hazmail Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Good one Josh, I'm hunting for it. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Guys Ive been airbrushing for a week now and I couldnt get past a scale pattern. The mesh would move around and it just got frustrating, theres always a better way right well this works for me. Women thread in and out of these plastic sheets makin there precious designs but when i saw em at Michaels in the knitting section I thought about scales. I dont know exactly what there called but i take the sheets place them over a blank bait of the same type that im puttn scales on. Line up the scales how you like and take a mini torch is what i use and heat the sheet, slow or youll melt it, form it to the bait a little at a time and hold it in place till it begins to cool then itll stay there. Keep this up and youll basically end up with half a mesh mold. Now whenever you paint say a Sammy 3 weeks later you can find that mold slide it on there perfect fit and spray away just make sure you mold it tight to the bait when you form the mold and be patient let the paint dry before you remove it. This was my first brilliant ''I wonder if anyones thought of this'' moments and for a moment i thought it would be my secret till I thought about all the disasters I avoided thanks to everyones help. I hope somebody benefits from it cuz yallve sure helped me. Great idea Josh. I will have to try that. I think the material you are speaking of is cross stitch fabric. Not sure but I think that's it. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I wonder if a hair dryer would mold that material? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_rman2000 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I figure you might be better off using a heat gun rather than a torch or hair dryer less flame more heat lol Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braveviper Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Well as far as having that idea about the knitting mesh first?....no i found that stuff a year ago and tried it with so-so success.I DID NOT think to melt it to conform to a bait though which is brilliant on your part! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FERG DADDY Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I hate to admit that I know what it is called, but I think it is the stuff used for "Plastic Canvas Stitchery". If you would ask for that at Michaels, they will know what you mean. FERG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.dsaavedra. Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Walmart sells what they call "5x7 Rect. Value Plaque" and what it is is a piece of 5"x7"x3/8" plywood. not sure what kind of wood it is made out of, but it is 97 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 When foiling a bait I use a product called Tack-it. It's a water soluble glue you can get at HB or Michaels. Much less problem than solvent based glues. Brushes on easily and much simpler if you need to strip the foil and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyjack Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 I have two, Adding epoxy to sharp a edge that the epoxy will not stay on. On my bigger musky baits I put three layers of epoxy. Put on the first coat then before adding the second heat up your epoxy so it dries faster and let set until it is almost too stiff to put on then add it to just the sharp edge. Let it dry and sand before adding the next two layers of epoxy. You may need to repeat after the second and before your final coat of epoxy. Make sure you wood filler is dry before you paint and clear your baits. This is one way you can waste time fixing crack and peeling baits. -Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seafoam Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 If your into makeing wooden wooden plug type baits like I am and have a old broom laying around thats no longer useful,you can use the wooden handle as a starting point. You can make many lures out of one handle. Only thing is most are pine,and thats not a issues unless your dealing with toothy fish . PS...please don't steal your wifes broom and cut the handle off,she wont understand...trust me:whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcess Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Just discovered this thread and thought I would add a few. I shape using sanding drum on drill press. Safer than routers. I use A 2x4 cut with 45 degree angle on one edge as a sanding guide. For cheap marking gauge glue two short boards together at 90 degrees and drill hole thru one the size of a round pencil. Height of pencil hole not important. Insert pencil and pass body by it to make sanding lines around top and bottom of bait. Just use shims of plywood, plastic, or cardboard to adjust height of lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcheetam Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 When it comes to using templates/stencils for painting your baits, try using scrapbook stencils (stole mine from the wife ). They come in all shapes and sizes and can be reused over and over again. Also, if you have a hard time positioning your homemade stencils on a bait when painting, try using clear packaging tape to make a stencil. Fold it over on itself and cut out your design. It's flexible, can be used more than once and, here's the best part, since it's clear you can see exactly where your paint will end up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellRAISER Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Damit:pissed: after foiling be sure to degreas your foil after applying the foil, devcon wont stick on it uniformly:pissed: Well...back to foil now:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Epoxying crankbait lips Epoxy is the most common way to mount a lip but it can be a mess if you aren't careful. Epoxy yellows over months and years. Quick set 5 minute epoxy will age to brown. A bait with brown epoxy squeezed out over the margin of the lip is unattractive. Slow cure epoxies yellow less over time. But quick epoxy gets the lip set in a few minutes and we all like that. Here's the tip: to epoxy lips without getting it on the nose of the bait and out onto the lip, don't "butter" the lip with epoxy! Push epoxy into the slot with a piece of wire, wetting out all the interior slot surfaces. You can fill the slot up if you want. Then just push the dry lip into the slot. The excess will squeeze out the sides at the back of the slot, and none onto the nose/lip intersection. You can wipe it off neatly. You will probably have a little void around the margins of the nose. No problem. You can fill that with epoxy or whatever you use to clearcoat the bait later, and it will not go yellow/brown so quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 BobP, Good to know that slow cure epoxy on top of 5 min. epoxy will prevent the latter to become brownish. This tip is good in case you clearcoat the lure after you have glued the lip in. But what if someones glues the lip in after clearcoating the lure? I make the lures this way because I want to chose the best lip for each individual lure. So I try several lips before I chose one. Do you have a corresponding tip for such a case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) rofish, I'm not BobP, but I have a tip regarding 5 minute epoxy. Devcon 5 minute epoxy is water resistant, not water proof. Over time in the water, it will absorb water and deteriorate. Make sure the 5 minute epoxy you use is water proof. D2T, the Devcon 30 minute epoxy, is water proof. Edited January 26, 2009 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) Rofish, I didn't mean to say that 30 min epoxy will stop 5 min epoxy from turning brown - it won't! It was a tip about installing lips to avoid getting any epoxy, especially the 5 min variety, squeezed out on the lip surface. If you glue lips in after clearcoating, you could still use the tip with 5 min epoxy but you would want to run a bead of 30 min clearcoat epoxy around the slot/lip margin to fill in any voids afterward. That's an extra epoxy session I like to avoid. Mark, to my mind it shouldn't matter about 5 min Devcon being only water resistant. Inside a lip slot or rejoining a split balsa bait, it will be protected by a waterproof clearcoat. Those are the only tasks where I use the 5 min. I've used 5 min to anchor hand twisted screw eyes BUT over time, the hole will be surrounded by a little dot of browned out epoxy - looks pretty ugly. Basically, I want to use D2T wherever epoxy will show on the outside of the bait, and 5 min wherever it won't. Edited January 28, 2009 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 OK, thanks. BobP. Hopefully I got it right this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I posted a reply in a photo upload thread on how I did a top water with a Lexan face that generates lots of splash. Here is the link to the photo and reply. Tackleunderground Home - Luremakers Photo Gallery - Topwater basswood for Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) Kudos to Hazmail on his tip about using a laser level to check the alignment of lips when installing them! I used my level today to install lips in a batch of deep divers and what is usually a doubt ridden process was a snap:worship: Couple of tips: run a centerline around the bait with a compass after you cut out the blank, while it is still "square". This will be your reference line when mounting the lip. Go over the centerline with a Sharpie pen so it will stay put while you shape and sand the bait. Second, put a pip of Sharpie ink on the center tip of the lip. Shoot the laser down the centerline on the body and onto the lip. Adjust the pip so it is cut by the laser and VOILA. I've eyeballed the lips on many baits and no matter how careful I am, SOME of them ended up out of alignment. What looks straight from one angle may not look the same from another viewpoint, especially when you are looking at wood with grain lines in it. The laser makes it a no-brainer - which some of us badly need Edited February 3, 2009 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeeFishing Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I have one suggestion to add to Hookup's nail clipper idea. I picked up a couple of the cheap retractable clip-on namebadge holders from my company. I put the nail clippers on the retractor and keep it clipped to my life jacket - yes, I admit it - I am one of those people that wear their lifejackets. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeeFishing Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Here are a couple of shots of the rig I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
