hoosierplugger Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 First off I'm new to plug making and think this is an awesome site!! I just bit the bullet on some low cost equipment: - Vertical lathe attachment for my drill press (seems to work pretty good) - Couple of low rpm motors for building an epoxy drier (plug rotator?) - Paasche VL airbrush kit I've churned out and painted a couple of super-spook-like topwaters and painted 'em with some aerosol enamel I had in the garage... nothin' fancy just bone, bone/redhead... I've read here that a lot of guys use Devcon for the final finish. I've got a rod-building shop close to me that sells Flex Coat. Are there any pros/cons to using one over the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 I have talked to some that have used the FC. I would give it a try if you want. I know of one professional baitmaker that uses it on everything. I believe that it does have UV protection, if that is a factor to you. But I don't think that it is as hard as Devcon. Heck, it has been protecting rods forever. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierplugger Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Thanks Skeeter, I'll give it a try then once my motors come in. Appreciate some of your earlier posts on airbrushes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Party Crasher Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 I have been using Flex Coat for five years now. Probably put it on 2500 baits now. Works great and holds up well even with toothy species. We use it thinned 6:1 with acetone for a bare wood sealer. Prime and paint over it and then top-coat with Flex-Coat. Use the Devcon 2T to set screw eyes, set lips, and other "Bonding" procedures. Use the Flex-Coat for "Coating". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesehead Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 : Hoosier, Where did you find the vertical lathe attachment? It sounds like a good place to start with turning some J-plug style baits before I jump full bore at a lathe. Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebler_custom_baits Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 yea when i cant use the one in my banjo constuction class i could use that attachment for my drillpress. Where can i get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 I tried flexcoat about a year ago or so and didn't like it because it was too thin. I also had this problem when I first used E-Tex and cured the problem by letting the product sit for about 15-20 minutes after mixing. I would suggest you mix the FC up and then set it aside for 15 minutes and see if it thickens some. Why? Because it will go on much heavier thus requiring fewer coats and reducing the amount of drip. For what it's worth I know of a guy that has a huge bait business and he speaks very highly of the stuff. Devcon is hard to beat if you are doing a small number of baits. For larger numbers it can be a bit on the spendy side and the short working time makes things tricky. Good luck. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierplugger Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Party Crasher / Riverman - do you guys use the Flex Coat high build? I'm just curious how "runny" it is and if I'll need to let it sit before I coat. Also, is there a certain "sweet spot" RPM I need to turn Flex Coat during cure? I bought a 3 RPM and a 30 RPM motor. Siebler / Cheesehead - here's a link to the drill press lathe below, it's called the Vertilathe. I paid around $50 and it seems to work pretty well so far, it's nothing fancy. I've only turned 5 or so plugs with it. Keep in mind to change speeds you've got to rejigger your belt/pulley combinations, but I haven't minded that with the volume I'm doing. I'll probably opt for a Jet mini lathe later on that I can extend to 40" (not for plugs, but for furniture legs and the like), but I didn't wanna spend the bucks right now. http://www.mytoolstore.com/vertilat/vertilat.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 I'm using E-tex now and believe it was "high build" that I tried with the FC....it's still very thin once mixed. As far as rotation is concerned just spin them fast enough to where clear-coat isn't running...doesn't take much. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
