jklett

Funny you mention the epoxy being stronger than the wood. The strongest method of attaching hardware is to drill a pilot hole the length of the fastener, then open the hole up to twice the diameter of the threads for half of the length. Fill the hole with epoxy and screw down the fastener. It's a pretty standard method when bedding hardware into wood for boat building/repair, so it should be the ticket for screw eyes in lures. Then again, I through wire all of my baits too so what do I know?

Another idea kinda combining rofish and hazmail's ideas. Drill some 1/2" holes in a block of wood with a hole in the center to attach to the spinner(think tinkertoys). Take some 9/16" dowels and slightly taper one end so they fit snug in the 1/2" holes. Cut a 3/4" long slot in the other end of the dowels and drill and tap a #6-32 tap hole(#36 drill) 3/8" from the end. Open up one side of the hole(through one fork of the slot) to a #6 screw clearance(#25 drill). Put a thumbscrew through the clearance hole and screw it into the tapped hole so the thumbscrew's shoulder is pressing on the side of the fork with the clearance hole. Slip the bait's eye into the slot and tighten up the thumbscrew and the slot will close up clamping the bait's eye. Then paint/clear your lure and jam it into the block of wood you mounted to the spinner. I don't have a camera and I suck with paintbrush, so an explanation is the best I can do right now. I hope it makes sense. By the way, the sizes I wrote are only for sample(except the drill sizes for #6-32 screws) so feel free to use whatever stock you have lying around. Here's a tap and clearance drill size chart: http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/tapsizes.html

I make saltwater plugs and throughwire all of them. I use .051" soft SS safety wire and 1/16" SS TIG wire for them depending on the lure type. On the ones I won't seal up the holes I like the 1/16" because it isn't going to bend straight. The ones I cut a channel and fill the .051" is perfect. It bends real easy until you epoxy up the channel, then it isn't going anywhere. It is much softer than bucktail wire. The safety wire can be bought at most hardware/autoparts stores or ordered through any of the big industrial supply houses like MSC or McMaster/Carr. As to the weighting of an 8" minnow shaped cedar lure, try one without weight too. The wire and epoxy(if you cut a channel for the wire and fill it with epoxy) will add some weight to the keel and depending on the type of cedar you are using, that alone might be enough to give you the action you're looking for.

Scotch brite pads also work great to scuff epoxies so the paint has something to bite into. They also don't leave the scratch marks you see when you shoot pearls like 220 grit paper does.

Dacron is pretty much the standard for backing. For up to 8 weights use 20#, 9 and up use 30#. You can use super braid, but up the rating to at least 50# and it won't cut as bad as the thinner stuff. BTW, dacron burns pretty good too if you grab it when a fish is running, but it's not as bad as the gel-spun stuff. One big advantage to the gel-spun lines is added backing capacity. Another is abrasion resistance. Gel-spun line will fuzz out a bit but still retains most of it's strength where a single cut strand on dacron cuts the breaking strength to less than half. Just something to think about if you fish around rocks or coral a lot.

Got a dog?

I have the same problem(a bit portly) and the cabela's stout fit great. The stouts are bigger in the waist/chest size without being longer on the inseam.

Why not use thinner wire and put a kink in it before sliding the lure on? All I make are through wire lures and that's what I do. 1/16" stainless welding wire, the epoxy doesn't stick to it if you slip up and get some on it.

Looking at the picture, it's definitely contamination not allowing the coating to stick. It's called "fish-eye". You could try wiping it down with alcohol before re-coating it, but the best way to prevent it is to not touch the lure at all from the time it's painted until all the epoxy coats are done. Also, you could try rinsing your brush in alcohol or something before using it(letting it fully dry) and don't try and re-use brushes. It probably isn't coming from the brush, but it doesn't hurt to rule everything out.

You can rough cut it in a band saw(probably a scroll saw too, but I don't have one) and sand to the lines. Just wear a respirator when doing any cutting or sanding on this stuff. It is a form of fiberglass and you don't want the dust in your lungs.

It's the heat that kills bits. Slow down the speed on your drill and use cutting oil. Also don't force it, let the bit do the work. Your bits will last much longer that way. The best way to make holes in thin(.030" or thinner) stainless is a punch. McMaster-Carr has one that'll do the job. Look for part #3461A22. It says it's for mild steel only, but I've punched thousands of holes in .024" 308 at work with one. If you're working with thicker than .030", then you'll have to get one that's meant for stainless($$$).

This is a rack I made up after trying a bunch of different types. I usually don't hook up the motor and flip it by hand, but it has the option should I feel the need. It will hold 10 lures up to 12" in length. I can't take credit for the design though, I saw someone else's(steel pulse?) and copied it.

You could also try a clear enamel or urethane "scuff" coat before you epoxy. Give it a few days to fully dry and scuff it up with a fine sandpaper, clean with alcohol then epoxy.

Did you try a scotch-brite pad? Might do the trick.

There's some guys on another site that tried it. Snake oil.