when I step up to 11 or 12" baits, I'll likely go up to a 4/0 or 5/0. The KVD triple grip do go up to 7/0, indeed, but I just can't see my way to paying that much for hooks for lures that will be for sale. They are like 4-5 times the price of a 35656. I do like them for lures that are for my personal use, however.

I have two HP-CS brushes, and have not had the problem you describe. To be clear, you're saying the trigging is sticking down - not back - so it continues to deliver air (and not paint) after you remove your finger, correct? I would think a drop of airbrush lubricant should address that problem. Both my brushes included a small tube of it in the box when I received them. I'm certainly no airbrush expert, but I have taken mine apart several times. Since the needle goes through the trigger, I would check to ensure the needle isn't bent (accidentally from cleaning?), and that the trigger isn't twisted (not even sure if this is possible? I don't know that it would go back together). Barring that, if possible, I would consider calling Iwata support, and/or the retailer you purchased it from. Might be easier to swap it out for a new brush. As for soaking, I read or saw somewhere that you should not soak any of the parts for longer than 5-10 minutes since it can destroy them. You don't mention how long you soaked things for. Hopefully it was less time than that. Additionally, I'm not sure about the small steel wire? Could have perhaps scratched something? They make brushes for cleaning airbrushes, they're available on Amazon (I bought a sprayout pot kit that included them, as well as a nozzle cleaning tool). Please be sure to come back and let us know what you figure out!!

It almost reminds me of a J-plug, but not quite..

It does not appear that the Owners or the Decoys are available in useful sizes.

Update: The tubing from McMaster Carr arrived. It was much too big. I ordered 1/16" ID tubing this time. Slightly more expensive at $9.50 for 50 feet, but this should be the ticket. Part # 5233K51 Higher price adds 7 cents per lure instead of 6. Still well within acceptable range.

Thanks!! In case anyone else is interested or is looking for this tubing, I ordered a 50' roll of part number 5233K52 from McMaster Carr. It's 1/8" ID, 1/4" OD. Should do the trick. It was $8. At 1/2" of tubing per hook point, it should be enough to do ~133 lures and adds 6 cents to the cost of each lure.

SO. A bit of an update to all this: I got a planer for Christmas. Likely more than I need for this small project (the wood is 1"x4"x4'), but maybe I'll work on larger stuff in the future? Anyhow.. I got a Dewalt 13" 3 blade, 2-speed planer. Setup was very easy, I had it off the porch, into the garage, assembled, and planed 5 boards from 3/4" (actual) to 1/2" (actual). Then I threw them on the table saw (bought a used from from a friend for $50 - it's small and crappy, but it gets the job done with ease) and cut them to length. Took them down to the shop, hit them with the belt sander to knock off the rough edges quick, and then I used my handy-dandy center-finding tool to draw a line down the center of one board. Since they were all the EXACT same thickness now (the planer has a stop on it so I didn't have to measure and guess), I used that one board to set up the drill press. I made a makeshift fence by clamping a 2x4 to the drill press table, and then proceeded to sink 100 screw eye holes and 100 ballast holes in under an hour, and they are all perfectly centered. I couldn't be happier! In other news, I finished 11 lures the other evening. They all float, and were all made to the same spec in the video I posted in the other thread. Coated them with Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast instead of e-tex, and I gotta say - this stuff is WAY better than e-tex. I actually threw my remaining e-tex in the trash this stuff works so well. I'm just waiting for split rings to be delivered, and then I'm going to get these out the door to the guys who have agreed to test for me. I'm expecting positive feedback, but I suppose one can never be too sure.

Would you happen to know what size I need?

That'd be fantastic if I only had 2 hooks.. The tail hook will still cause problems.

Every musky show I go to, a majority of the lures have the points on the hooks covered with some form of plastic tubing. Sitting on the boat, I always bitch about how difficult it is to remove, but now that I'm making lures, I understand the purpose. I used to think it was to prevent people from getting "stuck" by the hooks at the shows. Nay, it's for preventing hook rash during transport! I will be shipping some lures to people for testing, and with any luck, will be selling some online. Any idea where I can find said plastic tubing? I don't even know what to search for, but I'm relatively certain someone here has it figured out. I'm using Mustad 3/0 muskie trebles if it matters. Thanks!!

I haven't tried his epoxy yet, but as you noted, in the US there is no shortage of available products. I just coated a batch with Alumalite Clear Cast, and I like it a LOT better than etex. We'll see how they end up.

Indeed, Joe is a lure maker. In a GOOD year, he may make 500 lures. They truly are works of art. He only sells at shows, and sells out within hours of the show opening, even at the outrageous prices he charges. His shop is a few hours from me in St Paul, MN. There are a few videos of him floating around on YouTube and the amazing processes he goes through to make his lures. I've gotten some inspiration for my own baits from watching him.

I may be somewhat in the minority on this, but I view lures as a consumable item, much like fishing line. You wouldn't musky fish with line that is 3 seasons old and sun bleached and frayed, so don't go tying on a lure that has cracks and chips in it that is suspect to water intrusion. Don't get me wrong - I try my best to build the best baits I can, but these guys that spend all manner of time doing 2 coats of epoxy sealing, and letting that cure off for 3 days prior to paint, and then they paint, then they put 2 more coats of epoxy on... To be honest, I just find that silly. At the end of the day, you have 4 coats of epoxy on the lure - but only two of them are protecting the paint. Nobody wants to fish with a lure that has a paint job that is all messed up and half missing, so what's the point if the wood survives, but the paint is half gone? Seal the wood with whatever you want, then put all 4 coats of epoxy on top of the paint to protect both the paint AND the wood. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but I think it's best to protect everything, rather than to half-ass protect two things.

That looks like a manufacturer website, no way to place an order on the site. Also says minimums apply, so I doubt they'd be very interested in selling 1 roll to a hobby bait maker...

Your base coat color will depend on what you're going for. Most times I use white, but sometimes black. As for clears & finishes, that will depend on what kind of bait you're making. Cleaners and reducers, get the ones that match the paint you're using. They're going to be different for different types of paint (water based, etc).

It's definitely been a challenge to try to keep it pared down to only a handful of lures to test, and only once per week at that. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, so I try to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. The pool lights are on a timer so as to not keep guests awake (it's an odd layout - the pool is in the middle of the hotel, and the rooms - multiple stories - all look into the pool area, so I can only be there while the pool is open to the guests, because then the lights turn off). Sunday nights are typically their lowest occupancy, and they are also when football games are on, so it has worked out well so far. But I try to be in and out in under 30 minutes. I also don't want to make multiple trips to the truck with lots of gear since they are still doing covid sanitations, so nothing that I can't fit onto only one table in the pool area (don't want to have the staff cleaning half the pool area because of me). With two cameras and associated gear, 1 box of lures, a rod, jacket, hat, the space gets consumed rather quickly. Last week I did have a buddy go with and actually get in the pool. Had some underwater footage of lures then, but to be honest, it was pretty dark, and I had to work it quite a bit in Premiere. I'll just wait until the ice is gone and get some solid underwater footage by trolling them along the side of my boat. I now have 11 blanks that are almost ready to be sealed, with the same weight placement as the lure in the video. Hoping to get some shipped out to the guys that have agreed to test for me by early next week.

Yeah, I'm a solid 4-5 hours north of you yet, so everything here has been frozen for over a month already. Luckily, a friend of mine owns a restaurant/bar in a hotel, and his brother owns the hotel, so they let me use the pool late Sunday evenings if I need. I always be sure to patronize the bar for dinner & a beer to say thanks.

For the second Sunday in a row, I spent the evening at the indoor pool at a local hotel, testing baits. Last week I tested 4, and 1 showed a bit of promise - but I accidentally built a suspending bait instead of a floating bait. This week, I took 4 more, identical in every way save for weight placement. Finally nailed it! Give this a watch and let me know what you guys think.

Hey - if your first batch actually swims, you did better than I did my first attempt out. LOL I'm on iteration #3 of my crankbaits. Iteration #2 had one promising lure of the 4 I tested, so now I've made 4 more with slight variations on weight placement nose to tail, and I hope to be able to test those in a local hotel pool Sunday night. With any luck, one of those 4 will end up my production version. Not bad, considering I'm almost 3 months into this. LOL

LOL It happens.