UKandy

Thank you my friend I will give it a go! Andy.

Hi all, I'm having a bit of a nightmare I've carved a lure blank with flat sides but rounded edges, forgot to put a centre line in before hand. Please can you advise if there is an easy way to help me find the centre line? So far I've tried calipers but the rounded edges are making it really hard to mark correctly, I've also tried balancing the blank on a knife edge but I've coated the blank in a sealer and it's shiny and just slipping. Totally messed up here ain't I Is it an eyeball job? Andy.

Well.... I re'made all 10 of my test blanks, at the last minute I decided I wanted to try something different with them, so started all over again so yes I have been busy! I will get round to actually testing some baits soon ha ha Andy.

I too have thought about the water pump idea, will it work though? I'm very interested to find out! Andy.

Interesting video that Dave nice & clear to follow, so it could be a trade off between the desired sink rate wanted in a bait or having a bait weighted correctly to achieve the fluttering down action. Andy.

Did you ever complete the tests Dave? Andy.

Some really good info here guys thanks Andy.

Wow! How did you think of that idea I will have a look into that over the weekend. Andy.

Thanks for all the input guys JD your explanation was great, with good details, many thanks. I will have better confidence in giving this a go now! Thanks again Andy.

Hi all, i was wondering if some of you guys who use the hinge pin method on swimbaits could please explain how you do it? I understand the twist eye to twist eye version of swimbaits, but im not to sure how you make the hinge pin version. Any pictures would be helpful also! Many thanks Andy.

Thanks guys I will check those out for sure! Andy.

Hi all, so I'm looking for some sound information from you guys please. My next purchase along my lure building journey will be a compressor, this will be used for painting purposes & I would like to ask what compressors you guys are using for this & why you chose that compressor? I would like to make a good choice, so I can buy once & have the correct piece of kit I don't mind spending a bit as long as it's right. Many thanks for any input! Andy.

#1 looks shrimp like too me, I think it's cool, but I can't decide between #1 & #3 Andy.

I too would agree with JD & Vodkaman 6 or 4 sound like the way to go buddy Andy.

If drilling multiple holes would the empty holes have any effect on the lures action? Through drag etc, would it be best to tape over the unused holes or am I thinking too much into it That's normally the problem... when I start over thinking things! Andy.

Glad to hear you figured it out buddy Andy.

Brilliant information buddy I totally get what you are saying, it makes total sense, seeing your friend fish & tune the plugs must have been a real eye opener, I personally like the idea of tuning each lure & getting it just right, time consuming, yes, but hopefully the quality will shine through in the end. You've certainly got me thinking about this now, great read that, thank you. Andy.

Interesting stuff big thank you! Andy.

Sounds like you are on the ball with the resin mixes buddy, yeah Dave's got the chart, I'm just wondering what people are using first hand, without having to input all the data myself! I thought a few may help out Andy.

Hi all Would like to ask a quick question please, which hopefully will get a good response and provide a wide range of information! So my question is, how much lead are you adding to your baits to achieve a slow rate of sink? If you could please state the material used for the lure, the lure size & the amount of lead used, that would be great! I think this will be interesting information for myself & some others, who are new to lure building Thank you Andy.

An idea to try as an experiment maybe: after applying the foil set the bait aside for a few days, then apply a little warmth with a heat gun and smooth the tape again, even if it still looks smooth already, again set aside for a few days, wipe down and then try applying the paint. I'm wondering if that tape/foil is ment to take paint, not all are, we have a rainbow one at work and it's specifically made to take inks & paints. Usually if you get lifting on laminate, it's down to moisture either in the paper or the ink, so there is every chance it's the material below the foil you are using, again the only way to test this would be to set the bait aside for a while before applying the foil or I think I've heard of some people baking their lure blanks before painting/foiling, you'd have to ask others about this as I've never done it Andy.

Try having a look on the tube at some car wrap videos, I'm sure they spray a solution down on the the area to be wrapped before applying the vinyl with heat, coming from a laminating profession I can tell you different laminate films come with different glues, some are super strong some are not! Hope you get it sorted buddy

I will be interested to hear about this as well, my own thoughts are, it's where you begin the heating process that matters? I would think from the middle outwards would be the best idea to allow trapped air to escape during the process. Hope you get this sorted buddy, must be really frustrating after finishing a bait. Andy.

Hi buddy, thanks for your input, to be honest I've got a lot of varying blanks, many, many, tests with the help of vodkaman, one that I'm really liking at the moment is a mixed version of resin and foam that I came up with. The foam is solid, rigid & tough, so once a top coat is on I would (imagine) it will be hard as nails, but this is why I'm doing all the testing now, as of yet I've not got a through wire in the blanks, I'm first testing with screw eyes & moving the hooks and weight about until I get a bait I'm happy with, my idea then is to make a new mold from the final chosen blank, which will then allow me to include the through wire when I do the new pours! It's maybe a long way of going round things, but hopefully I will have 100% confidence in the final product. I will keep an update going on how I get on, it's a little slow at the moment as I have limited time to work on them, but I will get there! Andy.

No problem buddy, soon as I have them tested I will let you know Andy.