Largehead Louie Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 What is the BEST medium to make Masters out of? I am by no means a carver. I tried Sculpey once, and still did not like the results. Any opinions appreciated from the "pro" lure designers on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajan Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Ma' if you don't carve, I am affraid you might have problems. But I use couple of things for masters, but I started with cypress, I would recommend that for you, but you have to be able to cut/carve/sand/seal/sand/finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redg8r Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Beeswax is forgiving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Largehead Louie Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Guess I'll try the wax route. Should I warm it up some to make it more pliable, or just room temperature? Thank you Kajan and RedG8r for the responses so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redg8r Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Should I warm it up some to make it more pliable, or just room temperature? You can.... it's one medium i use because its easy to rework and easily reclaimed. You can pass a torch across it lightly to pull a gloss finish before molding the master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Largehead Louie Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Awesome, thank you for the input. Now, to go find some beeswax! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troutninja Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Beeswax is great. I also use plastalina clay. Van Aken, and Prima are two good ones. They are oil based clays that don't dry out and actually get better with age. If you making molds with RTV silicone you wont even need a release agent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marks Lures Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Hello all For masters I would use Bass Wood (best and easiest carving wood) or jewelers wax from Rio Grande, if bees wax gets warm, you will have a warped funny looking master sitting on the table. The other would be parafin (grocery store in the canning section, will not deform so easily as bees wax if it gets warm and summer is coming up. Regards Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I use sculpy clay from time to time but mostly I use clear pine. It's easy to carve and sand. Also, it's not as porus as balsa so it seals easier. I use a few coats of clear nail polish with fine steel wool between coats.(comes out like glass) If you can sculpt something out of beeswax you can certainly carve. Just take your time and think ahead before you make any big cuts in the wood. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Basswood since it is cheap, easy to carve, sand, and readily availiable to most everyone. Also once you have your master you always have it. No worries about temperature and overall will stand up to some abuse. As mentioned if you can managed to work sculpey, clay, carves beeswax, etc... you shouldn't have any issues on carving the master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
