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wchilton

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Everything posted by wchilton

  1. When you first start mixing epoxy, do you notice that it is not quite transparent? I mix my epoxy until it returns to fully transparent and then for another 5-10 seconds.
  2. If swim test is not to your liking and weight/balance are pretty close I'd suggest building up the back-side of the bill to be more like the original. Back side can influence vortex formation. I'd use super glue + baking soda or hot melt glue.
  3. Be careful with strong degreaser...strong caustic can attack/corrode aluminum. Strong acids, same thing. I'd probably try some type of aluminum-safe mag wheel cleaner. If what you're seeing is a grey-colored finish that is still smooth it might just be aluminum oxide, in which case I would leave it alone unless it's causing you some kind of problem. Aluminum oxide is used as a "finish" for a lot of aluminum products and is harder than the aluminum itself and is a protective finish.
  4. Part of the problem is that sharpness and longevity of the edge are always a trade-off. For the utility blades you probably have a 14-deg angle where a pocket knife might have 25-deg angle. If you want the edge to last longer it has to have larger angle and then will never be quite as sharp as the original smaller angle. You might find that resharpening is not as razor sharp as the original edge, but it will maintain the sharpness you give it for a longer time. If you are going to resharpen, no point in getting titanium coated blades, that's a very thin coating and resharpening takes it right off. I've found that the easiest way for me to sharpen without a guide is a diamond "steel". This is basically a rod, covered with diamond bits and with a handle at one end. It looks like a "steel" used to put an edge on a blade but it removes more material than a normal steel would. Here's an example of a diamond "steel" on Amazon that's reasonably priced https://www.amazon.com/Kota-Japan-Professional-Sharpener-Sharpening/dp/B06W9J9RTN/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19MD2OW2R1JI0&keywords=diamond+steel+knife+sharpener&qid=1649151623&sprefix=diamond+steel%2Caps%2C230&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFKUFlERDVRWkc4R1UmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2MjAwMDYzQkgzWDJBN0lQWjBCJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwMTAyNTNCRURLQU0zTTRaT0wmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl Here's a video that talks about edge angles https://www.worksharptools.com/what-is-the-best-knife-angle-and-how-do-i-tell-what-angle-my-knife-is/
  5. Total weight mixed was (37+37+7.25) = 81.25g Weigh the bait you cast with this mixture, let's say it was 50g Ratio of your bait to total mix is (50/81.25) = 0.615 Multiply each of you components 0.615 to get weight you should have used 37x.615 = 22.76 @ a and b 7.25x.615 = 4.46g MB 22.76 + 22.76 + 4.46 = 49.98g I would mix a few grams extra overall so maybe use 24a + 24b + 4.8 microspheres then you will have a small amount leftover and some loss to sprue and sides of container.
  6. wchilton

    Dyes

    I haven't tried them but the description on their site seems ok. They are supposed to be non-bleed which is important to make sure of when talking about "dyes". Dye colorants are smaller particles than pigments and can move through a bait by flowing in the plasticizer. So whenever someone recommends using a "dye" just make sure it does not bleed.
  7. A lot of people like Basswood. Similar to pine, maybe a bit softer and nice fine grain for carving. The primo wood that striper fishermen use is Alaskan Yellow Cedar. I have a little bit of this and it is nice. Has very even grain, carves and sands real smooth, not as much scent as regular cedar and somewhat harder/stronger. I've tried the PVC trim board with good results. More wood-like than I expected, carves easily enough and sands smooth and is totally waterproof. Some woods can absorb water and swell and then crack. I'd probably stay away from poplar and fir. Worked with some fir that was very splintery a while back. Mahogany works well but is a bit hard and heavy. Last one I can remember off-hand is paulownia. It's a bit heavier than balsa but lighter than pine and other soft woods. They use paolownia to build some surfboards.
  8. You could try putting lures out in sunlight and see if it improves the cure. Sunlight is broad spectrum so will work, maybe not as fast but it's free. If sunlight doesn't help then I don't think changing lamps will.
  9. I use this UV Lamp https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W4SIY8Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 and this uv resin https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PF9D65P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 both recommended by a lure maker on u-tube. The stuff very quickly cures to the point it won't move so you could "hand turn" until you get an even finish and then turn it for a few seconds under the light to set it in place and then just leave it under the light (not turning) for ten minutes to fully cure. BE CAREFUL WHEN USING UV LIGHT ! It can damage your eyes. Try not to look at it (even if just reflected) and also get some uv-block glasses and use them.
  10. Thin super glue will "wick" into cracks and seal them up. I use it on blank (unpainted) baits at the hook holders and front eyelet to make sure those areas are sealed well. After super glue dries, use a finish of your choice, hard as nails or store-bought epoxy is easiest to get. For the thin super glue I use Zap-CA that I got at a local hobby store.
  11. You should be especially careful with baits that have salt in them. They can have moisture in the voids where salt was and even in the remaining salt. They could be dried in an oven at 200deg or just leave them in a hot car for a week or so. Don't let them touch any plastic in the car. I'd throw them into a 5-gallon bucket.
  12. If you want to use Plaster Of Paris, I'd suggest you look for a plaster supply store. You might even be able to find it at Home Depot or other hardware store. It's a lot cheaper when bought in 50lb bag. Small packages off the shelf from walmart or art stores are not the best deal. You CAN use 100% silicone caulk/sealant. Just squeeze it out of the tube and mix in a small amount of water (few drops for each cup of sealant). The water acts as a catalyst and makes the silicone cure pretty fast (few minutes). You want the silicone that has the strong vinegar smell. If you don't mix in water it will take a long time to cure thicker areas (will cure on surface first). Silicone sealant is pretty thick stuff for making a mold. It's really intended as an adhesive/sealant. You'd want to test it to make sure your mold release works.
  13. I've used silicone oil to thin two-part RTV silicone and it works but the cured silicone is softer. I think the oil just acts as a plasticizer to make the cured product softer/more flexible. You can reduce your mold making costs by chopping up old/reject silicone molds and using them to fill space around the cavity. I just make sure and pour new silicone around the master to get a smooth surface. To chop up old molds I use a food processor. Cut old mold into about 1-inch chunks and add enough silicone oil (just enough to coat surfaces) to keep chunks from sticking together while being chopped up. Mix up the 2-part RTV before adding chopped silicone.
  14. What you have created in that first build that hunts is a bait that is near some instability in its normal operating mode (slow roll). At faster speed it "shifts" into a different mode (on it's side). Being nearly un-stable, it only takes a minor change (tiny water swirl or slight change in speed) to briefly kick it out of its stable mode and then it returns to slow rolling. I think your idea of shifting ballast can also work. You just need to make sure that your lure is near enough to some point of instability that the ballast change will have a real effect. If the bait is super stable (very low CG), it will easily correct itself for minor changes in balance.
  15. I've had good luck with baltic birch plywood. Not the normal plywood from home depot. Normal plywood uses low quality plies in the middle. Baltic birch uses high-quality plies all the way through. I got mine at Rockler woodworking store. They sell smaller pieces (1ftx2ft) so you don't have to buy a whole sheet. No problems with grain, it finishes fairly smooth and then wipe on layers of lacquer and final dip in floor wax to get gloss finish. The plies show up as alternating light/dark lines that help you keep symmetry. You can get pretty fine detail. If I wanted super fine detail I'd carve either PVC trim board or a tan-colored casting resin (urethane). I really like having the lines built-in to guide my work.
  16. For slow sinking (ie. just over density of water) you'll have to reduce overall volume to get a lighter bait. If there's room to make it slimmer that could help, otherwise it will have to be a smaller bait.
  17. Those "Tex" sizes for threads are based on weight of 1000 meters of thread. So 1000 meters of Tex60 will weigh 60 grams. I found a table that shows breaking strength of Tex60 Nomex to be 5 lbs. Here's that table. FILAMENT NOMEX® Tex Sizes Government Spec A-A-50195 MIL-T-43636A Approximate Single End Strength Approximate Yards Per Pound Soft 40 B/2 (46/400d) 3.4 9,700 60 E/3 (69/600d) 5.0 6,500 80 F/4 (92/800d) 6.0 4,870 120 FF/3 (138/1200d) 10.0 3,075 180 3/3 (207/1800d) 15.0 2,030 You might be better off with kevlar "string". Nomex is used a lot for fireproof fabrics so pretty much what you'll find is fabric related (ie. threads). Kevlar has been popular for kite strings in recent years so it is readily available in the higher strengths (than thread). For a short time there were braided kevlar fishing lines being made but not any more as far as I know. PE braids are a little bit thinner for the same strength as kevlar and less expensive than kevlar to produce so that's what most super lines are made from these days.
  18. With nylon or braided PE lines the hot plastisol will be close to their melting point. Kevlar line will withstand over 800 deg F before degrading and there's another material called Nomex that may go even higher. I've bought both kevlar and nomex "string" or cord on Ebay. A lot of kite enthusiasts use kevlar line so there should be plenty of that available.
  19. Anything caustic will eat up aluminum. Soaps made for dishwashers (machines) are very strong and should be avoided. Liquid dish soap for hand-washing should be ok and hair shampoo would also be safe. Some of the strong de-greasers are also strong caustics that should not be used on aluminum. Remember that if you want to clean an aluminum engine or aluminum wheels!
  20. Not sure. There are a lot of different dyes and they have different properties. If you have a pigment that can dissolve in the oil (rather than be held in suspension) then it will act like a dye as far a bleeding. Dye particles can be really small, down to individual molecules...that's why they can move within a plastic bait. MF advertises a non-bleed chartreuse (I've never tried it).
  21. Mark is right. Pigments are made up of particles much larger than dyes. Being larger, pigment particles get trapped in the plastic matrix while dyes can move within the plasticizer (liquid) and bleed to other parts of the bait. The smaller the particle size, the more transparent a bait will be, so dyes allow for the best transparency if that is what you're looking for.
  22. You should be ok once you use the correct mold release for silicone to silicone. I'd recommend a test run using a small batch of silicone (no lure model) to make sure you have the process down and can get a clean release. A lot of mold releases contain silicone oil and the silicone rtv just sucks it up. Looks like the mold release you used before is meant for resin or plaster casting, so that's where the problem was.
  23. The modeling clay will soften and even melt if you get it warm enough. It's just clay mixed with wax and oil to get the desired consistency. It hardens back up when it cools down. Try a hair drier on high heat to soften it up. Melting point is around 200 deg F but it will get pretty soft if you get it up to about 150 deg or so and a hair drier will do that.
  24. I've used urethane casting resin for AeroMarine with good success. They are local for me so I don't have to have things shipped. It's one that pours clear and cures "off-white". Easy to sand and shape, like a hard wood. It also becomes somewhat flexible if heated and can be "bent". I've also used an orange casting wax. Different than plain paraffin in that it doesn't shrink or expand as much during cooling. That works fine too, just not "sandable" but you can re-use it (by melting) and instead of sanding just scrape with a knife. Also can get a smooth finish by passing it in front of a flame. Last, I 've also used ordinary hot glue that's made for hot glue guns. That seems to work ok too, but not as easy to modify as the wax since it stays flexible.
  25. I never permanently glue my master. I usually just use 2-sided tape to hold it in place and create a silicone mold. Then if I need copies of the master I cast them using a casting resin which is a 2-part urethane resin that sets up to a hard plastic and turns from transparent to sort of an off-white color when it sets. I also don't use glass together with silicone because silicone sticks very strongly to glass. A mold release agent on the glass could be used but I just use a plastic cutting board and the silicone never sticks to that. Look for "casting resins" to make copies of masters. They have almost no shrinkage, cure quickly, and are lower viscosity (almost like water) so they are really easy to pour and capture every detail with.
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