Why Pvc?

[mark poulson]

At Rowhunter's suggestion, I'm starting a PVC thread.

I use it for all my lure building, for the following reasons:

 

It is totally waterproof, so I can shape a lure, and then test float and ballast it without any sealing.  I have a 3 gallon bucket of water in my driveway that I use for test floating.  

 

It is buoyant.  The Azek PVC decking is as buoyant as poplar, a hardwood I used to build my  jointed swimbaits from.

The Azek trimboard is even more buoyant, like medium density balsa.  I can make really active shallow cranks with it.

 

It is strong.  The decking is as strong as any wood, for lure building, and the trimboard, although not as dense, is still plenty strong enough for any crank.  And I use it for my smaller two piece jointed lures, too.  I caught a 7lb largemouth with a PVC trimboard

spybait I made that was 4" long, but only 7/16" thick, and I had drilled several 3/16" holes up from the belly for my ballast.  She ate the rear hook, and the bait held up fine.

Both are strong enough to hold screw eyes with just a small pilot hole.  No need for any reinforcement, or setting into holes filled with epoxy.

I usually use the gap filling/brush on super glue alone to set my hardware, and a lot times my bills, too.  I use the accelerant (thank you Ben) dripped onto the glue to help it set quickly, once things are positioned.

 

It machines and carves well.  Although the sanding dust is nasty, because it sticks to everything, including my sinuses, PVC is easily machined and shaped with the same tools I used for wood.  

As with any work, sharp tools work best.

I cut out my bait profile, and lip slot, with a bandsaw, and try to drill any ballast hole while the bait has the flat sides, so I can drill straight holes with my drill press.

I use an oscillating belt sander with an 80 grit belt to do my major shaping, working from a centerline I put on the bait after I've sanded the bandsaw marks off.

I "carve" details with a dremel sanding drum, and drill out my eyes with a multi-spur bit on a drill press.

I typically sand down from 80 grit to 120 grit with a vibrator sander, and finish up with a small piece of sandpaper to get edges and details softened.

Because it has no direction-oriented grain, it carves really well with sharp tool.

It can be laminated into bigger lure blanks using the same PVC glue plumbers use for PVC pipe, or you can use super glue.  If you use both the PVC primer and the glue, the two pieces actually melt into one solid piece. 

As long as the two surfaces are flat and mate, you're good to go.

 

It paints well.  I can shoot Wicked White as a base coat onto a raw PVC bait, heat set it, and never have any separation problems with my paint schemes.  When I've had occasion to remove some paint to modify a bait, I've had to sand down to the PVC to get the paint off.  It never peels.

Occasionally, heat setting too hot can cause trapped air to bubble up under the seal coat, so I generally seal baits by rubbing crazy glue, or thinned epoxy, over them before I paint, if I want a super smooth bait.  But any bubbles that do appear can be popped by the sharp tip of an exacto knife, and they lay right back down when I press them with my exacto knife handle.  I've never had any baits with popped bubbles fail.

And, because it is totally waterproof, I don't have to worry about nicks and scuffs from rocks and hooks.  

 

Any top coat works.  I've used epoxies, urethanes, and concrete sealers, with no problems.

 

In short, it make lure building faster and easier, and that make it even more fun, so why I use it.

Edited February 19, 2015 by mark poulson

[saltshaker]

Damn, Mark...I know nothing about lure building, but, found that interesting. Good job.