Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 02/29/2024 in Posts

  1. Temp & speeds are pretty crucial when shooting plastics. Heat it to 350 & shoot quick. Like said above heat the injector if it's cold. I mix in colorant & flake most times before heating unless i'm making a totally new color that i haven't figured out the mixture yet. This way i prepare the mix, heat to 350 & inject like a well-oiled machine more or less & seldom have any problems at all. The more you do it the more you'll get your system worked out & the problems pretty much become a non issue.
    3 points
  2. I picked up a cheap meat grinder from harbor freight. It works really good and I think it was around $30.00.
    3 points
  3. Several good opinions have been given here. Besure to only make one change at a time so you know what “ fixed your problem. I’d probably start with more lip angle..then maybe a bit wider bill. Good old Elmers rubber cement will hold your bills in place for test swims and you can easily remove the bill and try several styles at one time.When you find the bill you want epoxy it in place
    2 points
  4. Using a simi sharp board like I uae for my vise I take the closed tabs with each hand in my fingers and run the tab back and fourth a hald dozen time to free up the matted material.
    2 points
  5. I have been using a cheap pair of gate cutters from Barlow’s. I’ve cut several thousand sprus off and only sharpened them a few times.
    2 points
  6. This is the chart I use as a reference guide when someone asks for a "crayfish" colored bait. Allen
    2 points
  7. Looks like if you extend the loop out the right side insead of the left and y ou should be golden. Arne.
    2 points
  8. The way you help people is why I buy most of my products from you. Thank you for what you do.
    2 points
  9. Never use your good sprue cutter for anything but cutting lead. Just touching them on a hook shank will dull them. I used to wrap the shank on a mold that flashed a bit on the shank. About three times around the shank and one was dull. all that said, I like the Xuron flush cutters. I’ll copy and paste a pair but they have a bunch available. Really high quality tools. https://xuron.com/index.php/main/consumer_products/3/84
    2 points
  10. Then take your marbles and go play somewhere else if all you're going to do is complain about them. I'm not 100% up to date with this stuff. Fat Guys would be a solid place to get it though. I believe Jeff stopped because of that and they jacked his pricing up on him. I do know that anything Calhoun is the previous formula they've had for years. when they tweaked it everyone complained, including the production customers.
    2 points
  11. When I used to make jointed swimbaits, I found that the key to keeping them stable at higher retrieve speeds was to make the body taper from top to bottom, creating a V cross section. In my case, my swimbaits tapered from 7/8" at the top/back to 5/8" at the bottom/belly. This kept more buoyancy higher in the lure body, so I could put less ballast into the belly and still get the stable retrieve at higher speeds. I actually started the taper about a third of the way down from the shoulders of the bait, as you can see in this picture" It doesn't look like much, but it worked, so I could burn my swimbaits without them rolling.
    2 points
  12. This is what I think of when I think crawfish.....
    2 points
  13. One of the old school hollow swimbait techniques (kinda like a BassTrix) was to use a butter knife with the light serrations ground off and the edge rounded over. If they wanted a conventional looking tail they just cut it that way. If they wanted a paddle tail they would split a Colorado blade part way and solder or braze it to the knife. One of the parts suppliers even started selling dipping blades with the tail blade already attached.
    2 points
  14. I have no Idea - But it sounds like the rod u dip with would need a wide spot in the belly area. If that makes sense?
    2 points
  15. You may want to heat your injector as your plastic heats. I stick mine on a hot plate.
    2 points
  16. Agree above, Sounds like things are getting cooled off to soon. Not the product at all.
    2 points
  17. Ok, package came on lunch while I was at work today. I shot home quick, mixed the plastisol up good, poured a cup and popped in in the microwave for 3:40 total. I can say it's not not degassed, lots of bubbles. Not a big deal as the Calhouns/FGF flavor is much the same for me (it smells like Calhouns to me too). My degasser is down so I had to let it sit in the micro for a few minutes. most of the bubbles rose and popped. I also got 3 of their colorants (GP, Watermelon, Junebug). I chose Junebug, dropped 40 in the cup and it was thin, like.....MF thin. 90 drops to a cup got me the semi transparent Junebug I like for the Northeast. It has a little more purple than blue, which I like. The Em Grn flake picked up nicely. I cant say I WOULDNT buy it again....just wouldnt be my first choice of plastisol. I'll shoot the GP and Watermelon this week and post up those pics. Sorry for the blurry one.....phone wouldnt focus. My prefered plastisols in order are still: 1. Bait Plastics Low Odor 2. Calhouns/FGF 3. Dead On 4. Ozark Tackle 5. Do-It I havent tried MF, Lureworks, Barlows, or Lurecraft yet.
    2 points
  18. Just a guess but it looks like the white powder was sprinkled in the mold cavity then the base color was shot.
    2 points
  19. I have never used this for lure making but figured I would post because someone may find use for it.
    1 point
  20. Jigmeister, Thank you for your help!..I’m a little nervous about searching “VIBRATING THROBBER”..Lol..Nathan
    1 point
  21. Here is a picture of their Camo in a different bait. Definitely a laminate. Like I had said, putting your hands on them will give you a much better idea of the colour and will make matching it far easier.
    1 point
  22. Your biggest problem (and the problem most are going to have working with that old cookbook) is the recipes are so old the pigments used in them are no longer available or have changed. That Berkley Camo colour was cooked up by Del @ DelMart 21 years ago using the pigments that haven't been available for a long time. Would probably be best to grab a pack and see if you can match a sample you have in hand using pigments that are readily available.
    1 point
  23. Pledge is basically clear acrylic paint with unneeded additives. There are clear acrylics on Amazon and other sites. You can also get clear acrylic in spray cans. Check out this video for spray cans.
    1 point
  24. Thanks for the reply..I’d say” Great Minds Think Alike” ..But my mind is far from great.lol..I came up zero on the search too..Nathan
    1 point
  25. Lure Parts Online is showing MF Supersoft. and Sinking Soft on their site. Their price is a bit more expensive than buying direct from MF.
    1 point
  26. That’s a great technique. Thanks for sharing. I have lots of skirts stuck like that. PITB.
    1 point
  27. That’s approximately 21oz per gal. Which seems like an awful lot. Keep in mind that’s is what I use for heavily salted plastic
    1 point
  28. I doubt if this will help as I’m a small potatoes bait maker . But when I’m making baits that I want super so Senkos in particular, I use 1oz softener to approximately 6 oz of salted plastic. This makes the baits super floppy and super soft. And I preftmy stickbaits and wacky worms super soft. Again not much help, but maybe with a whole lot of math it’s a starting point.
    1 point
  29. I just clean the mold with acetone then apply the high temp silicone where I want it. I smooth it out with a sharp straight edge and clean up any excess with a QTip set it aside for 24 hours then use it.
    1 point
  30. This. ^. I've been suing the same two pairs of sprue cutters from barlows not only for lead, but for my tin bismuth as well. I'm probably going on 20 years. Everything from 1/8oz up to 20oz. Although at times the bending back and forth with a pliers works pretty well too. When trimming lead with the Barlows cutters, the sprues just fall. When cutting tin, those suckers go flying! Usually one or two quick passes with a file, or a high grit sand paper should do the job. I pass the head over the sandpaper, or just pass an aggressive file over the jig or weight or whatever. One or two passes should not create dust. I think if you go nuts sanding and filing , then, yeah. You'll create dust.
    1 point
  31. I decided to use some high temp silicone to block the hook channel. It worked great.
    1 point
  32. I was just getting ready to test a new custom mold for a customer. While I was doing so I looked through all my sample bottles from Bait Plastics. (I bought two of their sampler pack) There does not appear to be a super soft formula or a sinking formula, so if I were to pick them for my Club-Os for this season I would certainly have up my salt content and add softner. Hopefully my order from MF arrives soon, so I can test their soft sinking in the Easy Stretch formula.
    1 point
  33. Not yet. I'm experimenting. I always made my Club-Os with MF Soft Sinking 4:1 salt ratio. Sink rate was perfect, and only very slightly stiffer than Senkos(tm). My goal was the easiest possible formula work to fish ratio. I've got big fish checks, place and win money, and a few hundred+ fish days with them, so I figured it was good enough. Now it seems to be gone except for a gallon or two in my big jug, and I am looking for a new easy formula. When I make Club-Os I make a lot, so I don't run out to quickly. I did order some softner, but I hope to find a mix that is "good enough" without it like my old mix is.
    1 point
  34. I made some “craw” colored neds last summer using root beer dye with black and red flake. Thought it turned out pretty good. Add a little red highlight powder for grins and it made it look more like that very orange craw color with some shimmer to it. The highlight baits are on the right in this pic.
    1 point
  35. I use my Do-It Arky weedless jig mold to pour 1/2oz vibrating jig heads, using Mustad 5/0 60 degree jig hooks, but I found the hook eyes would crack when I tried to open them to insert the chatter blade. So I tried heating my hook eyes red hot with my torch, and that made them soft enough to open by driving an awl into them until I got enough gap to put the chatter blade on. That worked, but the hook eye felt soft and ovaled when I pinched it shut with the blade in place. So I took a batch of the opened eye hooks and put them into my toaster oven for a hour at 350 degrees, the same temp I use to bake my powder coat, to retemper them. When I pinched them closed this time I felt much more resistance, but none broke, so this is another step in my vibrating jig making process. Success!
    1 point
  36. They're buying it directly from Calhoun so I would assume it is theirs. The "OG Blend" part is is referring to a tweak they (Calhoun) made to the compound that resulted in an undesirable outcome, so they reverted back to the original formula.
    1 point
  37. I would say so. Most glides that roll for me it’s either that or the ratio of buoyancy vs weight. What I mean by that is if your resin bait is too heavy and you have to put less weight to get it to be slow sink, there may not be enough weight to actually stabilize it. I hope that makes sense. The tail can also be a factor. Too long, too stiff or too short. I just made a mini mullet glide, it worked perfectly until paint and clear and now its action is different. Still trying to get it tuned.
    1 point
  38. Thanks for the ideas. I will give them a try. Best, Jeff
    1 point
  39. I’ve switched to it for most of my Ned fishing, which is a lot from October to May. A tid bit… While fishing a stretch in Piney Creek on Table Rock Lake I lost 15 Ned rigs as I don’t go into a fishy area to get a bait back. After I bought that mold I fished the same water with the new head and only lost 2. That sold me. I also furnish heads for my neighbor since he springs for the gasoline. (Those lost heads had a sevelon weedguard.) Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ll check the mold and lower the temp, though I can’t go down much and keep a good flow.
    1 point
  40. Jig Man, I pour mostly hard lead in that mold in hopes of getting the keeper from loosening up and it doesn't help but I don't have lead going up the hook shank. Also I don't use Victory hooks. Couple things could make this happen. #1 The Victory hooks are thinner than the shank cavity in your mold leaving a gap and the hot lead is seeping through. If you have always used Victory hooks, maybe a new batch and the hooks are thinner or maybe a couple of hooks are thinner in the current batch? Just guessing here. #2 You have some lead or foreign substance on one of your mold halves that is gapping your mold causing lead to seep through. On the latter, take a single edge razor blade and lightly run the blade across both mold halves. This might dislodge any foreign substance that you may not readily see. Once done check your pour. On the first one, if you have a different brand hook check to see if you have the same problem. Post your results when you find your solution.
    1 point
  41. A local TV station shot a video of me tinkering with my year 'round hobby of lure and tackle making. Thanks Tackleunderground.com forum members and contributors for your guidance. I've included a link. https://www.kcrg.com/2023/02/24/cedar-rapids-Tuna-improve-his-lures/
    1 point
  42. Thanks for all the n input.
    1 point
  43. 1 point
  44. Never had this issue. I have gone down as low as 320 grit. But it takes a lot more glass to achieve the desired results. As far as the medium, I've only used virgin glass beads. Some baits I've used half salt and half glass. Those were mostly senkos. Now I hardly use anything. I like being able to see the glitter in the baits. And colors are better too. I only weigh some senkos, and a wacky worm bait. I typically fish my wacky worm weightless, unless the water is over10'. Then I'll use a weighted wacky hook. My 5" wacky worms weigh almost as much as my weighted senkos. I've even been toying with the idea of using tungsten powder.
    1 point
  45. Clouse Outdoors on Ebay. He makes them.
    1 point
  46. They work great on most crimp sleeves. I'm using a smaller size sleeve than these crimpers will crimp on a .027 wire. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335247930002
    1 point
  47. Like Mark, I seal my wood wake and top water baits with slow cure epoxy like penetrating epoxy of Devcon (D2T). After I have done my shaping and have epoxied the hook hangars and the lip in place. Then I can use needle nose vise grips to hold the bait while I work on it. I think it helps to heat the wood bait with my heat gun before I apply the slow cure epoxy. That helps it pull the epoxy in as the wood cools. You can't really get the sides of the wood grain to absorb epoxy but end grain will. This makes the end and tapered sections harder and on my 2 piece baits I get a really great wood knock like that. Of course you will end up adding or moving weights as needed and you have to be diligent about sealing each hole. Be advised that warmed wood will make the epoxy more fumey, use an extraction fan or I use a fan blowing across my bench to keep the fumes away.
    1 point
  48. Great video. Proably going to have folks bothering you wanting their lures changed. Good job. Arne.
    1 point
  49. Bryan, I have not seen the 5/64 (.078) pins in teflon, reason being is they are not a std size. However like anything else it can be custom made which would be cost prohibitive. So what I do is this. You can either buy .078 stn stl rod and cut it into 1" pieces, and use that or you can buy severl 5/64 drill bits ( that's what I use), and stick the non flured end into the mold up against the hook. This works for me. There are many other things you can use as well, howeve you want the 5/64 diameter, and I know they make drill bits that size, so it's an easy find.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...
Top