azsouth

Tungsten.

It's like asking for the perfect anything, it's subjective to the lure, water and species of fish. So being very specific would help.

I use UV Resin.

For me, I usually let the bait sit for a day after I foil it.

I would be willing to say not enough weight in the bottom of the lure, for better help is it wood or resin? Normally lipless baits are smaller at the top going to wider at the bottom.

Fishhead15, Dinger had the best blanks that I have seen! the question is "Are your blanks going to be the same quality as Dingers were?

Normally if your bait lists to one side. weight is not centered. bait is off... meaning that left and right side or not equal. If the bait is tall... you're not using enough weight. without pictures from multiple angles tough to nail down the problem. My .02

I only use water based paints and I still use a filter booth. 20 inch fan attached to a storage container with a furnace filter attached to the opposite side. If you're going to paint/finish in a basement it would be a good idea to pipe fumes out of the basement. Most finishes are pretty bad stuff. The other problem I see would be high humidity in the basement.

I personally don't fish Muskies but from what everyone talks about wire thru is the way to go.

V-block would help but also forget the band saw unless you have a very expensive one, the blade wobbles and moves with the slightest pressure. I personally use a precise dovetail saw, you will need a bit of practice.

YouTube Butch Brown goes into detail how he does it but does not tell you the type of foam he uses. Many different types of urethane foam to start with.

Weight placement is my bet, I am guessing the bait it is wood, that would leave me to believe that you don't have enough weight or not perfectly inline. Guessing what's wrong without seeing it is quite difficult.

Well since Dinger is gone, I would choose Shelts Fishing Tackle.

I don't use Alumilite uv but I do use uv hard resin, before second coat I hit it with 400 grit sandpaper. I have not had any problems but my fish don't have teeth.

I take the baits apart, No matter how careful I try to be.... it was never good job finishing them. sticking joints, missed finish areas, poor clearance, which turned out to be... at best...to be a learning experience. So now I take everything apart. My .02

I have found in fishing inline spinners that I have a lot more bites at the bottom end of the blade speed, almost to the point that the blade will stutter/shimmy or just stop... I would say 90% of all my fish come from the unstable slower speeds. You need to figure out what works for the fish and area you are fishing.

Keep trying things and let your imagination run wild. The worst thing that can happen is it does not work.

I believe it will spin slower with a possible stutter. You might also have issues with starting the blade. Let us know how it works.

having a reaction between paints and epoxy or your bait has oil from hands.

I have commented in the past on how to properly cut Lexan/Polycarbonate....and I think it pretty much goes unheard.. 1. use a table saw or chop saw. 2. This is a must!!! use a SHARP CARBIDE BLADE!! Minimum 80 tooth blade preferably higher. 3. cuts should be made at a slow pace. 4. For a beautiful edge finish use a propane torch to shine the edges( it don't take much), be sure and not to burn the material. 5. This is the fastest and most accurate way to make exact pieces with little practice.

not normal, I would call LPO and send pick.

The reason I asking you to migrate to grains as a measurement it is more precise, Think about it this way... on a larger glide bait that weighs 3-6 ounces.... 1 gram can make or break the weighting of the whole bait. 1 Gram is approx. 15.4 grains... Easier to be more precise. My suggestion is use your paint and finish to get your weight to were you need it for the hardware you have, it will save you time, headaches and $$. You will almost always run into a supplier running out of what you want....Happens to me quite a bit, have more than 1 supplier of the same blank if possible. You also need to know that changing hooks and snap rings will change the action of the bait a bit.

Wiegh each bait separately before any paint or finish... Then after paint and finish weigh each bait!!! this is a pain staking process that works if the blanks are quite similar and are of good quality, if the quality is not similar you can not make it work properly. Another thing you have to take into account is how you are weighing your baits and hardware especially with jerk baits. You might want to go with weighing with grains instead of grams. Another thing to point out is barometric pressure!!! wild swings will change the baits buoyancy. along with water temp, salinity and elevation. These are just a few things that can help but nothing can help poor quality blanks.

How is buying Chinese lures from a US distributor better than buying direct from China? Why are we not naming our local US manufactures over a middleman like Cedar Run Outdoors. I tend to ask direct questions and rarely get direct answers. I have personally bought from just about everyone that sells blanks, the only supplier that is a stand out for me is Dinger Custom Baits, higher price that comes with higher quality blanks. For me the rest of the suppliers are just there as a middleman and have done nothing to better the product or pull poor quality blanks. So why pay the middleman if that is all he is?

Why don't we list the American suppliers? are they buying from overseas? I would be the first to stand in line waving the flag but I am hesitant to do this for companies/people I don't know. I am just curious if there are any US manufactured baits left?