TBait

1/16th inch.063(.060) is fine for bass lures....if you are building musky you may want to go a little thicker....see riverman for details not sure. He builds alot of musky baits (gliders)...

They say that their paints dont need thinning. That is definately something that interests me. I also like there colors selections...look past the color chart... there are flip flop colors here guys. What is retarder/cleaner? Gloss flateners...could be cool.... Boatnik..in your opinion do these paints spray better through the airbrush than regular createx? That is what they advertise... I am ready to order ... what are their recomendations for cleaning dried paint off the tip... you had mentioned this before?? definately like these colors...

are these the same paints you are referring to? http://www.smithpaints.com/products/wildlifeairbrush/chart.asp

Price comparison Cincinnati,OH 4x8 sheet Lexan .060 inch. $65.00 +tax quite a few bills in that sheet..........1000+

It is all in the paint... All paints are not equal... acrylics dont equal acrylics. Createx craft paint is different than createx auto air. Apparently the pigments are ground almost 5x as small in Auto air versus regular createx. Golden paints are supposed to be ground finer. Wasco supply offers Polytranspar...these are ground finer...of course, these cost more. They are ground finer to allow airbrushes to operate easier. Remember this when buying your next batch of paint....... smaller pigments create less clogging....Iwata recommends straining paint before using it in their guns.... I have heard old nylons work well...although I have not tried myself. Does anyone have any other brands that are easier to work with??? It seems like a hassle to strain paint. Any thoughts?

Just ordered and Iwata Eclipse CS.....through dixie...would have ordered the BCS but I dont like the bottles, I prefer cups....gravity feed. Will advise.... still got a Paasche VLS set 1,3,and 5 needles etc. for sale.......the first 30 bucks plus postage......

You only need the .5 nozzle it comes with. Everyone I have ever talked to says the Iwata's are the way to go. I have an Paasche VLSet #1#3#5 that I will sell to the first offer of $30.00. It has a couple of bottles, hose,and cup. You will have to pay postage. I should have moved over to Iwata 4 weeks ago. There has to be a difference... where are you at Paasche lovers...? www.airbrush.com/forums they all preach Iwata... Thanks to everyone for their input. m

Which model did you get?

I believe that is the retail site for "Shorty's". They just recently went online www.shortyshooks.com wholesale hook sales

I use a fly tying vice.... you can get them cheap... you could make something out of alligator clips of hemostats.... lots of things...doesnt have to look great, just has to do the job so you can paint... Mike

I didnt mean to offend anyone on this forum.. not implying you couldnt get good answers on this forum. Just wanted to let other on this board know where they could get more answers.... wanted to make that clear....not looking to pick a fight... Mike

Here is a forum...that will give you straight up answers regarding airbrushing. These guys know airbrushing. http://www.airbrush.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=2 Its not the airbrush, it is the media....what kind of paint. Thinning correctly with reducers...not water. And air pressure... dont expect to pick up an airbrush once every 2 weeks and know how to use it... lots of answers when you do searches on their forum...some of the work that is on there is awesome. Free answers Mike

Any comments on the Iwata HP-SBS (eclipse)? I am no longer happy with my VLS...it isnt cutting the mustard anymore... I have talked with quite a few people spraying acrylics....tee shirts etc and they all say the same thing...they went to Iwata. The VLS is just too moody... one day it wants this and the next day it wants something else....I cant take it anymore.....help! I need a fine detailed 1/8" in line spraying son of a gun...that doesnt miss a beat. This brush has a side cup...so you can see over top...

The hardener has black lettering on the bottle... The resin has white lettering....... Perhaps someone switched bottles at the store...??? never know??? They may have put to resins together and 2 hardeners together... The boxes are not sealed... just a thought.

Without seeing the lure...it would be hard to pinpoint......I may be wrong... so here is a guess. I would say that it is one of 3 things. Your lip angle..maybe. Your clearcoat...bigger maybe..or your lip material. Got any pictures???? Sometimes Devcon a heavier glue(clearcoat) will change the action of baits. Need a pic for more advice...sure you will get other responses...if you can post. It could be the angle of the lip and not enough keel weight or too much weight...

I already have some on hand. Just never thought of using it. Thanks for the tip. Will give it a try. Thanks again. Mike

I recently tried stacking 5 pieces of lexan .060 inch. I used "SCOTCH BRAND" Double sided tape to secure them. I did not have much success. There was too much variance. I first cut the bills close on a bandsaw and then proceeded to finish on a belt and drum sander. The bills shifted during sanding. My question is... SCOTCH makes 2 different double sided tapes. A temporary version and a permanent version. What brand are you using and which type? The SCOTCH temporary did not work well for me.

see Richoc ,he should be able to help you with this..

Just curious, are you saying that you have put out 800 baits at some stage in one weeks time? 800 pieces.... At 10 dollars a piece that is 8 grand. Take out the say 1000 cost as you have spec'd and that is enough profit to keep most happy for a month. Just on the initial 800 pieces. Can you start 800 baits a week? Way beyond me......If you could start 800 a week assuming you could sell this many and continue every week forward you are talking about clearing over a quarter million a year. Or have i misunderstood something? Of course you would have to pay the taxes...but even at that........

Havent looked through the new catalog yet.....not thoroughly anyway. But Bass Pro a month ago was carrying Tim Hughes baits. $22.95 in Cincy. $20.00 bucks is the going price for custom cranks.....the ony people that will buy them are tourny anglers though....people that know how to cast. They arent afraid of losing them.....Oh boy....not that weekend anglers cant cast. For the most part it would be tourny anglers...wanting the edge. Look at Lucky Craft.....$15 a pop, for mass produced nice paint jobs, but mass produced. Rico's $22.00 to $25.00 the last 5 years. Can you make money at $20.00 a piece though? Some people say NO on Balsa baits. I would say about 5 bucks an hour...and if you are selling them at the ramps....you would avoid taxes if.......if......you chose to go that route. Not that you should do anything to get yourself in trouble. More of a way to get your name recognized. Of course it may support the Bass Boat a little bit as well.

Most of our keeper bass are not much larger than that bait here in SW Ohio. Nice looking bait...wouldnt dare throw that baby around here... Our bass are more likely to eat mosquitos....poor things. Talk about a different mind set. I just cant imagine tying that baby on....

Hey BN! I agree, once you get started it is hard to stop. Very addictive. Great looking baits. Keep them coming.

Barlow's definately offers a nice selection. All pliers are not the same. Barlows offers 3 different sizes depending on the size of split ring you are using. The biggest problem that I have found is that you always somehow manage to spring the split ring. If you open it too far, it wont go back to its original flat shape. I think I would chose the pair with the smallest opening and never open the split rings past this point. It may prevent the springing effect( non closure ) of the split rings. M

Thanks to everyone for you comments. I am still learning as well. I look to explore new paints shortly. I have been tinkering with making baits on and off for the last 10 years. I look to explore the auto air line as well as perhaps House of Kolor laquers as well. The basics of building cranks stay with you...just like riding a bike. The extra details take time....some times too much thought. But when it comes together, it is rewarding. I threw this bait the other day. 20 degrees and the first pond I came too was froze over. Determined I found an open piece of water and was extremely pleased with the action of this bait. Happy Holidays too all. Thanks for such a great website. I thoroughly enjoy logging on each day and looking at the new designs and paint schemes. Truly amazing work is placed on this website. Mike

Jack, If I understood what you are saying, I would think as you pressed each hollowed out (tube) mojo style sinker, each one would press differently and possibly leave the line tie loose at times. Causing the lure an inability to be tuned. I dont think I would consider using epoxy on the wire or a second piece of lexan. I think if there was enough movement the wire and epoxy would begin to seperate from the bottom of your bill eventually anyway, leaving you where you are now. The line tie and bill get more force put on them than any other part of the crank. Casting and retreiving center all of the force to the line tie. A crank bill made of .060 lexan will have some flex to it. Continued flexing will cause the epoxy and 2nd piece of lexan to work loose. I am almost positive. I have had some machine shop work done and pour the lead around the line tie in place. This locks it in. Wires are parallel all the way into the body of the crank. Mike