Art Brush

Hi Gary, Coley's tutorial on how to cut and shape lexan diving bills can be found here: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=9 One extra step I do when using this method is to sand the sharp edge off the lexan before installing. This helps avoid the line getting cut by the diving bill while fighting big ones. Shawn

For quick reference the Paasche company marks their needles at the back with rings. The number of rings is the needle size. They must be used with their matching tips. Shawn

Jerry has removed all side bar links of banner exchanges to speed up the site. Ranking gifs and banners that are hosted on slow servers will slow your site down. They do help in search engine ranks however a banner hosted on a slow server slows everyone it's linked to. DHTML menus are the last item to pop on a page so if you go to a website that has a menu that wont show up, push the stop button in your browser. It should show immediatley. Shawn

Dan, blanks should be cleaned before painting regardless of release agent or casting medium. This is to promote good coat adhesion. Wipe them down with a cloth dampened with alcohol. Putty the spru and vent holes then lightly sand the lure before basecoating them. Tight Lines, Shawn

I think Takahiro will take all top five postitions on a single senko. It might look like a crankbait... but it's a senko.

Vy you're absolutley right about temperature affecting the foam. The warmer the room the more the foam will expand. More expansion causes larger undesired foam bubbles. Dan, looking at the bubble photo and comparing it to the mold it looks as if those bubbles are getting trapped at the highest point in the mold. A small vent placed between the first and second keys to the right of the sprue could allow them to escape. If you decide to vent there you'll probably only need to do it to one side of the mold. Just enough to allow the bubbles to escape. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/download.php?id=1995 Yes the lures should perform well in wood or plastic first. Foam will replicate cedar or balsa action without any problems. You should be confident in your lures performance before even planning a mold. Your lure shouldn't be a problem as long as your diving bills and ballasts are consistant. You'll want to get them into a pool soon to get an idea of what they are doing before you start casting a bunch. You can float test in your tub to check your weighting. Are they sitting well in the water? If the back barely breaks the surface of the water the lure will be a slow riser. Should be a suspender in colder waters. Float testing will help you guage the first few test casts. When it looks good in float tests then cast a few for when the ice is thawed. Shawn

Dan, You've got to be drunk with power right about now LOL :grin: It's a great feelin that first batch of lures . Did you make a box support for clamping the mold? Was there any "flash" on the seamline? Shawn

DSaavedra, Balsa is easy to cut with a sharp knife. Use a utility knife to get the balsa close to form, then use sand paper to finish shaping the lure. Check Hobbytown for balsa prices. http://www.hobbytown.com/ There could be a better source but you might find it locally thru hobbytown. Shawn

Dan, Glad the tutorial came in handy That's cool using shelf mounts. Let us know how your first casts come out and show off them lures! Shawn

It's not required. It's up to you if you want to do thruwire or inserts. Alot of guys do inserts or screws without any problems. Shawn

JMC, The schematic is set up for line tie inserts instead of thruwire. The colored lines are listed below. The weighting will change depending on what size you make the lure http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/download.php?id=450 http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/download.php?id=451 Blackjack Terrythebassmans tutorial on making line tie inserts: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=44 Coley's tutorial on casting weights: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=8 Coley's belly weight insert tutorial: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=7 Coley's lexan lip tutorial: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/kb.php?mode=article&k=9 That should get you started in the right direction. The search button will help tremendously. If there's any q's you can't find answer to just ask. I'm sure someone will chime in to help. Shawn

Welcome abord JMC, Blackjack the guy who makes Little Peteys put up a schematic to Gary Dee's flatsided D-Bait you can checkit out here.. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1803 Tight Lines, Shawn

Excellent work Dennis! Welcome to Tackleunderground I'd like to see more pics of your lures and molds. Tight Lines, Shawn

Savacs, Here's a few links to some older featherlite research vids. Foam will release the same way. http://www.artbrushlabs.com/lures/files/featherlite/demold.htm http://www.artbrushlabs.com/lures/files/featherlite/finshed_cast.htm Shawn

Vy, It's wax made for models. Jewelers use it to sculpt fine detail without it breaking. It can be tooled easily and repaired with a pen torch. I've got a couple plates of the purple I'm saving for a tutorial. http://www.dumatt.com/Waxes%20folder/Wx.pg4.Bar.html Here's a link showing wax in a large sculpture for casting bronze http://www.bergbronze.com/gallery/dragon.htm As molds... if the wax lasts for a few hundred blanks and are easy to cast as molds it might be worth looking into. When they are cooled they are ready to use. I'd suggest the keysets in the russian polyester/concrete mold tutorial. I don't have the link to that forum anymore ... Vy you got that link handy? Shawn

Outstanding seamline Vy. The foam cells look like they are fully closed. Corn starch has many uses. It's starch extracted from corn. It has the consistency of baking flour but is sticky. It's used in push molds as a release agent as it sticks well to a smooth surface but releases to the castings. It could aid the foam to form a good skin and release better from the aluminum. You might want to try it in your poly molds. http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=275 Dan, That's a great mold. I noticed you left out harness mounts. Is that to use screws instead of a thru wire? If so what size screws you using? Sweet lookin bait. Post pics when you get a few cast. Shawn

Savacs, That's something that could work. Foam does heat up do to catalyst reactions however it doesn't really get hot. CNC machine wax or jewelers wax could work as they are harder than parafins. Perhaps wood planks between the clamps and the wax to avoid breaking the mold. Shawn

Ichthy, You're gonna have that problem with any porous float you try. The micro balloons might work. As I'm sure you know micro balloons are small glass spheres that contain air. For a medium to cast them with you could try smoothcast 300. It's one of the lightest resins I've found. You can tie a rattle to the harness and encapsulate it in the float before casting the plastisol Shawn

They look pretty good something you might want to consider is sanding the sharp edge off the diving bills to avoid cutting the line during battle. Shawn

LOL Husky I'm shakin it boss! I'm shakin it! Workin a proto and preppin mold boxes here. I'm getting the idea that salmo could possibly be using aluminum molds that are bolted shut on hydruallic presses and using corn starch as a release agent. The presses would pull evenly while demolding and cornstarch protects the aluminum. I've got RTV to pour and will try the support shells on this batch of molds. I've also got "pharmacutical grade corn starch" to try in the molds. It's very fine and sticks to smooth surfaces. Currently setting up a table with enough molds and harnesses to pour a full kit of featherlite ina day and will compare both in a side by side RTV mold test. Kahawai They are 16 gauge brass wire harnesses. I use a nail jig to tie them. Would I trust an eyescrew in foam? Yes and no... for bass and pike lures yes. The foam is made up of chemicals similar to epoxy glue and will bond well with the screw. For larger game fish like stripers and musky the screw alone might not be enough. A makeshift flat washer on the screw could work as a strong anchor that should be tuff enough. Shawn

Hey Peter, I replyed to your foam question here to keep on topic. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=7010

Hey guys, foam will cast and release from RTV no problem. Do not use any petrolium products as release agents with RTV it will deteriorate your molds quickly. The 3 lures in the pic are from RTV molds. The pink one is a 5lb foam test for details. Came out great. http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/download.php?id=1779 5lb is too weak. I've tried 15lb foam-it since. The 15lb also picks up the details and releases just fine however it has a stronger expansion and will push more on the mold walls. RTV is very supple and will distort if clamped too tightly. I'd recommend a mold support that you can clamp tight that wont distort the mold. Make the side supports a little shorter than the mold so it will seal the mold tightly. Also use an RTV with a high shore hardness. I've used moldmax 30 and still get some seamline flash. I think MM40 with the wood support shell will work better though I've not tried it yet. The support shell will help clamp the mold evenly and keep the blank in form without distortion. Tight Lines, Shawn

Hey guys, I use bic pen tubes that you can pick up 10 pens in a pack for $1.00 at any xmart. I get about 5 rattles per pen. Cut the pen tube apprx 1/2 inch larger then the finished rattle. Heat the end of the tube untill it softens then smash the end on a hard formica surface. A counter top is fine or a ceramic plate. When you push the pen down to seal the end push straight down and pull it gently in 1 direction. This will help the plastic roll over the opening. Drop a bb in then seal the other end. The holes might not fully close when you smash the ends. That's ok. Put a piece of cellophane tape over the opening. Install the rattles and smooth it over with wood putty. If you are planning to use the rattles in foam or featherlite molds seal the opening with hot glue. Using cellophane tape to finish any small openings wont work with the resins and they will find their way into the rattle during expansion. Kahawai: Sounds like a counter ballance in the tail would work. The next lure you try it on do everything the same as you did the first lure and just leave room in the tail for a stationary weight. Try using a weight that equals the ammount you are using in bearings. In theory it should work but not as the extra push you are looking for. It will work for enhanced casting but will actually impede your glide. For eg: take 2 eggs 1 hardboiled and one raw. With both eggs in the shell spin them on a counter top. The boiled one spins where as the raw eggs will drag and loose momentum immediately. It's gotta be solid to ride the glide. Tight Lines, Shawn

Hey Barramundi, Congratulations on the outdoor channel story. Did they give you a date when the show will air? Got a couple of ?'s for ya... What shore hardness of RTV silicone are you using? Do you get seamline flash? Also the density of foam your using? Shawn

Hi Dman, Most guys here use metal foil on their lures for silver / chrome look. Try Duct Tape brand metal repair tape available in home repair. Aluminum foil & candy foils also work. Once you've got the foil on clear coat it with epoxy then airbrush the lure. Seal the paint job with a second coat of epoxy. Tight Lines, Shawn