turtlela

In the layers pane once I reopen the jpeg it’s not showing the three layer groups. Just says layer 0

fishordie, I'm stuck on one part. I download the eye template to a jpeg. I'm stuck on "Open the Fish Eye Template .psd document." I'm trying to get to the part on the layers pane to pick what size I want. Any help would be appreciated.

I didn't think of that. I do have the holographic foil and the wet transfer paper. I will play around with that. Thanks

Does anyone know where I can find decent eyes I can print to make my own? I have everything ready, but haven't found any decent ones. Any tips are appreciated. Tight lines

When I started making my own topwaters I did without really adding sound. I had some trips where I had decent hook sets. Other trips not as great. Was that due to no added sound? The ones I make now are loud and I’ve noticed a small difference with higher hook sets.

Have you tried western red cedar? Another wood I like to carve, but may be hard for you to get is tupelo. Should get great action with that wood.

Fishordie can you post video version?

How thick is each coat of KBS? And how many coats are you using so that the bait holds up to wear and tear?

RTFX, you haven't had any issues cleaning your gun after using the Varathane?

I’ll get some pics of a bait that had bad clumping from the first batch I ever made when I get home. I regards to the question about tupelo wood. There’s two forms of it that carvers like. The part below the water line is the premium stuff. It’s so soft it’s almost like cork and the lightest wood I’ve ever felt. The problem with that part of the tree is it gouges real easy on the lathe and I don’t think I’d trust it holding up even if running wire all the way through the bait. The part I used is a small portion above the water line that is harder, but still super light. It holds up better on the lathe, but can still gouge so I start sanding once I get it close to the dimensions I like. If anyone is interested in trying it, I highly recommend it. I live in south Louisiana and I can find out where my friend buys the blocks of Tupelo. From what he tells me, Tupelo is the finest wood to carve wooden decoys with. Some of his decoys take over a year or two to finish. Tupelo is found in the swamp along cypress trees. I could probably get a few samples for some to try.

Here’s a few. Some have rattles. Other are solid blanks. One of the doctors I work with is a big time duck decoy carver and has premium Tupelo scraps I get for free. I told him I’d give him some baits in exchange for the wood. It’s a process, but I want to eventually turn out really nice baits. My airbrushing skills need the most work, but getting better

You mean just the plain wood sanded before paint? Would I post that here? Read something about posting images in a gallery.

Guess I’ll just start weighing the epoxy. The digital scale I have can measure small weights. I’ll wait to see how this second coat does. Looks good so far. A couple need closer inspection. I want to avoid a 3rd coat due to weight of the bait. I’m experimenting with different woods at the moment and got my hands on Tupelo from a friend. This stuff is light, but easy to run on the lathe compared to basswood.

I let it run for at least 18 hours. I have a scale and I work at a hospital so have siringes at home. I just put the second coat on measuring with a syringe. Let it sit 10 min and then applied. This time I put it on while turning and would stop and go periodically to make sure I got good even coverage. Will shall see. Worst case if it happens again is lightly sand down in spots