mark poulson

Thanks again Dink.

I'll try that. Thanks.

I held it tight against the spout until I got some overflow.

Thanks Dink.

I'm running it at 3, and the lead is 750 on the surface with my infrared thermometer. What temp should I be looking for?

Thanks guys. I'll experiment with all the suggestions, until I get full pours. Of course, it's waaaay too cold for me to do it this morning. Maybe this afternoon, when it's supposed to warm up a little. It sucks being 75, but it beats the alternative!

Forgive a lead pouring noobie question, but I have search the site and can't find the answers I need. I was given a Lee pot, half full of pure lead, and a Do-It 3 cavity Weedless Arky mold with 1/4,3/8, and 1/2 oz cavities. I cleaned the mold face altered the hook eye spots to accept the round eye hooks I want to use, sprayed the mold faces with Dropout,, and install my hooks and my teflon weed guard pins (thank you Ted). I heated my lead to 750 degrees f., and put the mold up to the spout. I poured the lead in until it topped out. I am getting incomplete retainers at the bottom of the molds. The tops fill fine, the weed guard pins worked great, but I get varying amounts of lead down at the bottom Any tips on what I'm doing wrong, or could do differently?

Just remember that dust is explosive, and water-based paints create dust when they dry. So buying more expensive filters might actually work against you, because you'll be more hesitant to change them as often as you should.

I always used metal ducting in my home shop dust extraction setup, so I knew it was grounded. I know house dryer venting is typically PVC, or the same flex duct you show, and neither is grounded. I was always leery of ungrounded ducting in woodshop extraction systems, because dust explosions were a real danger when I was young, so I'm probably overly sensitive about the need for grounding.

Pete, does the ducting need to be grounded?

But it is cheaper than drugs.....so far! Hahaha

Those all look good!

I prime with Rustoleum Self Etching Primer, and don't have an adhesion problems.

Where can I buy the removable pins for my Do-It Weedless Arkie jig mold?

Good luck! I hope it works out well for you.

Building your prototype out of waterproof material like PVC decking speeds up the testing process, because you don't have to worry about water intrusion every time you make a change. Once you have a lure that works, you can duplicate it in whatever building material you like, so only have to fine tune it before you paint and finish it.

Agreed! A good swimming bait will get bitten, no matter what color or finish.

Thanks Ted.

How do you get the powder to stick, once the bait starts to cool?

Ted, Do you have to reheat the lure body when you're doing multiple powder colors? If so, how do you do it?

I'd suggest you look at one of the successful commercial lures, and use it as a starting point. You can always use PVC for prototyping, since water intrusion isn't a problem, and then move to whatever material you'd like to use for the finished bait. That way, you can make as many changes as you want to quickly, without worrying about ruining your bait.

That sounds simple, but, then again, so does using a smart phone.... I would ask you for a copy of your spreadsheet, but we both know I would never be able to use it>

I found there were two keys. The first is having the belly flat, so there is more surface to force the water to the sides, which slowed the fall. The second is having one third of the ballast +-above the centerline of the bait. I needed to figure out how much ballast weight to use, and where it needed to be, to achieve a slow, level fall. I built my spy baits out of PVC trim board, which is very buoyant, and drilled several 3/16" holes up from the belly to well above the centerline of the bait. I used 3/16" lead wire for my ballast, and played around with different lengths and different locations until I achieved a slow, level fall. Then I pushed the lead wire up into the ballast holes until it was partially above the centerline and made the bait kind of unstable as it fell. The combination of the slightly unstable ballast and the flat bottom made the bait wobble side to side as it fell. It took some experimenting to get it right, but the PVC is waterproof, so I was free to change stuff until I got it right without worrying about water intrusion. My biggest bass on one of my homemade spybaits is 7+lbs.