dampeoples

Well? I'll show you the fish I'm working on if you tell what you got, might want to trade!

Has anyone tried the boxes with the rubber seals in them? I have switched over to Falcon boxes where I can, but the crankbait boxes do not fit my bins. I know they are a bit expensive, but paying a little more up front is a lot better than fixing a box of cranks, I would think. I've honestly not had this problem, though, i've had a few here or there have problems, but nothing like a full box

Me too, I just received some stuff from him a few weeks ago that I ordered back in September, still owe's me one fluke mold!

Can't wait to see the pours

Not pouring it fast, I think it's just too thin to fill, being a one-piece that's pretty much just got a flat top mold on it, and a sprue hole cut. I was gonna try to cut the vent a little larger, hoping that would work, but if not, I can always pour the tails, close, then pour the rest. Could probably do 1/2 pours that was as well, pour the first, close then fill the remaining. There isn't any difference, if you took a one piece mold and put a flat sheet of anything over it, you'd have the same mold, after drilling out a sprue, of course. I have only painted for a little over a year, you can make your talent up as you go along I've just spent a lot of time practicing, and even more learning about the paint itself, as well as mixing and such.

Cranks are very fun to do, for me at least. Well, the painting part Nah, don't have any extra molds, I got rid of a bunch of stuff earlier this year, mostly LC stuff, but about 10-12 Al molds as well, all things I never found myself using, so they had to go!

If it didn't sell, a guy had a trickworm mold he was selling at TU in the classifieds a month or so ago, don't really know what he wanted for it, I never clicked on it. I'm done with molds, except for getting extra cavities of what I have for a few, too close to Santa time, and I need some more paint stuff badly! I like to paint better anyway, but the worms are fun too!

The 2-piece is a one piece with a flat top piece, so it can be poured as a 1-piece very easily, I thought about that as well, but it's nice to have the ability to do it either way. I pretty much use plain pearl white flukes, but I have the option! The cost is a lot more, but hey, who's counting!

Sweet! I got the 2-piece, not figured out how to get the tail to pour all the way, but honestly have only poured a very few out of it, been trying to get some paint projects finished up (repaint of one of those bass mailboxes!) But I'm thinking that gouging the bottom vent just a hair will do it. The one's that I poured, if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't know, though!

Shhh Someone that's not supposed to might find out

If that doesn't work, try a very high grip sandpaper, 1000 to 3000 grit WET, very gently, and if that's not happening, look to your bathroom sink type cleaners, such as CLR (calcium, lime, rust), or a shower cleaner. Some of these cleaners are pretty harsh, so be sure to test them beforehand. Be wary of the different finishes though, as different manufacturers use different styles of coatings to seal the bait, what works on one may not work on another. Good luck.

Looking good Marty! And he says he can't paint The fish don't think so!

Bob's stuff is online, and most will send you a list of what they have on file if you ask. A few of mine, I'm the only person that has them. Maybe I was the onyl one silly enough to spend that much on the molds

I was hoping Bob would come out with something new, but no luck so far

I do not want to seem like I'm discouraging you at all, I am not, far from it, but from your list, it appears that you want to sell baits, and that's your primary goal. First and foremost, you really need to start by studying the cranks you have already, smoke them over, cut a few in half, cut a few more in half, fish them in all sorts of situation, weigh them, measure them, anything you can do to gain an understanding of what you're trying to do. Selling them shoudl be last on your mind at this point, it'll have you rushing through steps to get a saleable piece, and you'll end up cutting corners, and have a product that shows! It's really hard to say where to start, after you study other baits. My method to learn how to create baits, and one that seems sadly pushed aside is trial and error. Get a pocketknife and some wood and go for it. Doesn't matter what sort of knife or wood, just make a crank. Take a lip out of another bait, cut one out of lexan or circuitboard, heck, cut one out of a tin can, it doesn't matter what it looks like, what matters is how is swims. When you are done, compare that to other baits you have, and try to understand WHY and HOW it does what it does. As far as the tools, Marty has that covered, and you'll probably ignore this advice, but it's all true Once you begin to understand the mechanics of it, the rest will fall into place, including the fish. As far as a profit, one can be made, but hand making baits is a labor of love, from worms to spinnerbaits to cranks, do it for that, do it because you enjoy it and it'll show in your work. I know, it sounds corny as hell, but it's true too! Like Marty said, at 5 hours per bait ($15-$20 per bait doesn't sound so great now, does it!), you'll never get rich off of it, but you'll have a great time, and eventually, even your baits will be free. Great crankbait makers are in short supply, yet there are tons lined up to fish them The entire point is to not be shortsighted, and only see the money aspect of it, it's a lot of work, but as time goes by, you'll get better and faster at it, but it'll take a lot of time, so get started, you've got work to do!

That thing mold sure is pretty! As far as another mold, I'd look to the Fluke, I got one of those as well, but it's hard to beat a Fluke! Well, unless you go with the trick worm This is so addicting! I think if we didn't sell them to make a bit back, we'd all be tossed out of the house on our ears, at least I would I blame the mold makers, though, it's quick easy, and makes me feel better

You'll still use it, the better you get, the more you'll be able to do with that brush, trust me. I've seen two skulls that would fit inside a quarter painted with one I've not tried it myself, but once I get moved, I plan to, if for nothing more than to prove to people that tossing money at painting won't make you better, practice will.

Thanks! Yeah, I see no reason why these wouldn't work any less than any other reaction color, these just have more to choose from

had a fellow ask for a Grateful Dead Steal your Face logo on a lure, I got to thinking that would be a bit plain, just a lure with that logo, so I decided to add some stuff to it, here is a practice piece before I do the real deal, thought I would share!

Allen, I can't remember the email addy, but there is a guy that used to hang around TU that went by the name of Plop, had a place called hippotackle, can't find his info anymore, but if anyone can help, he should be able to.

Get a good thermometer, put it in your oven, set it to 350, then come back in about 15 minutes, you'll (probably) find out why they all melted. When you get your toaster oven, do the same thing, when mine is set to 200, it's actually 325. Furthermore, be very, very careful with your white, you may want to heat that color at a lower temp for longer time, as it runs the easiest.

Get some flattener powder from a powder supply place, such as Columbia Coatings

The advice given on the tacklemaking books is right on, you should save your money. The Complete Book of Tacklemaking that was mentioned is a bit dated, and most everything in the book can be found online if you spend the time to look. However, it is convienent that it has a lot of information in one place, no need for an internet connection, and you can take it to the workbench. Look in the used book section of Amazon. On the jig, your questions, or parameters of each jig are not really an option if you choose to go with a Do-It mold, as they typically only offer one style of jig, as in no choice between flat or straight eye, trailer keeper, etc. The Barlow's site does list alternate hooks for most of the Do-It molds, however. The old style molds all call for an Eagle Claw, while the newer are Mustad. Most have alternate hooks, if it's not listed on the Barlow's site, email Do-It, they've always been extemely helpful to me. That being said, if you want a specific jig a specific way that is not offered from Do-It, I must recommend Shawn Collins, most of my molds are from him, and you won't find a finer mold anywhere, but you'll be able to get about 5 Do-It molds for the price, it's all in what you want to do with it, it's money well spent if you use the mold the rest of your life! Plus, the aggravation of pouring in a stock mold isn't an issue, I've never had to smoke any but one of Shawn's molds, and that's my fault, he told me what I wanted wouldn't pour correctly 100% of the time For Hydrosilk, there was a guy selling them pretty cheap, not seen him around for a while, but his site it www.mymomisbecky.com , might see if he has any left. If you have more specific questions, let 'r rip

Steel melts at somewhere around 3k, 350 is a walk in the park for it, besides, how do you think they got that nice finish on those hooks? Ben from TJ's Tackle tells you all you need to know about curing here, you can even get your supplies from him. If you get the liquid coloring, Lurecraft sells this powder stuff as well, Kim even got the new colors in recently. Shake the fire out of the chartreuse, and keep the powder fluffy.

You didn't mention what sort of paint, but if you have to ask if you need to thin it, you probably do.