Kasilofchrisn Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) So the other day I was looking at lead molds on EBAY. I was in particular looking at some CNC machined molds I liked from CNC works. Now I will admit I own over a dozen of Shawns molds and Ireally really like them. Anyway as I often do when shopping EBAY I decided to check his feedback profile. Lo and behold he had one negative feedback. An EBAY buyer could not get his mold to fill out completly and was upset. Then I got to thinking and what I realized was the Negative poster must not be a member of this forum! I Have seen a lot of posts on these forums in the time I have been here where a poster cannot get a mold to work for them. Each and every time a lot of solutions were brought up and each and every time the original poster was able to use one of the suggested solutions to make their mold work properly. I couldn't imagime making jigs without the help of forum members on this website. This has to be the best tackle making website out there bar none! Just though I would post that as I thought about the poor guy who was not a member here and could not get his mold to work properly for him. Edited July 9, 2014 by Kasilofchrisn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 I started this thing before there was internet, I wasn't no where near the level I'm at but I was still able to pour and a lot of the suggestions that people here give to those who are having problems were hard earned solutions. What I mean is a lot of us learned by trial and error and we are now lucky enough to pass on information someone has a problem. I love seeing a post like yours because it shows that there are some that benefit who really appreciate the information. You also give back by giving others information that you yourself learned and that is what makes the site go, there are members here with less than 10 posts because they join and come here when they have a problem, then they get the information they need and leave only to come back when they get stuck again, that is fine but we all hope you come back and give what you learned to others having the same problems. Great Post man, and it is members like you who make this site what it is, if everyone only came to get info there would be no knowledge base to gain info from and thus the site would not be in existence. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Kasilofchrisn, I agree with you, this is the best tackle building website I have ever found. TU rocks Smalljaw, you too would be included as a member who makes this site what it is and helps to insure its existence. I am sure there are some who come here only to take. But there many others such as yourself whom give of and share their knowledge with others and help those who are having problems or trying to learn something new. I know and have met only a couple of people that are members of this forum but I feel like most all of the members are friends. We all here at TU share a common interest and a need to learn and gain more knowledge regarding our hobby, passion and/or addiction which brings us all together at our convenience. Occasionally, someone reveals a little personal information about themselves on injects some humor into a post. This give TU that personal touch and makes me smile. Then there are the encouraging and great job comments that come when someone shows a new idea or paints a beautiful crank bait etc. these make me feel good. All of this and more make TU what it is, a place with lots of positives and very few negatives. It almost feels like a never ending family reunion where you can come and partake of the goods and bring some of your own to share with the family. Like many of you, I have been making my own tackle for many years but since discovering TU, my interests and building abilities have broadened considerably. Thanks to all of you for making TU what it is. John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Most of what I know about lure making was learned here on TU, from members who shared. Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 You and me both Mark. If it weren't for the special folks at TU I would never have built my first bait and if it weren't for the "old timers" willing to share there probably wouldn't be a TU. Thanks everyone. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) You and me both Mark. If it weren't for the special folks at TU I would never have built my first bait and if it weren't for the "old timers" willing to share there probably wouldn't be a TU. Thanks everyone. Ben Hey who you calling an old timer. LOL. Yeah, I know I'm getting old and been on this site awhile. I've been on this site since 2005, same as smalljaw and back then if I recall, about that time I finally got the internet at my house. I can say that prior to that everything I did was very laborious and tedious. You can't learn from anyone if you have no connections. So you had no choice but to learn by trial and error, and maybe if you were lucky, you knew somebody that had a passion for the same thing you did and you could share ideas, however that was rare. Everyone that I knew was out of state, and long distance calls were very expensive. So when I got the internet and started to converse with guys on here that I don't see anymore, I was amazed even back then of all the knowledge these guys had. So after posting question after question, and being annoying, people helped me out. I was a newbie then and the more I learned the hungrier I got for information and it grew into an obsession. It boils down to one thing from all the guys that post threads regularly and reply to posts on this site, this is about a passion for the love of the hobby. Many on here sell their baits myself included, however it goes way beyond that, because we all know that you cannot live on the money you make off of this stuff, at least I can't. So there has to be more and there is. It is about learning, excelling in this hobby and passing along information onto others and many of us still here, do that on a daily basis. Now don't get me wrong, there have been times on this site, that I have gotten PM's from past members saying that I give way too much information about my processes. Guys this isn't rocket science, none of us are going to walk away with millions of dollars with the knowledge we share on here. I look at this whole experience as a learning tool for myself and others, if someone else needs help I am more than willing to help out if I can. I'm not worried about someone stealing my painting schemes or trying to sell from under me. That is all irrelevant. If my info helps you fine if not maybe someone else has some better info. We are all here to help each other and learn from each other and that is what makes this site so wonderful. I too have learned a lot from members on this site. So Thanks to all past and present members for sharing your ideas with me as well. Edited July 9, 2014 by cadman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 While I may not share the GPS coordinates to my favorite halibut or trout fishing spot I will certainly share the info on what I used to catch the fish and how it was made. My first jigs looked good until I painted them. Thanks to members on this site I learned the joys of powder paint and now thats the only way I paint them. I remember when I once got a new mold and me and a buddy just couldn't get full pours. Then I remembered something Cadman said on TU about tilting a mold. Next thing you know we had a pile of perfect castings. Another time I was trying to improve my use of my powder paint airbrush. I read a bit on Smalljaws use of his and by dialing my airpressure down it made a world of a difference. Now I have 2 powder paint airbrushes and just ordered a third one. I was just appaled when someone badmouthed a mold maker because he couldn't make a mold work for him. If he had only come here first he would have a great mold that shoots well and a jig that probably catches a lot of fish. Now he's just frustrated and blames the guy who made the mold. The members here would certainly have given him the solutions he needed to make his mold fill out and he would be much happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 kasilofchrisn, when you experienced problems you searched the net and found TU, you should feel good because there are people who won't search. There are some people who will try this hobby and think they will either save a lot of money, or make a lot of money, or because it is easy, how hard can it be to pour molten lead into a mold and take it out???? It sounds easy when you say it but if it was that easy, this place wouldn't exist, the same deal goes for soft plastics. I know this because there are other fishing related websites and there are guys on those boards asking for help and when I see them I try to help and then point them in the direction of TU but a lot never get here and if they only knew how much help they will get. I do feel the exact same way as you, I learn things I didn't know and Cadman has been there for me from the beginning, it makes me think about some of the problems I had and if TU was around when I got started it would have saved me so much time and money but it allowed me to gain knowledge and allow me to help someone who is just getting into tackle making. I consider this to be a living, breathing library, and you come here and take some knowledge and then you put it back for someone else and it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) When I realize I need help or guidance I am not afraid to ask for help sometimes. It often saves hours and hours of time. This a Library that's for sure.And the knowledge is good not guesses but sound advice on what works and what doesn't. I am also amazed at how many people want to make their own jigs or do make their own stuff but don't ask for help. Or sometimes they settle for a second rate finished product because they haven't figured out the tricks to make a mold fill out completly or how to paint a jig properly with powder paints. I try to help when I can with what I know and have learned. People often ask me How do you get such a nice paint job on your jigs. Once they see my setup they are often amazed on how simple a fluid bed really is to build and use. Where did you learn to build that they ask. I'll answer I'ts easy there are web forums where people share their knowledge and help others learn to make tackle. Even my friends are surpeised at what kind of stuff I can make and often wonder where I learned to do it. Yet they just don't use the internet forums like they should. There is a forum for everything nowdays and a guy can learn a lot just by reading them. They can learn a lot more and pass it on by joining and sharing with others. I never have felt comfortable being a lurker on web forums. I feel if I don't participate I am not doing my share to make these places work. If any of you guys ever visit Alaska you should feel free to stop by my workshop and talk jigs and take some of mine home with you. I would feel honored to have that privelage. Edited July 10, 2014 by Kasilofchrisn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Hey who you calling an old timer. LOL. Yeah, I know I'm getting old and been on this site awhile. If you hadn't said anything I would have thought you weren't a day over...... ........22. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I mostly do repaints because that is what I enjoy doing. With out the help I have gotten from tu I would still be throwing beaten up, ratty looking junk. A lot of times I don't take the time to express how much thanks I should give for all the help I get. Sometimes the help I get is from the answer to someone else question. Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Best site I know of for tips/tricks/how to. Been to many that have maybe 12-15 post a month on them, and there are to many sites with guys and ego trips. Now as far as the guy on e-bay giving a bad review.....if he doesn't know any better, that would be his perception of the mold. Now that being said, I hope he did contact collins about this issue before posting this review. I have a do-it shad head mold that is my biggest pain in the but to pour. Ringed and barbed, but getting a complete pour was really hard. (should also say I was using the next size bigger hook like I do in other molds) This is the only mold I use that I HAVE to have the best/soft lead for some reason. Tried everything and this is the only way I can pour it. (1/4 oz.) I wish they would have a production mold of this, I go through almost 1000 a year lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painter1 Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 No doubt, you guys have been very generous with advice and ideas. I feel blessed to have found this site and for all that I have learned since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
