reeves

I have a freind who lives in the Sidney area, he is coming here for the month of August to fish. He just e-mailed me the other day and said the temps are in the minuses right now. Their seasons are opposite of ours, so your son is going during their winter. Since Sidney is located on the coast, their is no doubt saltwater action of some sort. Another thought is the mountain area near there has some good trout fishing as I am lead to believe. Hope this has helped some. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

What size are you looking for? I have tons of the small aluminum one that is riveted together. If this will help you, pm me for details. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Not sure if it comes in tube form, but go to www.mcmaster.com and do a search for PTFE Teflon. It will give you all the shapes and stats on the stuff including temp ranges. Good Luck George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Markell, I failed to mention that the teflon rod size you need to get must match the size of the weedguard hole. Most often it is .150. but depending on the jig size you are making it may be smaller. The rod will fit into the hole snuggly. Naturally. the hotter you get the jig the hole will expand a bit from the heat. Make sure it is seated to the bottom of the hole or you may lose it when you dip and swish in the powder ( I have retrieved many). When removing the rod, try pulling and twisting at the same time, this will leave a clean paint edge on the hole. One other thing, on the glue, use the EXTRA THICK, so much easier to control. As for your problem on the hook eye, the only other thing I can think of is wax. I used to melt paraffin wax in a pan and dip hooks that I did not want paint to stick to and just peel it off after. Just make sure you remove it BEFORE you bake to cure. Good Luck George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Markell: Here is a method I use for something very similar. The jigs I paint are for a larger manufacturer and have the eye of the hook incorporated into the nose of the jig with nothing exposed, totally weedless. I get no paint in the weed guard hole either. This is how to do it. Get some PTFE Teflon rod (found in McMaster-Carr) cut them into about 3/4" pieces. You will also need a piece of spinnerbait wire large enough to fit through the eye of the hook you are using, cut this about 4" long and sharpen one end. Now you are ready to paint. Heat your jug holding it with needlenose visegrip pliers (it can't get away from you using these). Heat the jig as hot as you dare for you need as much time as possible. Once hot, insert the piece of Teflon into the weedguard hole and dip into your powder ( I use fluid beds), if you are clear coating with metalflake, immediately dip it in there and tap off excess and remove the telfon. Now take the piece of wire and run it through the hook eye removing all unwanted paint. Hang on rack and bake in oven. You will be surprised at how quick this is and you won't be cleaning any clay off later. The teflon rods will last forever and the heat of the jig doesn't bother them either. I use a Cyanoacrylate Glue to glue in the weed guards. You can find this in remote control hobby shops in 2 oz bottles and it only takes a small drop per guard, can do thousands of jigs with one bottle. Hope I have helped, and good luck. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Pop, I have a dual temp heat gun and find it very uncomfortable to use, as opposed to a propane torch. With the torch, I can SEE the flame, with the heat gun I can't. There is a 'sweet spot' with the heat gun that you have to keep the jig in to get consistent heat, with the torch the flame is the 'sweet spot', and I can visually control much better. Also the other thing to consider is the cost. Heat guns draw a lot of juice and won't take long to make a difference in your monthly bill. A bottle of propane costs a little over a buck and lasts forever. Hope this helps in your decision. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Hey Guys, want a fast way to blacken those molds? I always became very frustrated when using candles because of the mess it made and the time it took to do it. Had gotten a few of thhose Tiki Torches for the deck, but hadn't set them up yet, so I snatched one of the containers from it and filled it with oil, lit it and what a beautiful column of nice black smoke it laid out. Can do a mold by passing it through the smoke column and you are done, just that fast. And no problems with the pours either. I think you can get the containers at Wal-Mart along with the oil and you will only have a coulple of bucks invested and one bottle of oil will last you forever. Hope I have helped someone out there. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Bassman, as Bite-Me said the cost is pretty steep to get new equipment. I purchased used equipment for just over 4K and it took me the best part of a year to learn how to use it as I had no contacts in this area, so it was all trial and error.An alternative to spending that kind of money, would be to contact one of the companies that do spincasting and let them produce for you, the cost is not prohibitive at all. If you need names and numbers, I would be glad to supply them to you. Good Luck George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

Jigmaster, anyone considering any type of production, can't afford not to have an RCBS system. You will experience leakage from time to time and it will sometimes become frustrating, but it seems to cure itself after several pours. I have found that keeping the temp set between 750 - 800 has worked the best for me. I have two of these PRO MELT pots, one for very soft lead and the other for the harder lead used in sinkers and larger body lures. Also, I might recommend rigging up a simple stove hood exhaust directly above the pot to eliminate the lead dust. Good luck, I am sure you will enjoy the use of this pot. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK

A manufacturer I know of is Kayser Lure Corp in Ursa IL, phone is 217 964-2110. Rhey sell bulk and the price is probably the best you will find out there. George Reeves H & P Tackle Welch, OK