Kasilofchrisn

What about the Do-it worm nose sinker? Wouldn't that work for you,? https://barlowstackle.com/Do-It-Worm-Nose-Sinker-Mold-P1999/

Skulks are not exactly a new concept here's a couple of examples of skull jigs from YouTube. Personally I think they are more a novelty thing than a fish catcher though!

I can't really say. I've never made an R bend spinnetbait ever. Here's a video put out by the manufacturer.

That's actually a Hagen's wire former. Hagens markets and sells them on several sights. You can find them at lureparts online, Barlow's, etc.

Probably the Twistech. It will do everything the Hagen's will just $80 cheaper. I've not heard good things on the Bogs wireformer and it has limited length so I'd avoid that one. If you lived in my area I'd let you try mine to see for yourself. But I'm guessing your a long way from Alaska!lol No bass up here!

I own a Hagen's wire former. I also own a Twistech and a Twistech magnum. I'm happy with all of them so far. I've used the round nose pliers and they are ok if your just making a handful. But I like the ease and professional look I get from using the wire formers. If it fits your budget I would seriously consider a wire former. If saving money was a serious goal I'd have gotten out of tackle making years ago.lol

There's a company here in Alaska that makes skirt spinners for salmon fishing. I've never used them but I'll post a link so you can check them out. https://www.kodiakcustom.com/skirt-spinner/ Yours look a bit longer than they should be, but, only testing will see if they work.

Nice to hear it worked out for you. That may be a reason it works so well. Larger profile but lighter in weight. That would also account for the chrome like appearance. Tin can have that appearance.

It seems your replica weighs ~1/3 more than the original. That being said I would try a head made entirely of tin as tin is ~1/3 the weight of lead. If that doesn't work out weight wise then work your way up by adding lead 5% at a time until you get the desired weight. A jig in pure tin will be harder but shouldn't really effect things otherwise. How does the original do with the fingernail test of it's hardness? It melts at slightly lower temps than lead so no issues there. I believe silicone would make a better mold but I've honestly never made a mold using it.

The one I have cost $120 USD. Not exactly cheap but well worth it to me. Especially for bullet casting!

Sheet lead such as roof flashing or x-ray room lead from the walls. Lead pipe is often pure. You'd be surprised though at what you can cast using alloys other than pure. You might want to invest in a hardness tester. Then you'll know for sure right away. I have the cabine tree hardness tester and I like it a lot. Especially for my bullet casting where precise brinell hardness is critical

Did you remove all paint from your master first? Tin is ~1/3 lighter than lead so that may have been used to some extent as well. Casting in tin is pretty much as easy as lead. But pure tin is much more expensive. I sometimes find scrap pewter for a decent price. Pewter is often ~96% tin and is easy to cast.

With a pure clean ingot dross should be minimal. If your buying from a reputable refiner such as Rotometals here on the USA it should be really clean. But for scrap lead from a scrap yard or anywhere else it will vary every time.

I think Cadman and Anglin archer pretty much summed it up well. If a bait is marketed properly, even if it's a bad one, it will make money at least in the short term. Without some marketing it will likely fail no matter how well it works. Lots of lure companies have come and gone over the years. Some good some bad. Some had one great lure and the rest failed. Others squandered all the money on other things or trying to find the next great one and the business failed due to poor money management. We really can't predict whether a discontinued lure would have succeeded or not. Especially given the competition. Also there's baits that work well in one area but not another. I make lures for my saltwater fishing that are made specifically for where I fish I don't sell them anymore but.... They would likely sell very poorly in another state or country. They are made to be fishable in extreme tidal zones that are not found but one other place on earth. So they work well here but I wouldn't want to try marketing them in other states. Somelures have that. They work well in one area but not necessarily in others. That's would make it tough to make a living selling a bait that doesn't have a broader appeal. A side business might be ok but theres often not enough sales for a full time bait making company to succeed at making them. Sometimes we find a bait or lure that flat out works for us in particular in our favorite fishing spots. We have confidence in it. Maybe it caught our personal best fish. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work the same for everyone else. I think if a bait works for you keep using it. If it goes away make your own version if you can. That's the beauty of making our own tackle. We can make what we want how we want it! If the jitterbug still had mass marketing appeal don't you think it would still be easy to find in the tackle shops? Sure they might sell out for a month or two but imho quite likely it would end up just like it is now.

Another helpful tip is to use the jig clamps from TJ's tackle. This way any excess paint runs toward the hook shank where it is more easily removed.

Tried to add a picture but the system won't let me. Pm me your email and I'll send you some pics. There's no need for plexiglass with a flat cap. The cap is made to seal off the end of the pipe. You want the flat cap so it sits level unlike a domed type cap. The fluid bed cup seals off the only opening. Other than the hole you made to mount your air valve of course.

I'm not home right now. I'll try to remember to take a picture of one of mine tonight. For more stability I have one set of fluid beds screwed to a short wood board. Two fluid beds side by side. Cost me a couple of spare screws and a scrap piece of lumber. I like the dual for doing white base coats and then my main color. But on its own a 3" flat cap is plenty stable.

Do not use a union! Take a 3" flat cap ABS or PVC doesn't matter and drill a hole near the bottom to fit an aquarium valve. Hot glue in an aquarium valve. The hot glue makes it easier to replace a bad valve later on. Take a section of pipe for your cup and put in a knock out test caps. Knock out the center and discard. Remove the remaining ring of the test cap and set aside. Place your membrane over the section of pipe and replace the ring. Trim excess membrane material. Use a second knock out test cap for a cover. Make as many cups as you want for cheap. Change/replace membranes in seconds. I rarely ever clean a cup. Store my paint in them as well. Want a 2" cup? Put in a 3x2 reducer fitting and make a 2" cup. Same for 1.5" Change sizes in seconds. Change cups in seconds.

My fluid beds are cheap yet work great. There are no unions in mine. I use a 3" flat cap as the base with an aquarium valve glued in. I use knock out test caps to secure my membrane in the cups. With the reducer fittings my 3" bed becomes a 2" or 1.5" in seconds. I never understood why they need to glue the plexiglass on? A flat cap is so much easier and most likely cheaper too!

Of course there are custom mold makers out there. I have CNC molds from three different makers. You might try Bob Lalonde at CNC molds n stuff. http://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/ Or Shawn at Shawn Collins customs. http://shawncollinscustoms.net/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZLRK36/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_To4REbYJ2M82Z This is the one I use. I have two of them. Like I said before It's the "Whisper 30-60" and is made by a company called "Tetra". Sells for about $20 at Walmart or other big box stores. Unlike your airbrush compressor this one is made to run continuously for years without problems. I don't know how long an airbrush compressor can run continuously without issues? The aquarium pump is also way quieter than my airbrush compressor. If I was building a 4"x 4" fluid bed i'd try the aquarium pump first. But that's just my opinion. I do know that I wasn't happy when my first airbrush compressor seized up as they're a lot more than $20.

I run an cheap Walmart Tetra Whisper 30/60 aquarium pump. It has dual ports and cost is ~$20. The 30/60 indicates what size aquarium it is good for. So don't get the smallest one. Mine will run 2 fluid beds that are 2" diameter by 12" tall no problem. I think the aquarium pump might surprise you. Also how do you propose to hook your compressor to the fluid bed? Aquarium fittings and hose are cheap especially compared with airbrush hose and fittings.

Look at the top of the wire baits section. There is a post pinned there with many pages of info on flux and fluxing. Better to do that then muddle up this already old outdated thread. Or you could start a new thread on fluxing.

A 10# sledge works well. Lolol Actually I have homebuilt hook tools made with stainless Tig welding wire. So I dip with the hook up rather quickly then also hook the line tie eye and tap on the edge of the fluid bed. It's a bit tricky but it works.

I hope you guys realize your responding to a post from 2006. Still pertinent information but the original posters may not be here anymore.