Bmackerel

I believe I got these on amazon and I have also seen them in Michaels

I use these to bend 1/16 stainless through wire. I do the nose loop and tail wrap with them. I use the pliers to bend the loop and nail snips to bend the wire after

One out of the batch that came out decent. What a struggle it’s been not to screw these up through the process. Most importantly it looked great in yesterday’s swim test

Thanks!! I’ll give it a shot

Started using better boat crystal clear epoxy as a first coat and top coating with system 3. The better boat sets up hard and makes for a nice base coat for the system 3 but I can’t for the life of me get rid of the bubbles. I’m keeping the epoxy in a dry heated room. Spread it out and let sit before applying with a foam brush. I’ve tried blowing on the plug, waving a lighter over it, but they still seem to appear. How long during the curing process do you guys continue to put heat on the plug to pop bubbles? Would a small torch or heat gun work better than a lighter? I think I’m gonna start painting scrap wood to test, driving me nuts

Ah ha! Thank you. I’ve really struggled with coverage with yellow and green so glad to hear they actually aren’t solid and it’s not just me. I now add some white to each color and that helps with better cover but also makes a lighter color. I’m gonna give the Aztek paints a try

Was it a pain to drill? I’ve got some Ipe and Cumaru I was planning in trying. Yours looks good!

Lol I hear ya. I test in the same spots I fish. Usually 55-65 degrees during my season but can be in the low to mid 30s during winter. Was curious if that might be enough change to cause my needles to sink a little slower then they do in the summer but sounds like it’s probably not

Salt. So that higher density would cause a needle to possibly sink slower? Maybe push a tailed weighted needle to the surface faster?

I know this has been covered but I can’t seem to find it. Have you guys noticed a big difference in how your plugs move in cold winter water compared to warm summer water? I’m trying a new wood for my needles, but I’m wondering if I might not be getting the most accurate idea of how they act in this ice water. Thoughts?

Search Helping Hands Paint Clamps you might find one that fits your needs. For my through wired plugs I just put a screw through a block of wood and put the plug on the screw

You could look for small kits of envirotex lite epoxy. 4oz is the smallest I could find online and pretty cheep. Get some small medicine cups for measuring and a couple small foam brushes. Follow instructions and do a search here about the product. Make sure the plug is clean and sand at least around the area you want to fix