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I don't want to start a thread about complaints, I'm giving an update on BTS and this is what has happened to me and its current status. On January 1st 2017 I placed a order for $740 worth of molds, which I never received....... Unlike some I did not try and recoup my money but hoped that someday Bob would be back on his feet and honour this order. 2 weeks ago Bob answered a email and stated that he and his family had went through "life changing" issues.He apologized for not responding and wanted to know if the original order should be filled or did I want to change it. After receiving help from forum members here, I had been able to acquire the required molds ( Big thanks to this forum and its members who I have dealt with and received molds from!) I changed my order to reflect my current needs, Bob stated he would start right away on the molds, in 5 days I received shipping confirmation and picked up my molds yesterday. They are excellent and I would like to thank Bob for fulfilling the order. I hope that this helps some who have been hesitant of placing a order. I will be dealing with him again in the near future and hope that his mold business continues. I am posting this simply to inform everyone of what has happened and that it is fully resolved and has a happy ending.

NWBass, I'm coming into the conversation a little late, so I apologize for that (took a few days off for spring break with the kids!). I'm sorry you're having issue with the split rings you purchased from us. As many here have already suggested, there's definitely some technique to putting these together. I've built more than I can count, and I still semi-regularly end up with sprung split rings. A couple of suggestions that haven't already been covered: Consider using narrow opening split ring pliers. These are widely available online, including from us, many of our competitors, and from Amazon. The lower jaw on these pliers extends past the downward point of the upper jaw (think underbite), making it far more difficult to overextend your split rings. Basically, they limit how far you can open your split rings. I use these almost exclusively when building chatterbaits. When I'm building these, I use two pairs of split ring pliers (or, depending on what I have on hand, a pair of split ring pliers and a small pair of round nose pliers). The technique is difficult to describe, but, basically, I use the narrow opening split ring pliers to get the ring started on the blade, then, while using the narrow opening pliers to keep the split ring open, I'll use the other pair of pliers to rotate the split ring onto the blade. Not sure that makes sense, but I've found it far easier to maneuver/rotate the ring/blade this way without overextending the ring. Maybe I'm just losing dexterity as I age! If you like, PM me your order info (order number and/or email address) and I'll double check to make sure we sent you the right rings. It's possible another style of split ring slipped in there (stainless steel would be a nightmare on these). We'll do what we can to make things right. Thanks, and good fishing! Matt Barlow

A few tips that are strictly from a hand pour perspective: 1) Flakes: I rarely use them but when I do I adhere to the idea of 'less is best'. This helps with issues such as, arching, even flake dispersal and less stirring. I've never had a fish stick it's head up out of the water and tell me the watermelon was perfect but they didn't bite because I didn't have enough flake or wrong color flake. You can always add but you can't subtract and don't get in the habit of adding flakes in reheats, you'll become reliant on the flakes. If you have to in order to achieve the finished bait know that you are because you've curled what you originally put in. The result is usually a "cat turd" rolled in flakes. 2) I use 900W micros on full power, higher wattage micros I have to turn down the power in order to use the same heating sequences. 3) I always stir from the center out in order to disperse the heat as quickly and evenly as possible. 4) Decide how your goal in a finished bait is to be accomplished color wise, meaning either directly with colorant or the influence of flakes. 5) From the start don't do what I did and believe that you're going to remember recipes...you can't. Date each recipe & photo it so you can correspond. 6) Strive for consistency..after all it doesn't serve you to make the immaculate conception if you can't duplicate it. A) Don't question your recipe unless you've changed a colorant supplier, b) don't trust artificial lighting, take the time to walk outside and see it in natural light, it's where the bait is going to be used. 7) "If a fish can see these bubbles it already has a hook in it's mouth", a philosophy I accepted. I wear 4 power glasses to pour as a result I probably see more bubbles than the average bear. I was terribly anal about bubbles when I first started pouring because I was comparing what I made to a machine made. 8 Never forget your humanity, you're not a machine which is why you've chosen to make your own baits to begin with. Individualism, creation & ownership are an extension of your mind, you will have failures and learn from them...you will never be perfect and there's always a next time. 9) No where is it written that you cannot make something, anything is possible until you prove to yourself it isn't. 10) Color is what you say it is, no two people see color alike and is irrelevant because the color only matters to a finned creature with the brain the size of a walnut.

I make big muskie paddletails. My advice: - make a basswood model of your soft tail - lightly coat it with Krylon acrylic spray - make the top side or back flat on your paddletail so you can do an open pour vs injected bait - make a silicon mold of your tail - forget the plaster - this should cost less than $50 and it’s so easy. Your baits will look professional. YouTube is your friend. - note: if you don’t have a vacuum chamber to use when making you mold - no worries - but when pouring your actual baits you will have to pour a few warm up tails and then the baits will come out glass smooth. - wear a respirator mask 3M 6006 is a great filter to use

I have tried many of the various manufacturers chrome paint and have used the Alsa MirraChrome. It is expensive and it does work if the directions are followed to a T and you use their clear coat(also expensive), It must be on a glossy black base or the effects are muted. I prefer good old aluminum foil tape. As you can see there are many ways to manipulate the foil to create interesting patterns.

I have started receiving complaints from TU members about business owners, tackle supply retailers, lure parts companies and others spending time here in the forums with a single motive; selling TU members their goods or services. This message serves as notice to everyone that this will STOP here and now! TU is not a venue for ANYONE to spend time hanging out here, trying to sell their products to people. It is a place where people come to learn from other lure makers. Any company who has people here and is actively soliciting TU members, be forewarned that your accounts are in danger of being permanently banned! I don't take this lightly and you shouldn't either! So if you happen to be one of those people who has been becoming more active here for the sole purpose of trying to reel in new customers, put an end to it now. If you want to share your knowledge with others without mentioning your company and without offering to "help" them with their problem by offering to sell them something, then feel free to continue to to participate here. I will be keeping a close eye on this and TU members will also be watching and if they see anything going on that is outside of these guidelines, it will be passed along to me. Once again, accounts of guilty parties will be permanently banned if this continues after today!

If I had a nickel for how many times I've seen "new lure finish" in the last 18 years........... Well lets just say I wouldnt be making $8 fishing lures

The only thing I can add is that I read somewhere (can't remember where) that using wooden stir sticks can introduce bubbles into your epoxy when mixing. I use a metal rod bent into a shepherds stick shape and seem to have a lot lot less problems with my epoxy than a lot of guys do. Ben

UL Spybait Challenge I got an email from a buddy who asked if I could make a UL version of a spinbait for trout fishing in the mountain streams of North Carolina. It seems that Duo Realis discontinued the spinbait 60 and now only makes an 80 and 90mm version. I couldn't even find a 60 but I remembered that I had one. I am a jig and spinnerbait guy, I've never made a hard bodied bait before. I took on the challenge because I felt if I was successful, I'd have a hell of a bluegill/bass bait for my own pond on my property in NC and the rivers I fish here in Florida. How I went about it: I'm not ashamed to admit I made a 1pc mold of the 60 and cut it down to the length I wanted and sanded it to the necessary profile I was looking for. I made both a 1 5/8" and a 2" body. But with that came the issue of properly weighting it so that it would fall flat horizontally with that sexy little shimmy. I needed to add weight to a solid body, not a bait I could assemble from two halves with spots for the weights molded in place. I molded about a dozen bodies and then had to experiment with weighting the baits. I needed the bait to do two things........swim straight without wobble and fall perfectly horizontal with that sexy shimy like a Senko. I drilled a series of small holes ahead of and behind the belly hook and filled them with tungsten powder. I got really lucky and pretty much nailed it with the first two baits I made. Next I mocked up a bait with the screws and hardware I would use to complete the bait to test it. I swam some of the baits in the pool and found that they blew out and rolled if fished too fast. I simply bent the paddles of the lead prop the opposite of the tail prop and this was instantly corrected. The bait fell exactly as I wanted it to and it swam great. I would decide to use Decoy single hook's on the 1 5/8" bait and Gammy trebles on the 2". At about the time I was knee deep in the project, I read on Tackle Tour that Duo made the Tetra Works mini prop which is a ul version of the Spinbait. Despite the bait being rather difficult to acquire, I managed to get one and here is a comparison photo with the 1 5/8" bait I made. Here a few smaller ones @ 1/8oz ready for clear coat. I used my copic air brush to paint them. 2" baits are about 3/16oz. I was going for small in the sense of length and profile. A slightly heavier bait in moving water or deeper water like the quarry pits I fish could be a good thing. These are essentially the finished baits in both 2" and 1 5/8". A couple were also specifically made for deep water. Here is a family tree of the 90mm, 80mm, 60mm and 48mm baits from Duo and a couple of mine.

The future and pledge and other floor care products are a hard acrylic. I am a former floor care professional. I owned my own floor care business. Think about the qualities you need in a floor care product. Here in New England we have harsh winters and a lot of salt / sand applied in parking lots. That is what floor finishes are designed to withstand. Imagine what it takes to remove that product from your airbrush. Not all acrylics are the same. I choose not to put that stuff into a close tolerance airbrush.

User removed. Excessive whining never gets anyone anywhere, especially not here.

I made a flat base to hold the razors . The base slides into the slot for the shell holder on my press. It's primitive and I used a stick welder, not the best for detailed work! The puck is just attached to the top with duct tape wrapped to act like double sided tape. Lots of leverage.

We all get frustrated when we don't get the service we expect when ordering blanks. (myself included} I wanted to take a minute to thank Get Bit Custom Baits and Dinger Baits for always giving excellent service to customers and providing top quality blanks. You are appreciated and noticed for the pride you show in what you do.

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

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.

Are you tying on a treble hook? If so how big and are you trying to tie a clump of hair in one spot so you can add another color in a different area? I'm asking the last part because I normally want the hair to go around evenly unless I'm wanting to keep colors separated. For a treble hook you need to tie on the flat spots first and then pinch the hair as close as you can to the ends. Then make 2 or 3 loose wraps, just tight enough to hold the hair in place and then make another wrap but make it tight. The loose wraps will keep the hair from moving completely around the hook but "loose" is a relative term, it takes practice until you develop the feel for it. You want the wraps loose enough that the hair doesn't work around the hook but tight enough that when you make the tight wrap the previous wraps hold the hair in that spot.

Maybe you are pulling too hard on the first wrap? I make two turns around the bucktail clump, then add tension by pulling the bobbin from under , while holding the hair. After I can let go of the hair and make harder wraps.

I have been making plastics for a couple of years now. I just want all to know how I feel that this Forum is filled with great facts and everyone on here seems to get along great!! Thanks a bunch!!

Some mold makers will do that, some won't. Looking at the various websites you will see that some designs are much more refined than others....

This pic may help with showing how I do the line tie in the lip of a bait. No way the line tie is coming loose unless the lip comes out of the bait. That lip is a 1/2 inch deep into the nose of the bait. Hope this helps

When you paint a jig with it and you see all one color, don't get excited. The first time I used gold veined paint I was disappointed as the jigs looked like plain gold. I figured they were painted so I'll cure them and maybe add some GP or watermelon and make roadkill out of it. Well after I took them out of the oven they looked great, and so don't judge your jig until after it is cured, that is when the veins really come out.

It's like the perfect husband. All my ex-wives said it doesn't exist, but they love it at first, till they found out about the handling issues. Hahaha

I've probably said this a million times and like sallmouthaholic said " don't quit your day job". This isn't meant for me to get rich off of. I have a full time job for that. This is my way of relaxing, talk to a lot of fishermen and learn what the latest tactics are to improve my fish catching . The money I make from this, I would starve and be poor if this was my only source of income. This is a hobby and that's all it is to me. Some days you have a good days pouring and you think you made money, other days, you want to quit and forget about the whole process. Luckily, there are more good days than bad days. All said and done if I figure everything that it costs me to operate, I'm better off working at McDonalds. If they raise the pay to $15/ per hour, I'd definitely be better off.

I made a vid on this Only one time I was not able to free it. Always the clear lip Warts too, maybe because the plastic is softer. You can hit it fairly hard. I never damaged one.

I use this one http://www.lurepartsonline.com/Online-Store/Mold-Insert-Components/Wire-Weedguard.html https://www.barlowstackle.com/Wire-Weed-Guard-P3836.aspx

also do not over heat

Dave is an awesome man, living nearby I was blessed to be able to run to his shop and pick up small amounts of material when needed. I enjoyed great conversations and learned alot about his start and place in the business. He always made me feel welcomed and helped me with many thoughts or ideas. His illness did start to get the best of him and two major floods did not help. I still have many of his supplies and will regret not being able to go visit him to get more. Not for the supplies really but the visit which meant so much more.

I'm gonna some this up for everyone really quick. People expected the cheapest ass product they could and still wanted to complain. So we started degassing pre shipping. It is exactly the same plastic. this allowed us when people cried about bubbles to say, you should have bought degassed then. Most every plastic is mixed under a vacuum, science says if you don't do this your going to whip air into it. Now this also has many dependencies on viscosity. Aka lurecraft to my knowledge does not degass, but there product being a good product for most, don't misinterpret my words, has a very thin viscosity, aka settles fast. So it can mix easily without degassing. same goes for lureworks, it to has a thin viscocity. reason they can sell it under injectasol easily not degassed... There suspendasol, now is like mayonnaise, Reason you guys cant use it effectively as you cant mix it without whipping in air very easily. Now you have moisture, looks just like air, acts like air etc. Degasser will also extract moisture, I sure hope this clears some air without any feelings being hurt.

I dont use chunk style trailers often but saw a tip by Randal Tharp that I think could help with the plastic ripping. Take a toothpick and run it laterally just in front of where you plan to put the hook through. On a short bite the bait pulls on the toothpick instead of ripping through the front of the bait. Just clip off the ends so they dont stick out.

He was talking how to paint the LC Table Rock. Hughesy may have painted one or two Table Rock Shad over the time as everyone has their knockoff of his. Everyone has their interpretation of his color pattern. Here is an old post of his from 2004. First of all let me thank you for the nice compliments. As far as my "create your own colors page", I did try using my own colors but they didn't look right because of places like where the back color faded into the side of the baits looked real funky, the color of the paint behind the scale pattern would show up and many other issues I came across. It was a real pain. I just put that page on there for the fun of it. I doubt if anyone uses it to really design colors all though I have received many orders with the little pictures as a sample. I might change it around if I every get time to play around with it. As far as it increasing my orders, its killing me the way it is now. We are running about 5 to 6 weeks on deliveries of orders as we speak with no end in sight. On patenting colors schemes, I don't think its possible because you could add 2 drops of white to any color and barely change the color but I'm sure in a court of law it would be considered a new color even though it matches your to a T. If you notice that most of the Big Boys that copy my stuff do not get the colors right. Lucky Crafts Table Rock Shad is a real faded chartreuse and almost a flat purple, Normans Sour Grape has purple flake and the they to can't get the right purple and chartreuse. The same with Pradco's Mark Menendez line. All of those colors are a copies of mine but they just can't get the colors tint right. Plus the quality of their work could use some help. Thanks again clemmy for the great ideas but I'm just gonna stay right where I'm at and just keep on shootin that paint.

Well its a copy of my original table rock shad but I'll give it a shot. I use lacquer paint and I know most don't so I'll just use general color names. 1. cover white entire lure. 2. mix white with a small amount of chartreuse for sides. 3. mix deep violet with a small amount of red. 4. pearl white belly. 5. black dot.

The joy of this hobby is there are no rules when making what you want.

Be patient. I told my partners when you own your own business, you only have to work 1/2 a day. Just pick what 12 hours you want to work. Just dont try to grow to fast, take your time.

If you search "Didspade" on amazon you can get a variety of 5g samples packs (they make approx. 9 oz.). I had a couple bottles of Createx clear coat that I mixed them into and had real good results. The attached picture is 3 or 4 light coats of "riddler" sprayed over black sealer.

Hey guys, I am the developer of ClearSHield HD, the new finish Jim is referring to. I'm happy to answer any questions regarding the product, but I don't want to do so without the blessing of the owners of the board. I sent an email or two a few weeks ago about a board sponsorship, but never received a response. Looking forward to getting to know you guys, Best Regards, Andy Dear Axis Outdoor Company

Exhibit is in the gallery. Until now you did not discuss how you did it. But thank you for sharing your knowledge of how it is done. I have found one thing here in all the years I have shared, you can tell them how it is done and very few will actually take the time to put in alll the hard work to do what you do. Doing this to make something of it takes a lot of time and effort. Unless you sit down and spend hours and days doing it no one will understand how hard it really is. That tray of baits took him in my opinion hours to make. Not very many people want to invest that kinda time to do it. I respect that cause I have spent the hours and days to make baits for people. And again thank you for sharing.

Science makes plastic settle and hard pack, Eventually they all will do it. Viscosity IMO is the number one thing, You cant suspend sand in water. Were you may suspend the same sand in Mayonnaise. On that note I have almost been solely using Lureworks Suspendasol, But it is not microwave friendly at all...

Try these... https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/ http://www.pouritmold.com/

Powder dyes work great and give some vivid colors. X2 liquid colorant is very good. CNC molds make great baits. Oh, the dual injector is the bomb and the triple injector is better than that. Reading your posts, if you want to save money, run away from this hobby as fast as you can. Buy your baits by the bag at Bass Pro. Most of us aren’t saving any money by doing this. I promise.

I too agree with Mark but for different reasons; the density and other characteristics of the final lure material will be different to the original wood. You would get the wood prototype working, and then likely discover that the cast final product does not swim the same. Always prototype with the final materials and hardware, including the top coat for the final prototypes. Dave

No problem, always here to help.

I agree - the bottles spill a lot when pouring into the airbrush cup it’s so annoying I responded to this issue to Munro on another thread but did. It mentiontbis: You may be dusting the paint on - meaning u r too far away with the airbrush and the paint is drying in the air. I fhave nd about 20psi is best with my setup. It need to go on wet but not too wet or u will get fisheyes. If it is wet the solvents should work it into the plastic. You. An clear coat it for extra durability(see other thread.

I have yet to build mine but I'm going off this picture, I bought round cutting blade I got from Walmart, they are by the Material and yarn where the scissors are. I'm using spacers and a nut and JB weld to keep it on the mini roller hope this helps

Now you tell me! Where were you three wives ago?

I use brass inserts if I'm going to paint them. Before I pour the blade baits, I take the brass blades and lightly sand both side to give the powder paint some bite. After pouring, but before painting, I wipe the blades down with denatured alcohol. Then I paint the heads and body. I use the brush tap method. I get excellent results, where I can multi-color the head and also multi-color the body.

One reason a solvent based lacquer can "milk up" after spraying has to do with the Dew Point. As the faster drying solvents in the lacquer evaporate, they lower the temperature of the substrate they left behind. If they lower it enough to hit the relative Dew Point it will cause moisture to condensate on the cooler surface. The moisture becomes entrapped in the lacquer and due to incompatibility you get milkiness. In hind site warming the can may have actually exacerbated the problem. The warmer the lacquer is the faster it drys the quicker it will draw moisture out of the air. It may be better to actually warm the bait/piece your coating instead of the can to keep the lacquer film from getting to cool to quick. Just a theory. The manufacturer should have some guidelines or perhaps a Tech Data Sheet they can provide to give some pointers to prevent this issue. It might be worth firing off an e-mail or making a phone call to the Tech Support and see what they say; if they have one.

Before buying high priced bearings thoroughly clean them and put a drop of high tech oil, something like Hot Sauce or TSI 321, see if that will give you the performance you want. Many times perfectly good bearings are being retired when they will do quite well. Rodney