cheesehead

check with a local hardwood lumber supplier.

You are experiencing a paint combatability issue, The solvents in your topcoat are dissolving one or more of your other layers of paint. also you need to ind a much stronger topcoat than automotive clear. there are many choices some of wich are 2 part epoxies and moisture cure urethanes.

I just get the wierd looks at the local golf course pond. Even had a guy think I caught a fish when it really was just a big muskie lure.

There are many on this site who've experimented and had successes and failures with a multitude of different items. most or all of these people will gladly assist any or all to not repeat the same mistakes and also to not re-invent the wheel. Thus I feel compelled to state "wood hardner is not wood sealer". While multiple coats may provide you with a good base to begin with it's my opinion that you are better served using another sealant. My preference is 20+ dips in proprianate.

have you tried lubing the threads? a litle paste wax will help alot.

You're better off to avoid touching your baits between paint and clear coating. whiping them with a solvent may cause paint issues such as dulling, smearing, or even whiping it off.

To prevent cracking you should use polypropalene glycol. this is a waxy plastic that is disolved and soaks into the wood preventing shrinkage and thus cracking. Anti-freeze is ethylene glycol and will do little to nothing to aid in stabilizing you wood.

all you need is a forstner bit and some scrap 2x4 clamp 2 short pieces of 2x4 together and drill a hole the diameter of your plug centered on the two halves stick your plug into this hole and clamp it tight take a forstner bit the diameter of your desired dish and drill down through the top of the blocks at the desired angle (in your case 45 deg) so you just catch the end of the plug.

Start with two pieces of wood half the thickness before you carve. Stick them together with small pieces of double face tape carve then separate the halves with a putty knife. if you used too much or have a stubborn piece of tape apply some mineral spirits to the joint to soften the adhesive.

it's 2 part softer and you have to turn it longer

I've used glass rattles I make from christmas lights grind the end off, insert a few pieces of steel shot, hold the open end in the flame of a torch until it just begins to melt. it will seal itself shut and you have a nice rattle

Sinyo, As you can see there are many differences of opinion:argue:. Some of which are so stubborn they cannot see things in a different light even when shown examples:flame:. That stubbornness is one reason I do not frequent this site nearly as often. Now to offer assistance for you question; there are many means to obtaining a sinking lure that you will need to experiment with. The most obvious is add weight. You already found out this kills the action:pissed:. Another option is to reduce buoyancy without adding weight this can be accomplished in many ways, redesigning your lure profile, using denser materials, using plastics instead of wood, creating a hybrid lure by combining different materials, or whatever else you may think of. Remember it was once said that man cannot fly nor will we ever walk on the moon and we do both quite regularly. So don't let ones negative comments:boo: disguised as good intentions get you down. All I really can say is keep trying and you will succeed:yay:.

I use flux or gluebrushes for applying my top coats. they can be found for about $.20 each and wash easily in some acetone. I usually can get 4-6 uses from each brush. to help apply your top coat hit it for a few seconds with a hair dryer or hot air gun. this will allow the epoxy to thin out enough to be brushed over the entire lure. just be carefull as too much heat could blister your paint and it willalso cause the epoxies to kick-off faster

follow manufacturers reccomendations. if your owners manual doesn't specify give thier customer service dept a call.

There is no 1 best, each has thier own preference. your question is like asking who makes the best steak. or what brand of car is best.

Yup lack of flux is your problem. Use the same flux as you would for soldering plumbing and you'll be fine.

it's devcon 2 ton epoxy

1 buy the wood 2 load it in the car 3 move it to the shop 4 trace your pattern onto the wood 5 put double stick tape on the blank 6 stick multiple blanks together to gang cut 7 cut out the blanks 8 rout the left hand blank 9 rout the right hand blank 10 carve a weight slot into the left half blank 11 carve a rattle slot into the left half blank 12 carve a weight slot into the right half blank 13 carve a rattle slot into the right half blank 14 bend the wire form 15 laminate the halves 16 fill any voids 17 sand the blank 18-27 dip in sealer 5-10 times now start with Blades steps

the best sealer I've found is to use prop disolved in Acetone. Contact Swede here for more information. If you want to try the polystyrene (styrofoam or cups) use virgin lacquer thinner. I however caution you against this as Myself and others have had less than ideal experiences with it. some baits I've made with it are fine others cracked wide open. often times water is blamed for this but some of these baits hadn't left the workbench.

:boo:Take the time to finnish you prototypes with as many coats of paint and topcoat as your finished lures will have. all these items add bulk and weight to your lures and this will effect their action. Do yourself a favor and save the water seal for your deck.

I have had the solo cup / plasticware mixture crack many times on me. Since changing to the prop mixture this problem was greatly reduced. I used the last of my solo cup mixture to seal a plywood divider that prevents my takle trays from spilling into the bilge on my boat. within a few weeks time the plywood and mixture had as many cracks as if I put nothing at all on it.

you can pick it up at wallmart in the paint aisle

Tater, It was pure intent to inject some humor. Those who know me understand that I enjoy poking good clean fun at all. A good chuckle now and again really helps relieving the stresses we encounter during our lure building.

I just used a torch this past weekend. I'll be going back to my heat gun for the next batch. it is my opinion that the torch heats too unevenly.

we use .250 polycarb as vat covers and have it break quite frequently. It is my opinion that it is just like Taters ego... abuse it enough and it will break:eek: