Celticav

CountryKat, Just use a white self-etching primer before painting. Is there some reason why you must use the vinyl paint? I have never been satisfied with vinyl myself, but am in no way an expert on paints. I use acrylics mostly or enamels, laquer works great too. I would recommend spraying the paint and not dipping a spinner/buzz bait, way too much clean up involved with dipping. With careful spraying you shouldn't have excessive overspray to clean off your bait.

Hart makes a good bait, I have never tried that one though I have tried the blades. They do work very well BUT; In my opinion they do not ride the surface as well as regular CB blades do and work much better when a lighter wire is used than that is normally used on most buzzers.

Ahh the summer, I think now is the time to buy on Ebay, Winter is the time to sell... especially when Christmas and the new year are over and the days first start getting a little longer and barely warmer, thats when the yankee's start thinking about the ice melting on their lakes and the rednecks here are already out on the water... JIM

You came to the right place to ask that question!! You are probably doing fine, don't be too critical on yourself. You are just getting started and if you like making them then you will only get better and better with every bait you make. The key is to be patient with yourself, recognize your strengths as well as the areas you need to work on. These are the fun days, right now every time you make a bait you will see or think of something else to try the next time.... and that list will probably double when you fish that bait it for the first time too, If you are enjoying working with them, then it will only be a matter of time before you get it all down to a fine science. If you are serious about making cranks and other wooden plugs, I would highly recommend building or buying a Duplik8r(See Red G8R) or mini lathe or dremel tool, drying rack, etc and whatever else you need to produce them safely and correctly, the right equiptment can make the biggest difference in the beginning. Alot of the guys that I know who make their own cranks started by copying a design that they liked and/or already used and went from there to building their own designs, if that helps. Just remember to have fun and let this be the Learning Stage, that is what the begining is about after all. Your crank may look junky to you now, but try to image what you will produce when you do work the kinks out and trust me... you eventually will. If its like most of my hobbies then the Learning Stages are often the most rewarding to me personally, I still don't get near the satisfaction outta making the same old thing as engineering and then getting my engineering to work right on a totally new kind of bait, and there was a first time for "the same old thing", LOL. I can't wait to see what you make when you are ready to post some pics of it, but be sure to have good time making it, JIM

Thanks all for the replies everyone, I should have been a little more discriptive in my original post. What I did was put a drop of cement on my knot and when that was dry I painted over the thread wraps with enamel then coated with devcon. It was very tedious, I had to spin that thing for what seemed like forever to get the epoxy to lay down. Of the three I did this too, one has already chipped (riprap rocks on a long cast do that) and looks like crapola, just wondering if all my effort was worth it. I live in GA and flyfishing is an alien practice here, I have to drive over an hour to get to any store that has tying supplies (BPS in Atlanta) so was just trying to explore my options. I love what alot of you guys do with your baits, what I tie is subpar in comparison, Thanks again for the responses, I think I will just keep going like I have been. Deadly Streamer: Have you tried the Soft Bait Glue yet? I like it, really soaks in to the nylon thread. JIM

Nice! Love the graphics.

How does this look over time?

Nice pics in the gallery, looks like you got the balsa baits figured out, JIM

I haven't tried that yet, You know vinegar will set most dyes, JIM

all I can say is that you have done it again Sebass, great job, JIM

Good looking stuff, I like UL fishing too, welcome aboard and I look forward to reading your posts, JIM

Gotcha, I will be keeping an eye on your auctions, thanks

Anyone know a supplier of hidden weight spinnerbait heads, I have seen these in Stamina's catalog and think their prices are a little steep

Thanks Larry

Hey Gr8flyz what is your eBay handle? I'll add you to my favorite sellers.

What can you use to fix a Do-it mold that you "over-engineer"? Say if I took out too much when altering the hook cavity or just wanted to use a smaller hook with? Thanks, JIM

I honestly don't know, I have always heard that JB weld would work for a patch, I have never had to fix one of mine, but I go painstakingly slow.

You can use almost any bit to do it, unless it is too big. Like Gr8 said just remove a little at a time. If you mess up you can always use JB Weld to patch it with. :oops:

Intresting bait Coley, can't wait to see the finished product, let us know, JIM

I would call it a hybrid, good job on it too.

LOL, thats funny Gr8flyz, I have used a cast iron cornbread muffin pan before . Y'know the kind that looks like little ears of corn! I think I have done some business with you in the past, some Premium UL spinnerbait heads with black nickle hooks last year. I am still impressed by your quality and its great to have you here. I will be placing another order soon. You guys should check out his site, I highly recommend his products. JIM

For personal use a five gallon bucket for $25 should be fine, but do not stop looking for the better deal ever! I don't know how much the bucket will weigh but you will not be able to pick it up! LOL. I melt mine in a 4lb HotPot I bought for $35, but have used the plain cast iron pot on the fish fryer alot too. Avoid batteries if possible, the safety concerns and all just outweigh any benefits to getting into those things. There are several ways to make lead harder, adding tin is one way, so the wheel weights are the best and cheapest way to go that I have found. You will be surprised when you melt them how easy it is to remove the slag from the top. Definintly get your own ingot mold, ingots are much nicer to have around than a bunch of wheel weights and make pour time much easier to deal with. Do it molds are great stuff, easy to master and very affordable. They are also easy to modify and personalize. Hope it helps, JIM

Wheel weights are fine, when I pour its what I use. I put them in the pot as they are, dirt, clips, and all. Everything but the lead will come to the top when you melt them and is not hard to clean up. When you get your melting pot, go ahead and grab an ingot mold. I use the one that has 2 one lb slots and 2 two lb slots. Remember safety above all else and have fun, JIM

I read that Joe Thomas is using Lucky Craft rods... anyone got the scoop on these?

Could the "sand in the senko" rumor just be people who don't study this stuff like we do but have seen the salt and thought it was sand? I use handpoured senkos made by SouthStatesFishin and don't really see a difference in his and Yamamoto's, except that I like South's colors better