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if you like it so much I have 45 gallons of their plastic I sell you

I bought some card stock at a local OfficeMax. I used a template from Avery.com that was the approximate size of the backing card I wanted and printed them on my printer, front and back. Cut them myself with a paper cutter. While they weren't totally professional, customers didn't seem to care as they had all the appropriate info. Card stock was less than $20, plus printer ink and your time.

I think about any print shop could do it for you and might also be able to do some attractive logo or design work too. At minimum, you could go to a shop thst prints business cards and use those as your inserts. They’re cheap.

I just started pouring lead and I was a bit concerned with the impurities in the lead I was using. I jumped on good old TU and found some great advice on using wax and lighting the smoke on fire to clean the lead. Now I can't remember who posted it but it sure worked wonderfully! Thank you whoever you are! This site has been so helpful in getting my small tackle business off the ground (Crow Wing Lures). It seems every time I run into an issue, the answer is only a TU search away. I'm not making much money yet but I'm sure enjoying myself! Thank you to all the TU contributors that are generous with their knowledge and wisdom!

After I draw my bait's outline on a rectangular blank, including the eye location, I drill a small pilot hole for the eye all the way through on my drill press. That way, no matter how much material I take off in the shaping, the eye locations on both side of the bait are the same.

I wouldn't personally for a few reasons. I just don't think the durability would be there. The topcoat/shell would need to make up for a lot of negatives of the paraffin. A wood skeleton or some other rigid core would be needed. One would be stuck adding wood in many places to get a good bond of the lip for example and line and hook ties as the paraffin will leave no bondable surface. Screw eyes will thread into it but no real structural support. Another aspect is I try not to leave baits in the boat or locked in the car etc.. Paraffin melting point becomes a huge issue in those situations. Anything over 100 and you starting making a liquid core bait.

Some will pick up the knack of eyeballing it almost dead on after building a few baits. Even then easy enough to really be sure by using other methods as not much slower. An easy way to do it, that I use frequently, is use a forstner bit to create my eye socket. Then I will take small drill bit and drill through the centering point left by the bit through the bait. Flip the bait then drill your other eye socket recess. Depending on the size drill bit you use you can insert a rattle, a few lead shot, copper BB, or glue a toothpick or skewer in it to fill the hole. You can also modify a compass to get repeatable points. Place on end of the compass in the lip slot and "index" it against the top or bottom of the lip slot wall. Then adjust the second arm of the compass until you like the area. Press to leave a drill point then. Remove flip bait and mark the second side indexing in the same fashion as distance will be set from you initial marking. Third if you start using patterns you can make templates to lay everything out but many enjoy just building one offs.

The Storm Arashi Square Bill and Deep Diver have a self tuning line tie. They usually are $9. But, they are frequently on sale for less. I have some of the squarebills and divers. All of the ones I own run true. After a few years of moderate use, I have not needed to tune one. They have good action. In my experience, they don't catch more fish than other lures with the typical fixed line tie. I seem to catch more fish on a standard 2.5 sqaurebill than the Arashi squarebill. I assume the line tie has a hole in the end inside the bait. A horizontal pin passes through that hole so the line tie can freely move side to side so it will find the center when in motion. The hole in the lip is a bit wider than the line tie allowing it to move.

I do a lot of casting, lures/jigs and bullets. I never set it on fire and it works just fine.

Thanks for the replies fellas! APdriver, I use paraffin wax now. I started with some old birthday candles but they didn't work that well. They would burn for a moment but then go out. Oh, here's a tip I forgot to mention in my original post. If you keep your fan on at low speed when you light your smoke, it'll keep the flames going for a longer period of time which helps carbonize the gunk (technical term). One more thing, I bought my lead from Rotometals but I went through Amazon. The price was about the same shipped and I needed it quick so it all worked out.

FrogAddict, it is nice to see that some members search info and find it on there own , and take the bull by the horns and run with it. It is even nicer to see some guys come back and post their successes along with some appreciation to all the guys who contribute on here daily. No-one on TU expects any gratitude for sharing their knowledge, but it sure is nice to read about it once in awhile. Many guys on here answer any and all questions regularly no matter how trivial day in and day out. Thanks for posting, good luck on your future endeavors.

I don’t think epoxy resin and hardener weigh exactly the same by volume, which means if you measure by weight, you are not really measuring them according to the manufacturer’s instruction. It’s not a big difference, obviously, since some guys do it and it seems to work. But to me, if the manufacturer says to measure equal volumes, that’s what I do to insure the most consistent results. I’m sure you can figure out a “correction weight” for the components by weighing the full bottles when you buy them (assuming the factory filled the bottles correctly), but it seems simpler to just use a set of epoxy syringes to get equal volumes. Epoxy cures by a chemical reaction at the molecular level and if there are excess molecules of resin or hardener present, they remain unbonded. Far enough out of kilter, and the end result is tacky epoxy, or at least a coating that is not as strong as it could have been, or a coating that will yellow faster than otherwise. That’s why we keep stressing measuring exactly and mixing it thoroughly.

I tested both once and found that they were very close to the same temp. Using the probe to stir and the ir gun to read temp at the same time. Ended up within a few degrees. I have something much better to stir with than a thin probe so I ended up using the ir gun all the time. But either way it is very important to know what the temp is. When you have problems most of the time you could ask and if someone asks what temp you can tell them. As for the quality question try the less expensive one not a big loss if it is not so good. And Walmart would probably return it after even months of use.

Went to their site to order the single cavity molds and found a 5 cavity mold which will work for laminated baits http://baitmold.com/plastic-bait-mold/multi-cavity-mold/mold-v25-5-cavity-38-inch-95-mm-separate/

I prefer beeswax. It smells better.

If you run out of candle wax, parrifin wax works well and can be bought pretty cheap at the grocery store in the canning area.

The infrared is what I use, also. Works good, lasts a long time.

I find it super handy and important

I mixed all my stuff in cold plastic, including hi-lites and never had a problem. That's why I'm thinking you are either not mixing enough (the hi-lite is not being evenly distributed in the plastic) or there could be a problem with that particular product.

FrogAddict, thank you for posting the success you've had from tips that the members here provided to you. It isn't required but it is a breath of fresh air and really helps others as they know the fluxing advice worked for you. It is also nice because you see guys come here and are quick to take the help and never give back and then show up 2 years later when they need help again. If everyone here did that then there wouldn't be a site like this, so I'd like to thank you again for giving back, it is greatly appreciated and posting results of what worked for you is giving back. Good luck on your business venture and congrats on the success!!

I had the same issue, I just drilled it out as someone else mentioned.

I got this from Jacobs baits many years ago and don’t use it. If you think it will work let me know and I will send it to you.

Ross Harjes @ custombaitmolds com. I have had about 20 molds made by him. Great man to work with. Has them done in a timely matter

Solicitation for what Fred? The op stated in his first post that he was new to soft plastics. Caney merely told him another way to accomplish what he was trying to do, he didn't try to sell him anything.