reeves

I do spincasting. Call if I can help. George Reeves 918 542-0324

Ted, I have some that are .025 wire, about 7/8" long with a bend of sorts on the lead end. Shoot me a PM with an email address and I can send you a pic.

Be glad to help. Was once in your same position. George Reeves - H&P Tackle 918 542-0324

I wouldn't worry about the heat bothering the epoxy during vulcanization. I use an epoxy all the time on my master models and have never had a problem. Occasionally, if it is a thin layer of epoxy, it may peel off the master part after it is removed from the vulcanized mold, but at that point it has served it's purpose. If you are thinking that the epoxy is going to lose it's shape or holding power during the vulcanization process, don't worry. Once the mold halves are together in the mold frame and pressure and heat applied, the rubber is encasing the master part and nothing is going to change shape. In your case you are affixing a wire inside a lure body epoxy and it will not be exposed to the rubber anyway. A word of caution. Some things like super glue are not compatible to silicone rubber and the rubber that touches a surface that has super glue on it will not vulcanize. This could be true with the epoxy you may use.

Agreed, both are comfortable to use. I have been operating a Tekcast for about the past 10 years and am not in love with it at all. At the same time, my other shop was operating an older Conley top load model which I used to run for several years. Cleaning and performing general maintenance functions on at top load unit is simple and quick while compared to the Tekcast front load model which is a sometimes difficult and lengthy chore. I have never personally dealt directly with Tekcast but know others who have and claim they are difficult to work with and were less than helpful in resolving their problem. I have dealt with Contenti for many years and purchase all my mold making supplies from them. They have helped me on occasion with casting problems I have had also. Excellent, knowledgeable people. I am not meaning to bash Tekcast at all, they do make a fine machine, just passing on what I know of them. Bottom line being, if I were shopping for a good spin cast machine, new or used, I would without a doubt get a Contenti.

I have the Dremel drill press. I purchased it to modify molds with. I found though, that it has too much play in it to do what I wanted. As soon as your bit touches the mold, it would skip and not hold steady. I also tried to perform this on my drill press with the same results. I ended up buying a Unimat mini lathe and this has done the job perfectly because a lathe runs true with no skip. You might save yourself a lot of time and money by trying this little trick. Lay your oversized hook in the mold in the exact position you want it. Carefully close the mold clamping the hook in place. With a heavy hammer, hit the mold in the spot where the hook is clamped. This imprints the new hook and enlarges the old hook cavity. You may have to hit it several times to finally seat the new hook. After a few hits the mold should be able to close completely and ready to pour. Hope this works for you.

I am still among the living, for today anyway. Moved to South Carolina last Jan. but still cranking out baits via the spincast machine. Every time I log on to TU my McAfee virus software blocks it. ????? For those interested or needing to contact me, my email is georgereeves178@ymail.com . Sure have missed the spring TU gatherings in Clinton, MO. Hope everyone is doing well. George

PM sent.

They cut the 'J' bend off of one of the wires because they couldn't get both in the eye of the hook. This was on a two wire buzz bait, like the Beater that Hart produces. There is a trick to doing it and they couldn't figure it out.

David, if you still have the 'J' bend in the wire it will probably hold, but I would be afraid it might straighten and pull out with an angry 5lber shaking on the end of it. I saw a while back where a Chinese manufacturer that was making twin wire buzz baits for a US company, was unable to get both wire 'J' bends into the eye of the hook, so they cut the 'J' bend off one of the wires and laid it along side the one with the 'J' bend and cast it. Of course once they were distributed all over the US in stores and customers began fishing them they discovered the wire without the 'J' bend was pulling out. Don't know if this the reasoning behind your question, but my recommendation is to anchor the wire into the eye of the hook - always. George

Shipping anywhere in the lower U.S. with a USPS Medium Flat Rate Box would cost you $11.30 (on-line price), and you can put up to 70lbs. in it. If you have a viable use for the dross, it might be worth it to have it shipped in.

Ted, Not sure of the dia. you want, but pretty sure Shorty's carries them, and you can buy in quantities of a thousand.

Have put it on my calendar and am 95% sure that I can make it, it's that other 5% that I must watch out for. Looking forward to it.

What size are you looking for? I have loads of the small size, and plenty of parts to make more, but cannot make anything larger. I may be wrong but I think there may be a patent on them and thus the reason you can't find them.

I agree with what smalljaw is saying. Any of the charts that you will find are merely reference and not "Gospel". When I first started, I referred to these type charts religiously. After looking around I saw that no one else did, and they all sold a ton of baits. All in all, they are great as reference for the beginner.