Art Brush

I recently ran out of hvac foil tape that my Dad in MI sent me. I went to get more and found that what they have on the shelves here is not the same tape. Same company but a different product. It has a flat brushed aluminum look and is noway near as glossy as the foil I had been using. Absolutley unpolishable. I emailed the company and this is the response I got within 1 day... Tammy kicks butt. So for the record... The product ID is the last 5 digits of the bar code number. Brushed aluminum tape: 03203 Faux chrome shiney tape: 03202 Tight lines, Shawn

lol LaPala, You got the sickness, crankbait fever!

Hey Champb, Welcome to TU. Browse and use the search feature often, you will find alot of great lure research in the archives. Forum members here are friendly and can usually help you with any problem. Yes decals will adhere to spinners, spoons, flat jig... gianormous halibut jigs. They need to be sealed with a topcoat to keep them from coming off. Dick Nite might have a topcoat product just for spoons. You might need to lightly sand the paint to get a good epoxy bond. Post pictures if you decide to give it a try. Tight lines, Shawn

The Vytautas Epoxy Mold http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3200 Blackjack's Dee Bait Plans http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1803 There's a few more gotta find.. LaPala, those are good preambles to tutorials. I am planning tuts for decaling, foiling, and Luminous powder. The glo powder images in the link you have up are one way of applying the powders. I'm looking into using a lighter, faster drying adhesive that is compatable with epoxy. When I have a few more steps simplified I'll put the tutorials up . Tight lines, Shawn

Congratulations Jerry May you and your family be blessed with love and joy thoughout the years. Also Congrats to Islandbass and his wife . It's nice to see the tackle comunity growing Shawn

Corey, That is good info and should be in the KB. Thanks Glaucus! Shawn

Brian, I've seen rogues and bombers modified the way you mentioned by trimming the diving bill back. Start by taking about 1/4th off the overall length of the diving bill. depending at what speeds your trolling will determin how much more you want to take off the lip. A rogue with the lip noth cut to the halfway will troll at about 10-12 inches at high speeds. Great for bill fish. Shawn

easy with the innuendos.

Skeeter also posted some good info about the lip shapes I found here: http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=747 Tight lines, Shawn

Very nice lures Terry I've got to try createx!

Hey John, I'm expecting a tutorial to come in soon on rattles. You can drill a hole thru a wood bait, trim a jig rattle and wood putty it into the hole. You can also cut wood plugs to press into the holes and tap them flush with a few bb's inside. Tight lines, Shawn

Awesome information guys. The shop I worked in would make a disk mold similar to the one in Dleary's pic. Not the same application though. I bring this up for guys who don't have cnc mills. For hubcaps a company would send a blue print of 1/5th of a hubcap. A clay model was made from the blueprint. A mold was then made from the 1/5th model. The mold then produced 5 identical parts that were assembled into a disk. The hubcap models were wet sanded then sent to a shop for chrome plating and brush metal accents. This also is how the alignment for the center placement of the chrystler star is achieved. So in applying that knowledge to lure making a disk mold can be fashioned the same way. I've considered building one small enough to fit in a 5 gallon pail with a motor mounted in the bottom with a speed controll knob. Taking all precautions and being built for slower rpm castings for soft plastic lures and squirley tails. Also crystal clear diving bills to fit premoulded lip notches. NOT LEAD lol. Rich I will definatley get in touch when I get a few things caught up. Dleary please post your results if you order the Quick-sil and how well it performs. Tight lines, Shawn

Way to go Marc it is an awesome feeling! Ya got the tacklebug now lol. Great job on the jake buddy. I gotta get Llunge's video Tight lines, Shawn

Thanks for the kind words guys Great post Rich. Do you have any links to the products you mentioned? Any photos you can post of what the molds look like is also helpful. I've only done a few test casts with the smooth-sil 940 and there are a few things to note. The rubber contracts when it's filled with hot lead. I think the 900 deg stuff might work better. The plastic backing is necesary as it makes the mold clampable and also keeps the mold block in form. Do you guys know if the aluminum casing is a standard thickness to fit in all rotocast machines? Tight lines, Shawn

Hi Tebo, I'm thinking the air in the wood is expanding when the hot plastic coats causing bubbles to form. Try sealing the wood base with epoxy. That should keep the wood air tight and stop the bubble from forming. Post pics of your creations buddy... sounds interesting Tight lines, Shawn

For smaller scale netting you can also get a dip net from the pet area in walmart for $1.00. Looks sharp on smaller crankbaits Walmart also sold a brand of acrylic paint called "Liquitex" if you can find it anywhere it's great for metallics. Tight lines, Shawn

Hi Robbor, welcome to the forums Smooth-on makes a product called "Smooth-Sil" I've used the 940 with good results. Smooth-on claims the product is good for "low melt alloys, such as tin and pewter". http://www.smooth-on.com/silicones.asp#ssil Another company called Miniture molds has a product called Quick-Sil. They calim "It will last for 1,000's of uses and can with stand metal temperatures up to 900?F without being damaged". http://www.miniaturemolds.com/mainframe.htm The photos show a mold I built with the Smooth-sil 940 with plastic backings. You could just as easily use 2 pieces of wood and clamp the mold shut in a vice. Tight lines, Shawn

Hey guys, If you haven't found these links yet you might want to give them a try. Blackjack's Dee Bait plans http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1803&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Hoosierdaddy's Pulse Minnow plans http://home.mchsi.com/~djaroscak/buildinglure.html#indexpage tight lines, Shawn

Jed and crew, Count me in as well. I think auctioning the tackle will be more helpful. We can have a better impact on one childs life or many. We can build a wheel chair accessable dock at a state park and have a sign near the dock with a brass plate that says: This dock was errected on "date" to bring more fishermen to the waters by Tackleunderground. Then list the names of the members that participated in the fundraiser. Here's a link to a manufacturer that builds wheelchair accessable docks. http://www.ezdocktexas.com/camps.html Jed you also mentioned "wheels and reels?" I'd like to hear more about that group. Markell A trick I learned about marketing is how to get into publications for free. We need to do a press release write up and mail it out to every publication and news source that would be interested in free content. Including public radio and local news rooms. Editors are always looking for content to fill out their monthly publications. It has to be news worthy, informative and have a return contact to the TU. Perhaps there are a few TU staff writers that can collaborate a news write up. We could do this every month and save up to get a dock or make a larger cash contribution to an individual or a family. Who knows how much the first auction will yeild. For a schedule I propose we set a deadline for all tackle to be in by Oct 31st and release the info to the medias by Nov 1st. Announce the auction to be closed on Nov 31st and have the cash ready by Dec 1st. Just in time for the holidays. The cash can then be used for whatever is decided by TU members. Tight lines, Shawn

Hey JP, You can also polish the area that you sand with Novus plastic polish instead of more epoxy. http://www.noscratch.com/novus/ Send a s.a.s.e to get a free sample here: http://www.oldphones.com/novusfreesample.html Tight lines, Shawn

Nice mold Todd Did you design the swim bait as well?

Bring it home Chirmy! You can do it

the-bass-catcher That's a cool tip buddy. Have you thought about making a stencil to match the photo? Great work on those rat-l-traps. Tight lines, Shawn

Welcome aboard JP, sounds like you'll fit right in here. Post photos of your work. We'd like to see your lures Tight lines, Shawn

Hey Cfl, Sorry to hear about your house buddy. Glad you're ok That no wake zone is much appreciated. Our streets flooded last week from the rains and any traffic throws the water into my nieghbors homes. It stinks wading thru the water with hordes of fire ants floating like cheese mat. I've got sand bags ready for when Ivan arrives. Have they repaired your roof yet? Stay safe and Tight lines, Shawn