Art Brush

Johan, If I'm reading the spec sheet correctly and your distributer has "Dow Corning 200 Fluid, 50 cSt." it looks like you can bump the shore hardness up from 25 to 61. I think your molds are wearing out due to the low shore hardness. The lower the shore hardness the lower the shelf life. They are more porous and deteriorate quickly. As an alternative you could try anything from the moldmax series and add ure-fil 3. Ure-fil 3 is a ceramic based powder that can be used to raise shore hardness in smooth-on rtv's. I've not tried it yet but it sounds like it would have the silt-like action of silastic j which has a shore hardness of 56. I'm not sure what ya mean by PUR or molding-epoxy. All epoxies kill rtv quickly. Shawn

Gitzit, There is one revision... a more fool proof spru and vent system can be seen here. I refer to it as Vytautas's Twin Tail Ports. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=866&d=1091780539 The mold in my tutorial needs to be shaken nose down to release any airbubbles that get trapped under the lip notch when casting blanks. Vy's ports keep the lure nose down while casting thus releasing any air. That's the only revision I'd make to the tutorial. Thanx for the kind words. Tight Lines, Shawn

The rattle can Rembrant returns! Glad you're back Rob. Jerry is currently reworking the gallery modules. Untill it's back in place you can post photo bucket links or use your TU attachment storage. Click on "Go Advanced" at the bottom of the reply box to access the UBB editor. Can't wait to see what you've been workin on. Shawn

Hey Chuck, Nice work buddy. You might wanna try Hydrospan. It's a urethane resin that expands when soaked in water. It increases the size of your castings by 60%. You could bump your craw sizes up to lobsters lol. Ofcourse you'll need bigger pvc pipes for the slip molds. Click here to find out more about hydrospan Tight Lines, Shawn

That is a neat trick KC. You're customers can order by caliber referance. Shawn

Hey Guys, Untill we get the KB reloaded you can find the tutorial here: 2 part mold w/thruwire harness Shawn

Brad, that is the motivator that got me to try the powders. Glad I did. James, I reckon I can wrangle that tut sometime today. I need a break from the mold table. T-Bone, post whatevere you can find here buddy. We're interested in new methods you can find or create. Shawn

Coley's brush saver from the archives. I get 10+ uses per brush using this trick. Thanx Coley. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3341 Shawn

Welcome Abord Johan, What do you call those lures? Is there a european name for that style or shape? Blinker? They look nice. Shawn

Put a drop of wd40 on a toothpick and touch it to the valve beneath the trigger. Does the trick everytime.

Those are nice Husky. Looks like they'd work on halibut.

Excellent work Chuck! I've made this a sticky untill the KB reopens. Can you snap a shot of a float test? I'd like to see how the microballons float. That so kicks butt. Shawn

Hi Chuck, go ahead and post it here untill we get KB reopened. Shawn

Congratulations Dan ! Email me your pics and I'll reduce them for ya. Shawn

No doubt! That is a kick@ss lure Coley. Well done!

Very nice Chuck! Those are awesome Can't wait to see them painted! Tight Lines, Shawn

Oz, Tally's tutorial will only work with virgin brand laquer thinner. If you cannot find it in greece you can try Swede's plastic dip. It's the stuff Salmo and Rapala uses and disolves in acetone. Shawn

Skeeter, No clouding at all. It leaves a shine that looks unflawed. I don't know if it makes a difference but the brand I use is Klean-strip S-L-X Denatured alcohol from auto parts plus. Cotton swabs are soft and work better than a tissue for removing the epoxy. Shawn

Finlander, I don't know about etex but with devcon I wait untill the epoxy is set, then use denatured alcohol and a cotton swab. You can hold the swab on the area untill it softens and wipe off the lexan. I've not had to remove anything major though ... just a drop or a web strand that occasionally get on the lexan. Shawn

On the prototype the eyelet is slightly larger. Less than 1mm slack. Good eye ... That slack is there to allow non-perfect loops to fit the mold. Though the harnesses are tied on a jig there are variations as they are hand made. If you notice the clay packing around the eyelet at the base is slightly larger. Also to allow for easy harness fit. Even if a user were to make a mold with a tight fiting harness and casts blanks with loose fitting loops the RTV is supple enough to fit the wire and close properly. Shawn

Hi Dude, Welcome to TU . As an introduction to making crankbaits I reccomend this article by Skeeter. It will tell you what to look for in a handmade lure: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3058 Here's a link to the forums search: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/search.php Try searches in the hardbait forums on words like "foam, featherlite, mold, rtv, wax" these will bring up a plethera of info. The crankbait mold in my tutorial is designed to hold the thruwire on pins suspended inside the mold cavity. A thruwire should always be centered for balance. Ballast placement all depends on lure shape but for the most part they are centered just above the belly hook mount or slightly forward. Again... this is based on lure shape. For more info on ballasts do a search on "xray, x-ray, autopsy, autopsies" Rattles can be fashioned from pen tubes, 22 shell casings, glass chistmas tree lights almost any cylindar. I use bic pen tubes and bb's. here's a link to a post on rattles and foam lures: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=7014&highlight=foam+featherlite And a link to Cheeseheads tutorial: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=10 You can pm me with any q's ya might have. Post pics of your lures when you get a few done and remember to pay it forward to the next newbie. Tight Lines, Shawn

SS is used for saltwater lures and big game fish. Brass wire is better suited for smaller lures for easy tuning. Tight Lines, Shawn

Outstanding! Well done Peter. What did you use for the stabilzers? They look glow-in-dark? I tried the mold support from a previous post and they work great. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/files/mold_supports_193.jpg Tip for newbies.. Use a small rotary tool which can be seen in the pics to mix resin. Doing it with a stick by hand just won't cut it. http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/salonshaper.html I've yet to find a powder / primer to seal foam pin holes. Shawn

Here's a link to Ken (My Lures) Schmidt's half moon / slope faced popper tutorial. Ken shows how to set up a jig to consistantly cut half moons and slopes. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=18

Hey Jed, Yes, we used up the gallery space. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=7139 It'll be a while before we can upload again. Shawn