SPEEDBEAD Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Talking about bigger jointed swimbaits: Looking to put some Devcon on a couple different baits. I've been on TU looking around but a lot of the stuff here doesn't involve jointed baits of this size, mostly cranks and what not. Do I need to come up with some type of drying wheel to keep the epoxy from pooling at the lowest point? What other process is there for me to use? How do you keep the epoxy from getting on the hardware/joints and gumming it up? The one bait I am doing does not have any hardware at the back of it. If I do put it on a drying wheel system, how do I attach it to the system? I'm sure other questions will pop up as I think about it more. Thanks in advance for the help. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04 bug Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wayne, A drying wheel will help you out alot. It will make the final product look a ton better. My drying wheel is a rotisserie setup for a bbq grill. I have 6 aligator clips attached to small pieces of wood that I got from hobby lobby. I have 8 peices of wood spaced out 2.5" apart from each other. The rotisserie motor and assembly was on sale at target ($15) and all total I only paid about $25 for the entire set up. As far as attaching the baits, I already tape over the bill so they will stay clear during the process. I place the taped bills in the aligator clips. They rotate vertically around the rotisserie shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wayne, the baits have to be turned, whether it's by a motor... or by you. If you use Devcon, which is thicker than most epoxies, you can put a hanger on the nose and the tail of the bait and switch it heads/tails every little while as the epoxy sets up for 45-60 minutes. It's a drag to do, but do-able. A couple of sessions of that and you will be looking around for a motorized alternative! Some guys have had success clamping the bait in a low speed drill. Epoxy won't "run" into areas not already coated with epoxy, so if it doesn't start out on the hardware or in a joint, it will stay out of those areas. If you do get it in a hook hanger or joint hinge, you can remove it after it is hard with a small drill or piece of wire chucked in a Dremel tool. I routinely epoxy over hook hangers to insure 100% waterproof coverage and clear them out after the bait is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyo1954 Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Same here. The barbque setup with alligator clips. In your case you might be better served with a setup like Mark Poulson's. If I'm not mistaken Mark uses a ferris wheel setup to connect to bait to both ends. Still tape the joints to keep the Devcon out of them. G Edited July 19, 2012 by garyo1954 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDBEAD Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 I will definitely need to clip both ends of the bait. If I dont, the rear section will make contact with the front section and bond together. No Bueno. Perhaps I will throw a pic of the bait on here when I get home so you guys can see my dilemma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDBEAD Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wow, just had an epiphany. LOL Scary how you guys get the motor running in my head. This may take a while, but thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) I exclusively build large jointed swimbaits in the 9" to 13" range. I built a square frame the turns from the center of the frame when applying my epoxy topcoat. I have open eye screws on either side of the frame. The nose eye on the lure goes onto the one side and I connect a rubber band using an eye screw or pin to the rear and connect to the other side of the frame. I have it setup to be turned by a BBQ rotisserie motor at around 3 RPM. The swimbait is in place before I start applying the topcoat and I don't touch it during the process. Using a turner makes a huge difference in the thickness and clarity of your topcoat. If you need I can post or send you a picture as I'm just about ready to turn another batch. I need to use bigger clearances on the eye screws and pins to try to keep the epoxy from locking everything up but usually end up using a small dental type pick set to pick out what epoxy does get into the pivot points. It's a pain and you need to be careful to not penetrate the topcoat into the wood or it will blow-up. experience is a good teacher. Edited July 20, 2012 by quickdraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Here's my rack. In this picture the bottom 2 swimbaits have just been clearcoated and the top 2 are next. Edited July 23, 2012 by quickdraw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyo1954 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Nice quickdraw! I like the way you are turning the whole rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I do not use a rotisserie , ...no space for it down the workshop . But I'm lucky to have a local supplier offering two different types of epoxy resin with multiple different hardeners to each resin , ....so this way one can take a good control over processing and curing times , also the features of the epoxy mix(in terms to use for topcoating or laminating , etc.) . I'm always purchasing the speed hardener to the resin , this provides a processing time of about 20 min , before the topcoat turns into jelly making it impossible to brush on anymore . With one mixture I can coat 4-7 lures this way(depending on size) , .......I just hang them in a rack to dry , switching them over from head to tail a few times within the first 30-40 min after having put on the epoxy , so no dripping occurs , .......after this little period of time the laquer is sufficiently firm not to flow anymore(provided correct component relations when mixing) . Naturally the single coats don't come out as thick as if made with a slow curing epoxy mixture drying in a rotisserie , simply one can apply more laquer per square inch when using a rotisserie , .......I'm always brushing on three coats entirely , .....but I'm OK this way . For those interested ,..... this local supplier is selling all kinds of resins , mainly for constructing laminated boat hulls and other parts , etc. , .......many German lure carvers purchase their stuff from this shop , as I know from a local site , ........should have similar over there in the US as well . http://www.bootsservice-behnke.de/ Greetz , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 I'm thinking about building a drying wheel this winter. After doing a search I came across the one pictured here. Any pros and cons in having the lures turn head first (vertically) all the time as opposed to having them turning horizontally like quickdraws? s56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 As long as the baits get rotated, the orientation doesn't matter. It simply prevents gravity from acting on the bait in any one direction for too long and causing the epoxy to gravitate to a lower position on the bait and pooling there. Mine rotates head over tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks BobP! s56 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
