BigZ

Robbor, use the TUsearch tab at the top of the page, a bunch of guys have discussed this topic already. For the meantime, here is a link to a thread that has a link to a page with a link to a photo (LOL). http://www.tackleunderground.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1911&highlight=tube+cutter I looked at quite a few of the search results and this thread seemed the most significant. Most of the tube cutters look like they are either paint roller handles with a bunch of Olfa rotary blades or Fiskars blades mounted on the "spindle" and spaced with washers or they are made with a can crusher and razor blades...hmmm...where's my old 12GA press at? Good Luck. Z.

Hey Mojo , what kind of yellow were you using? That is some strange stuff...

Hey, thanks for the replies. I think I was just trippin' on it because the final color looks so different than the liquid colorant. I'll give it a shot with the red flake and with veins and oxblood. I'll make sure and go to one of the "red" lakes to test it tomorrow morning. Kinda stragne how two lakes can be a mile away from each other and the fish hit totally different baits. One lake is red colored baits, the other is greens. GO FISH!

Man, this is the wierdest color I have ever used. Do any of you fellas have any experience with it or good recipes? It looks like that foul morning dawn pink crap to me. I made a ton of senkos with it, maybe it will work, but I am not happy with the results. I was expecting either a red color or a brownish red color, not some light pink stuff. Maybe crawdads look like that in San Francisco?

I use MF mainly because I couldn't duplicate the texture of certain handpours I have used, like Al's Worms baits. MF is super soft and durable, it is just different than Calhouns, it's hard to describe, personal preference I guess? RIght out of the container it makes worms the way I want them, no messing with softener ratios or any of that. Calhouns is fine plastic, the MF is just different. It doesn't take as much mixing either. the hardener doesn't settle out and the plastisol doesn't seperate into two different liquids. You just have to shake it a little. Pour spout on the 5er is handy as hell too. I won't make senkos with anything but calhouns, it is ideal for the bulkier baits and suspends the salt better it seems. Just my opinion.

Did this thread croak? I wanted to see what was going on with the new mold material, haven't seen a post from old SR lately either. Gone Fishin'???

OK, maybe I am just a big ham fisted thug (most likely), but I'd rather pour the bigger Slither than the little one. Maybe it's because I don't posess the greatest manual dexterity. The best way to pour this bait is backwards from what I normally do, fill the body first and work toward the tail. Normally it's the other way around, tail to head, but I overpour a lot doing the tails first in the thin part of the mold. Using a lee pot and pouring head to tail my problems went away.

I only caught 3 dinks today, cold front fun. Keep up the good work guys, I am glad the bait is catching fish! I just hope everyone is having fun testing stuff!

I had a fish attack oone of Al's hot melon 7" pro worms on the retrieve right at the boat the other day. I pour watermelon over smoke pepper with a white pearl bottom.

Wishin' I was Fishin'! If the water is really stained, use the Junebug color.

It's bad enough to steal something, but to deliver an empty envelope, that's insult to injury. Why rub salt in the wound? I know you almost always have to cut those envelopes open too, they're the pre-glued kind. Maybe Kidlizard's postman is a closet bass fisherman? I'll handle the pouring chores asap.

The level of incompetence in the postal service makes me sick. Maybe the postal inspectors thought it was dope or something? I'll try and get some stuff poured this week and out to you. Damned Mickey Mouse operation won't get em this time, I'm gonna send them priority mail with insurance and DC.

Fleenor, you may want to try a lee pot or old fashioned pouring pots on a heating element to get more pour time out of your plastic. You will be able to control the working time better with either of these methods. One bad part is that the lee pots are tough to pour heavy salt baits through because the nozzle clogs and you have to monitor the temperature closely. I can pour 16 cavities (senko) without a reheat starting with 6 oz of plastic using the microwave method. As far as glitter curling goes, I think it's just bound to happen whenever reheating is involved.I only really get a problem with glitter curling when it is the big stuff, .060 or bigger. I use glitter from SenkoSam, it is great quality, but if you over heat it, it will curl. I guess it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what's gonna work, but that's what makes this hobby so fun!

I know how it is NOT being able to fish. I get Fridays now pretty much. Good Luck Mojo! Thanks for the vote of confidence Chris. Z

You can buy it directly from the manufacturer at http://www.kicknbass.com/buystuff.htm#Scientific%20Bass Bass Pro and Gander Mountain also sell it. I buy it locally here.

Hey Jack, for the scent I used the foillowing stuff. The quantities aren't really exact, but they're a good starting point. Watch out though, don't get that stuff on you or you'll be smelling like it for a while. Kick'n'Bass Anise and Shad 50% Lurecraft Garlic oil 20% Lurecraft Crawfish oil. 20% Worm Oil 10% I was messing around with different scents and seeing what caught fish, etc... I decided that if they are gonna be attracted to one kind of scent, why not give em a nice cocktail. That stuff has been working pretty good here. I put it on the baits after pouring mainly because Chris (Al's Worms) had a nice story about mixing raw plasitisol with BANG and having it live up to it's name when heated. I already blew up a pyrex once, that's enough pyrotechnics for me!

DJ, you shouldn't have any problems with the plastic formulas. Calhouns works pretty well. I use Calhouns (senkos, big baits) and MF (worms), and the colorant acts the same in each. I started pouring on LC 536, I loved it, but I know better now. The only plastic that I used that sucks is that 3G trash. Foamy Nasty Smoky junk. It ruined one of my lee pots completely, foamed over, burnt and turned into a solid clump of lava rock. I only had the pot on 3, so it must not be able to take the heat. All of the hardener settles out in about 2 days too. SUCKS. MF doesn't settle or anything, you just have to shake it a little, plus it comes in a nice square 5 gallon container and for 3 bucks more you can add a spigot to it. I like that, my mess has cut down about 300% dues to that. MF is about 30% more expensive than Calhoun, but I really only make baits for myself anyway. No need to add anything, super soft from the get go. In my opinion, the original and still the best. I like the Calhoun stuff, but add softener to it so I get the consistency I want from it. I've had no problems with it yet, but I give it second place to MF for pouring worms. It rocks for Senkos though! I guess I have to use both from now on.

I am not aware of which cam software or machines you are running Del, yet as you well know, a lot of "CAD operators" will not adhere to the conventional constraints of a CNC machines capabilities and cause too many entities in a drawing, overlapping tool paths, undercuts (busted cutter every time!), etc. I have a machining background myself, and I still hose a few drawings here and there. The biggest problem with CNC is the fact that humans interfere with the process! Machines don't make THAT many mistakes! An issue that I have run across is parts that were designed correctly and then cut out of spec due to machinist error in the production phase. Most machining errors that I have seen were failures to compensate for tool length offsets or usage of out of spec cutter diameters. When I make a drawing for someone, I think communication is almost the most important part of the production process. If a guy has to decipher a bunch of alien data in order to make a part from a drawing, that is grievous for everyone and can result in drastic problems and monetary loss. Sometimes everything translates seamlessly; that is when every party involved is satisfied.

I got the baits out this morning. You guys should have them by the end of the week. I said 4 testers originally, but it didn't work out that way. Six of you guys in the end as it turned out, so I got to pour 120 baits...I hope you guys enjoy testing them, I know I did yesterday! The testers are as follows: KidLizard Mojo GABassnerd D.J. Bassin' Jack BassGreg (Who PM'ed me before any of you replied).I'll post a response form to you guys via PM later when I'm actually at home on a real computer and not on my laptop and wireless with a low battery!!! LoL.

Hey fellas, those of you that qualified should get your baits by the end of the week. I am sending them first class USPS in the morning. I'd appreciate it if someone else would post pics of the baits when they get their batch, my camera battery is being lame right now, I need to get a new one, it won't hold a charge at all and the macro mode isn't working either. I guess that's what I get for keeping it in the float tube! If you guys would post catch pics in this forum that would be way cool too, we caught a ton of fish, mostly dinks today and a lot of them were on the Scary Junebug color, we have been fishing nothing but smoke because the water has been gin clear. The water got stained from an oddball storm today, but fishing in the rain is fun as hell when the bite is on. Wish I would have brought the goretex, but it was fun anyway. No real size but TONS of fish. Seems like it doesn't matter how big a fish is if you catch it on your own bait, I smile every time, especially when it's a new bait!

He hit the nail right on the head! Great Advice!

Did anyone get the license plate number of that Jagermeister truck? LoL. I posted at 3:17 AM? I think it was more like 4:17 when I got home...LoL. Got the baits done for the testers, I need to get batteries for my camera and I will post pics tonight. Z

I got a 4 lb box of Morton's pickling salt at Safeway for $1.49. It does come out a lot clearer than even the LC salt after you put it through the blender. I aslso tried the salt for my water purifier, which was much coarser than the pickling salt, bit it was 5 bucks for a 40lb bag at wally world. Same results. This stuff works, and the gimick is that it's just plain salt. No iodide added.

I got 75% of the baits poured tonight. I still need to pour the smoky blue shad color and then I will get them out monday morning. Got sidetracked by an ex-GF otherwise everything would be done, but she was lookin' GOOD. LoL....

Any CAD program that will export DXF files will work. As far as the cheap ones go, most of them are junk. If you want a good entry level cad program with power to spare, get Turbocad v.10, DON'T get anything older than that. The reason being that turbocad 10 supports NURBS modeling, which is basically like digital silly putty. Autosketch is also good and right around 100 dollars, but it is pretty neutered compared to the full version or even the lite version. Autocad LT is about 400+ still. You can get away with an older autocad, but make sure it's r.13 or higher. I have run into some problems transferring files over to CNC, mostly with the lousy cad programs. DO NOT GET DESIGNCAD! IT SUCKSUCKSUCKS!!!!!!! Turbocad 10 is the best bang for the buck, and if you spend the extra 100 bucks and upgrade to the pro version it does everything else the big boys can. Be preparded for a learning curve. If you are doing 3d design you need a minimum of 512mb ram, 64mb vid card and at least a 2ghz processor...unless you like waiting for the computer to do its work. You can also get higher end solids modeling programs like Solidworks,ProE and rhino, but they really are overkill for bait design.