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jrhopkins

Walleye swimbait.

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JR,

If I may ask? What do you cast your baits with? They are truly works of art. I am getting into it myself and have admired your work. Just getting ready to mold a few of my creations, and I wanted to see what you recommended.

Alumilite or another type product? These are all jointed top water or sub surface swimbaits.

Thank You,

Billy

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JR,

If I may ask? What do you cast your baits with? They are truly works of art. I am getting into it myself and have admired your work. Just getting ready to mold a few of my creations, and I wanted to see what you recommended.

Alumilite or another type product? These are all jointed top water or sub surface swimbaits.

Thank You,

Billy

Billy,

all my baits are hand carved and brush painted. i got an alumilite casting kit last spring but haven't got around to trying it yet. maybe this winter when things slow down a bit. i enjoy the carving:wink:.

i think a lot of people use the alumilite stuff. you might do a search for casting amd molding lures and see what is recommended.

john

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Correct me if I'm wrong but these are pvc and if so what do you carve these with (knife, dremel tool,ect.)? by the way amazing looking bait.:yay:

yeh, pvc. i think it's called extruded pvc? it's the material that is used for exterior window and door trim. i get it at Lowes in the flat board ( 1"x6"x8' ) ( check with the window and door associate.) don't get the stuff at Home Depot as it is vinyl and hard all the way through. i use my tablesaw to remove the outer hard skin, about 1/32", as the skin is very hard to carve. wear a dust mask if you use a power saw as the dust is very fine. it carves about like poplar. i cut out the basic shape with a bandsaw but you could do it by hand. i use one of those folding utility knives with the replaceable blades. keep a sharp blade in it so it will carve easily. i finish sand it with 80-100 grit paper and prime it for paint. you can then sand it with a finer grit for a smoother surface.

john

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John,

I'm interested in trying that Lowe's PVC stuff.

What kind of glue do you use to fasten hook holders and line ties in that PVC?

Do you use a special sealer to get the surface smooth enough to paint, or does it carve and sand smooth enough?

Mark,

i use 2t epoxy to glue everything. it will sand down as smooth as you want. i typically sand it with 100 grit and then do the paint.

a board ( 1"x6"x 8ft. ) here is approx. $28. more than poplar but not as much as balsa. remember that the outer skin on the board is very hard so you need to trim the surface skin off. i drilled a hole in a block and epoxied in a eye screw and couldn't pull it out so it holds very well.

i don't use that method. my hinge system, line tie, hook hangers are all interlocked through the bait. basically making a stainless steel skelton over which the lure is attached. ( see picture).

one nice thing about the pvc is that i can form all the hinge assemblies, line tie, etc. and then i heat the wire and melt it into the lure body and place the adjoining side on it to imbed the wire into the lure. i let the wire cool down good and it usually will pop out pretty easy and when i get ready to do all the assembly i can place it back in position and epoxy the halves together. keep a syringe handy with some alcohol to dissolve any epoxy that might seep into the hinge links. takes me about 2 hours to form the wire assemblies and assemble the lure.

after the lure is assembled i drill ballast hole in the belly and epoxy in the ballast. i prefer 1/4" pencil lead as it is easy to adjust the amount of weight i need in each segment. glue in the ballast, fill with bondo, sand and you're ready to paint.

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jrhopkins,

i just went out to Lowes and bought a 1"x4"x8' board of the PVC for 13 dollars.

i noticed this stuff is extremely buoyant! most of my swimbaits are slow sinking, and from the looks of it i'm going to need a whole lot of weight in the bottom for these swimbaits to sink.

do you make any sinking swimbaits? how much weight do you put in them?

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I just spent two hours online, and another touring my nearest Lowes, and can't find the PVC decking you're talking about.

Evidently, it's not sold in Calif. Figures!:pissed: Save the environment, kill me with stress!

Do you have a brand name for the decking that I could look up? I have a friend who owns a small local lumber yard, and he thinks he can get it for me, but I need the brand name of the decking.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

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That's some pretty fancy wiring. Really a slick solution.

And the tip about heating the wire makes sense.

Do you rip the matl. to 3/8" thick, or are your lures carved from two 3/4" boards laminated together?

Mark,

i use 2t epoxy to glue everything. it will sand down as smooth as you want. i typically sand it with 100 grit and then do the paint.

a board ( 1"x6"x 8ft. ) here is approx. $28. more than poplar but not as much as balsa. remember that the outer skin on the board is very hard so you need to trim the surface skin off. i drilled a hole in a block and epoxied in a eye screw and couldn't pull it out so it holds very well.

i don't use that method. my hinge system, line tie, hook hangers are all interlocked through the bait. basically making a stainless steel skelton over which the lure is attached. ( see picture).

one nice thing about the pvc is that i can form all the hinge assemblies, line tie, etc. and then i heat the wire and melt it into the lure body and place the adjoining side on it to imbed the wire into the lure. i let the wire cool down good and it usually will pop out pretty easy and when i get ready to do all the assembly i can place it back in position and epoxy the halves together. keep a syringe handy with some alcohol to dissolve any epoxy that might seep into the hinge links. takes me about 2 hours to form the wire assemblies and assemble the lure.

after the lure is assembled i drill ballast hole in the belly and epoxy in the ballast. i prefer 1/4" pencil lead as it is easy to adjust the amount of weight i need in each segment. glue in the ballast, fill with bondo, sand and you're ready to paint.

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jrhopkins,

i just went out to Lowes and bought a 1"x4"x8' board of the PVC for 13 dollars.

i noticed this stuff is extremely buoyant! most of my swimbaits are slow sinking, and from the looks of it i'm going to need a whole lot of weight in the bottom for these swimbaits to sink.

do you make any sinking swimbaits? how much weight do you put in them?

i make lots of slow sinking baits. you will have to expierment to see how much ballast to put in to make it sink. i use a Forsner bit and drill holes in the belly of each segment to add the weight. keep the weight as low in the belly as you can to eliminate the roll. the walleye lure is 6", 2.2 0z. finished.

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Ok.... so I found the product somewhere else. It is also called AZEK PVC.

JR,

My question is..... I was able to get a 5/4" x 4" x 18' piece, but they all were bowed in length not width, have you come across this, and does it matter, or do you heat it and let it sit on flat surface to get shape back?

Mine has wood dimpling effect on one side, do you plain them, or?

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Ok.... so I found the product somewhere else. It is also called AZEK PVC.

JR,

My question is..... I was able to get a 5/4" x 4" x 18' piece, but they all were bowed in length not width, have you come across this, and does it matter, or do you heat it and let it sit on flat surface to get shape back?

Mine has wood dimpling effect on one side, do you plain them, or?

i know about the deck material. thats not what i use, never tried it. the stuff i use is pvc MILLWORK, also called exterior molding. this is what it looks like.

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I found some AZEK PVC decking today at Stock Bldg. Matls. in Mar Vista.

They don't carry the mill work, just the decking.

I bought a piece that measures 5/4 X 5 1/2" X 16' for $65.

Pricey, but it is enough to make all the baits I want to for the foreseeable future. I don't think my hands could take any more sanding and shaping than that.

First thing I did was cut off a 6" section, weigh it (405 grams), label it with a sharpie, and drop it in a bucket of water. I'll check it tomorrow to see if it absorbed any water.

I ripped the slick finish off another 6" piece, ripped it down into three blanks, and shaped two more 8" jointed trout bodies, and a 5" punker type glide bait.

It really is plastic. When I machined it, the drill cuttings came off in one piece, and wrapped around the bit shaft, where they cooled and hardened.

And I can't put too much pressure on it with the oscillating sander, or it melts.

But it cut just fine on both the table saw and the band saw, and, so far, seems to shape fine.

I'll do some detailing tomorrow with the Dremel sanding drum. That should be interesting, since the Dremel burns poplar. I may wind up with a gooey mess.

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