knifemaker3

I'd have to agree with xfact on this one........Just because you have the startup investment doesn't mean it's all glory from here. I expanded a business into a retail location a little over 2 years ago now and added fishing and hunting supplies and guns to the business.....it's been a tight 2 years and most of the time all money made has been put back into the business. And I only pour or make a very few amount of what I sell and I still don't have enough time to get everything done by myself. Shortly after starting the new location I hired a part time helper just to be able to stay up with part of the business and really need a full time employee but can't afford one right now. Then you have insurance, electricity, licensing, overhead, etc. etc. to keep up with as well as taxes, excise taxes, quarterly taxes, monthly taxes, etc. Then you have to deal with customers, custom orders, tire kickers, bull shooters, and everything else that goes with owning and operating a business. Is it a viable solution? Absolutely. But with your question of how many baits can a gallon produce this tells me that maybe you might want to do more research and developement before "opening" you doors. That question leaves me with the impression that you are fixing to go down a very slippery and costly slope with your business. I'm not trying to talk you out of opening or doing this as a business in any way. I'm just trying to help you with some straight up advice from someone who already owns and operates a small hunting/fishing/tackle shop. I just reread this entire post and am editing my post to say you stated "before you push the open button" in one of your post..Is this for an online venture or brick and mortar store? I own brick and mortar so my advice is for that. What you are attempting to do with online may work just fine for your situation. Everyone has different ways of being successful with their business.

If you start selling them you will need to register for a tax #, pay excise tax quarterly to the gov., and if inside a city limits apply for a license probably with your city. Hopefully you will be zoned for it unless you start this from your home which you probably won't be. If all that is a go, you will need to decide what pricing you are going to charge. Dealers will want at minimum a 40% mark up on the price they pay so price wholesale pricing accordingly. Start thinking in terms of numbers of baits you can put out in an hour and sit down to figure how much you want to make an hour. Most people don't take their time into consideration and wind up making $1/hour or less for their labor. Most guys on here will tell you to operate under the radar and not worry about excise taxes, sales taxes, city and state licenses etc. You will have to decide if you want to take that chance and possibly loose everything you own if you get caught or at minimum pay a hefty fine. There will be others on shortly who will tell you I'm totally off base and give you their ultimate solution to your question....but there will also be a few who will tell you most of what I've already told you. Listen to them as they are successful in this business and have jumped through the hoops to make themselves so. Do it right the first time!

Caney Creek molds has a 4.75 inch ribbon tail worm that will get you very close to that worm you just showed. I have one of the CCM molds in that size and love the little thing

It makes perfect sense to me. 1: Your total for this order is $28.67 2. You overpaid last time and have a credit of $6.35 3. 28.67-6.35=22.32 4. You paid 32.07 on this invoice. 32.07-22.32=9.75 5. You now have $9.75 in credit which will be credited next time. Now, what I don't like about companies doing that is that they have your money to do with what they want and you don't get it back until you make another order....if you ever do. Call them up and ask them to cut you a check for the amount of credit you have. They should do that. If not......well I would just use someone else.

Nice....Very Very Nice!

While watching this thread I decided yesterday to take a look at what the big boys are all producing in the form of hard baits......you know what.....THEY PRETTY MUCH ALL LOOK THE SAME! Yep, just take a look at all the baits in the local tackle shop. You will have jerk baits which will all dive pretty much the same depth with close to the same wiggle with the only difference being in the cosmetics of the bait i.e. paint job, maybe a difference in the shape of the eyes or gills, etc. You will also have shallow divers,deep divers, etc. etc. and they pretty much all look the same, dive to the same depths, and generally act the same. Now, unless you are making something just totally different than anything else out there you are pretty much going to be taking someone else's ideas and expanding on them. After all, you are trying to imitate what fish eat and they don't eat cows, chickens, pigs, and such.....they eat worms, minnows, and bugs...period. So, all that can be expected is to expand on those food items. It is very hard to come out with something new. I'm not saying that inovation shouldn't be rewarded or that it is right to exactly copy someone else's designs. But in reality ALL designs pretty much imitate something that has already been done. It's great for you guys that have patents to guard them....but I'll bet all your patented idea is is an expansion on someone else's idea and you simply made a little different and possibly better or not better product off of someone else's findings. Let's face it....jerkbaits are still jerkbaits even though some may have no propellers, some sink, some float etc. They are still jerkbaits, someone has just taken the initial concept and expanded on it. Same with every other type of tackle out there. Just my 2 cents which is worthless on this forum anyway.

They are plenty fast enough for Devcon 2 ton......I just hang my baits as I get them topcoated on a hanger with paper clips attached. As I get another one coated I turn all previous coated lures from the lip eye to the tail eye and vice versa. Once I get them all coated I keep changing them every 5 minutes or so for about 30 minutes. They are stiff enough to not have to worry about after that. No motor....no turning other than the manual turning. Won't work for lipless cranks or nose tie cranks as well....but as long as you're careful should still work. I know this isn't the excepted way of curing epoxy....but I do most things out of the ordinary and still get the same results most of the time. It's just what works in my shop. THIS METHOD WILL NOT WORK FOR THIN EPOXIES! Just works with Devcon 2t in my shop. Good Luck!

What about clear powder paint? You can even purchase the gun to spray it on with. I say this only because you said in your first post that you already powder paint. Seems like it would be the best for your situation on jigs. You can keep them in a toaster oven to keep them warmed and to cure as well. Just a thought........ Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sorry to hear you got damage but glad you are all ok. I just placed my first order with you last night before reading this topic. I'm just getting into painting cranks but also want to learn to brush other stuff as well. I will be purchasing more of your stencils in the future. thanks for letting us know.....I would have really wondered what was up with my order if you hadn't. Now I know not to expect it for awhile which is totally understandable with your situation. Get to my order when you can....no hurry here on my end. Craig

Take a stick and stir the bottom of your jug really good everytime you start for the day. Once you get all the stuff mixed real good with the stick shake the jug really well and then shake again everytime you take plastic out of the jug that day. ALWAYS start the day off by mixing. I have to do the same with MF plastic. But what little of it I have left is over 10 years old so take that with a grain of salt. I have settled on Calhoun's over MF because I like to be able to take a bait out of the bag and not get oil all over my fingers when fishing. Calhoun's doesn't leach oil out over time like some of the other plastisols do. I had a problem with that at first as I was used to oily baits. Now that I know the nature of the beast I have switched exclusively to Calhouns because it works best for me in my shop utilizing my equipment and selling to my customers. It may not work the best for you. Hope this helps and good luck!

I use an x-y table more for ease of use than anything. It is like anything else.....it's only as precise as the user utilizing it. For most bait making work it will not be necessary IMHO. But, they do have their place in a machine shop/tool room, etc. As for the tilting table, I've never used one. I've always just cut pieces of wood at the angle I need to put in my drill vise as a backer to hold what I'm drilling at the correct angle. I've always wanted a tilting vise, just never owned one and make do with what I have. I'm sure some of the guys with more machining experience will chime in shortly. Good Luck!

Might want to look before you post....I actually did respond to your post and would have sooner but I was off the internet making a living.

Clint, yes I meant exactly what I said. I could say alot about what you have said and accused me of without even knowing who I am or what I stand for or even do for a living. But, I won't. Suffice to say if you really knew me you would not be saying any of the things you have accused me of being or standing for. To the rest of you who have answered this post in my defense, Thank You. People like you are the only reason I still read this forum and occasionally post. Ya'll have a good day.

The real question I have about the A rig is not rather the pros should be allowed to use it, but should anyone be able to use it? In My opinion this new rig is going to have serious reprecussions when it comes to the big brood fish in every lake it's fished in. Does it work? Absolutely, but at what cost? If this things fished by the average angler starts leveling the playing field to where anyone can consistantly catch bigger fish and more fish, what kind of impact will it have on the brood fish? I'm not talking about the huge lunkers in the pond, but the brood fish.....those between 12"- 15" which is what I've always read and heard is the prime breeding size for female lgbass. If you start taking out more fish you will have less fish overall for everyone. I have real concerns that this may actually harm any lake, stream, or pond it's fished in for this very reason. More fishing pressure = less fish. I'm afraid this is what will happen over the long haul with the a-rig. Just my opinion but I think it's something we all should be thinking about.....

you shouldn't have been the cause......the lead was hotter than what you are getting it when you cast the jig head to begin with. If it would've taken the temper out it would have been then. You shouldn't be getting it hot enough to take out the temper just to powder coat. I'm guessing you have a soft hook to begin with......