BUILDING YOUR OWN UV BOX FOR BLANK SEALING

 

 

So, here we are, in the middle of the cold water period.  There isn't too much open water left and the water that is open is hit or miss in terms of success rates.  Usually around this time of year, I fill my down time with various projects, including painting crankbait blanks.  

Normally, it is color combinations I haven't seen before, or trying to replicate proven patterns.  Lately however, I've been shifting my attention to natural patterns in part to try and tempt fish that have seen everything off the shelf from the local big box stores.

All of this is all well and good, but eventually, when I am done painting them, the unenviable job of sealing them comes to the fore.  The only thing worse than that is actually putting the split rings and hooks on them.

Years ago, I used to use concrete sealant, but that was a very stinky job, with noxious fumes and it stunk up the garage and the house.  Not to mention, it probably posed several fire hazards and skunked out the tackle box for weeks.

Enter a product called AlumiUV.  Its a UV resin, when applied to baits and exposed to UV wavelengths of 365nm or better, hardens into an almost indestructible coating that protects my paint jobs and makes the blank water tight.

One of the biggest issues with this product is making a UV box that will adequately cure your bait once you hang them in it.  Below you'll see a picture of this ugly first guerilla build with some baits hanging in it for good measure.

As you can see, the box is hardly adequate for the number of baits I typically seal at one time. 

A new box is definitely in order and I thought, why not show everyone how easy it is to actually build one of these boxes using materials I already had on hand, or something someone could get pretty easily. 

So I decided to use an old cupboard I had tucked away in the basement that wasn't seeing any use.  It was doubtful if it would see any use as my wife totally hated the color I stained it, so there's that lol.

Now, the lights I have are good lights.  Not optimal but they can cure a bait hard as a rock within 8-20 minutes of direct exposure, which is plenty of time for me.  

But those two lights in an old cupboard were not going to get the job done in this big of an area.  Too much open area to adequately cure baits over a large area. Thus, I needed two more lights minimum.  Preferably bar lights  or at least two more of the same type I currently have.  

After doing some thinking, I opted for buying two more of the same type I had.  Two lights, each pushing 385-400 nm UV wavelengths.   They were the same strength I had in the old box.  The optimal wavelength is 365 nm but the prices are a bit outrageous in my estimation.  

The manufacturer of my old lights was out of stock so I had to do some digging to find some that were comparable.  Finally, after about an hour of searching I found some I thought would work as well.  So I ordered them late last weekend and they arrived Friday. 

Only a bit different in terms of size and light arrangement, but still the same wattage and working light angles. They ran about 50 bucks for 2 of them if I remember right. 

(If you look closer, you can see a bunch of other items I planned on using for this project.)

And now for the box. 

I mentioned I had an old cupboard I planned on using. I dug it out of the basement nook it was hiding it and dusted it off.  It was a cheap storage cabinet from Menards that ran me roughly 40 bucks back when I bought it.

Roughly 30 inches long x 12 inches wide x 12 deep.  Plenty of room for curing baits, provided I could get the UV light brackets installed in there.

This provided plenty of potential and also left room to expand into some future directions, if the needs arose.  

I needed to remove the door to get adequately started on this project.  Grabbed my electric drill, and proceeded to take the screws out of the hinges and set the door off to the side.

Next I needed to drill out the holes that would serve to hold the 3/8" 3' dowel I had.  The dowel would be the stable surface I hang the coated baits from to dry via large paper clips.

I used a 3/8" bit and just drilled where I had marked the holes a week earlier.  That mark was centered  width wise, but located 2" down from what would be the "new" top of the box.

This height allowed for the curing of larger baits, up to 6".

For bigger baits, like the 10-12 Grandma blanks I occasionally paint, I will have to put in some hooks beneath the dowel holes, remove the dowel, and then tip upright to get the height I need.  

It was at this point, I knew I had to drill the hole where I would be running the electrical cords out of once I mounted the UV lights inside. 

I knew I was going to be running the cords along side the box on the outside and plug them into a power strip mounted towards the rear of the box,  so I opted for a more centrally located hole.  I used a 1 1/2 inch drill bit  to create the hole to run the power cords through. 

I also took the lights off their brackets and placed the brackets inside the cabinet, marked out the bracket holes for the bolts and drilled them out.

After I had finished with all the drilling, I took a small hand held vacuum and cleaned up all the sawdust out of and around the box.

Beings I have already built a UV box before, I knew I wanted to do some things differently with this one. 

First on the agenda was using aluminum foil and keeping it affixed to the sides without the use of duct tape.

So I opted for some adhesive spray from Elmers.

It worked perfectly and allowed me the flexibility to smooth out most of the wrinkles and reposition the foil until it was in place.

I started by unrolling enough foil to cover one side lengthwise with about three inches extra on each side.

Once I had the sheet, I flipped it over so the duller side as facing me, sprayed it with the adhesive and then carefully inserted the sheet into the cabinet and did the bottom.  The extra length on each side was folded onto the opposing surface.   I repeated the process for the other sides and for the door also and found out with enough coaxing, I could almost "blend" the extra  foil into the sheet I had previously placed with just some finger pressure.  

I almost opted to get out the old rolling pin I had in the kitchen but not sure I could have gotten it to fit well enough to actually make a difference.

This is what the inside of the box looked like when I was finished and had the door reattached to the cabinet.  Not perfect, but still pretty damn good.

One thing to remember if any of you choose to build a UV bo is that mirrors, or silver paint really don't work that well with UV lights.  I had the same thought but before investing in either of those things, I figured I needed to do some research. 

Not sure now but I seem to remember reading a thread where someone was explaining how mirrors actually tended to absorb or change the wavelength pattern of the UV light and render it ineffective.  Silver paint didn't offer enough reflectivity to make it worth the effort.  

You can see the hole I drilled in the cabinet at the bottom of it.  That is where I planned to thread the wires.

I opted to put some round felt spacers beneath on the bottom to help ensure I had enough clearance between the cabinet and the desk with the bolts I was using.

These were some I picked up at Menards.  A set of 8 from Gorilla Glue ran me about 6 bucks.  They are pretty thick and hold great and allowed for enough clearance.

You can see the holes I drilled for the light brackets between the spacers.

The next step was to actually was to flip the cabinet back over and set the lights in there. 

Since I already had the holes drilled, It was simply a matter of placing the lights and brackets back in, threading in the screws and tightening them.

Be advised, its a tough operation since there isn't much clearance beneath the light and bracket but it can be managed.

After I had them mounted, I threaded all the the wiring through the central hole.

I didn't bother putting in any cable holders or tying them up on the inside at this point..  Not really necessary plus it ensured I had enough cable to reach just about any place I decided to place the power strip.

I did use cable holders to secure the power cords to the outside of the cabinet/UV box and then attached a power strip towards the back of the cabinet.  

This prevent the loose cables from cluttering the area, sticking out and gave the box a cleaner look.

The power strips position in the back was more or less to prevent any accidental powering down, plus it only had a 2 foot cord so it was easier to reach the wall outlet with it there.

Once everything was plugged in, it was time to turn it on and see how everything looked.

I powered it up and was pretty pleased with how it turned out overall.  I noticed some slight discrepancy in the lights right away, but after using it already, it only takes a few more minutes to cure baits with the new ones.

One of the perks of the new lights was that they had their own on and off switches so I can turn them off if I do not need to use them to cure anything.  Plus, the bigger baits would not hang down far enough to use their lighting.

After using this box a few times, I can see I could have probably gotten more powerful lights to help increase curing times, but since I am not painting baits to sell at this point, curing time is not really that critical.

When I do start to sell them, then I will have to upgrade the setup, but with this setup, upgrading to bigger lights should no be an issue.  I could also install some smaller light bars over top of the lights currently in place to increase the level of UV exposure the baits receive.

So there you have it...A relatively easy UV box build based mostly on material I had on hand.  Overall cost of the project would probably run close to 150 bucks or slightly more, all depending on the lights one buys.

Here's hoping you all get some use out of this article in the future.  And if anyone has any better methods or suggestions, feel free to post them in the comment section below.

Now its time to fire up the airbrush...I got baits to make.

GENERIC BLUEGILL PATTERN

 

It's been a bit cold here the last week .  Took a little break from the madness in the Lure Foundry and headed out to the lake to check on some things.  Looking over the vast swathe of ice covering the lake in all but a few places brought my thoughts back to warmer days and the expectations that inevitably follow.

One of the things I thought about was the importance of the bluegill in this lakes food chain.  I know I've brought it up before in other articles, but it got me to really thinking on how despite all my crankbait painting, I really don't have a generic bluegill pattern I can just throw anyway and expect to catch some fish.

The problem there is the invariable and infinite color variations one finds in bluegill, hybrids and sunfish.  

Another problem is that if one tries to really replicate the colors those fish sport, you tend to get a really dark patterned bait that only darkens further once you put the clear coat on.  There is a fine line to walk when painting crankbaits that is far to easy to cross.  

On the flip side, having a lure that is slightly different than what most predatory fish see can be a bonus.  If it is close enough to the usual selection of forage they see, but slightly a different color, it sets the bait apart from everything else, effectively making it a target.  

So, after I got home, I got out the airbrush, arranged the airbrush paints, pulled up a photo of the lightest bluegill I could find with spring and summer colors and put together a quick plan to see if I could 

As you can see with the nearly finished bait, the bluegill I found on the internet was rather light and even after I finished painting the blank and held it up to the photo for comparison, it was still a bit dark.

I felt it still might be a step in the right direction.  As it is, I also feel this lure might be a better option since most bluegill are typically darker in this area of the US.

I opted for the the basic shad rap crankbait blanks I got from a US based distributor.  The shape is close enough, definitely the right size and dives deeper than the usual crankbait body I use.  They have run well in the past, usually need very little tuning and tend to be tough enough to handle bigger fish.

An even better reason is the fact they seem to be easier to paint than other styles of crankbaits.  Every crankbait painter I know has favorite body style that work well with how they paint.  Given enough time and choices, one will always find a few that fit.

So without further adieu, lets get this show on the road so you can take this pattern and use it to put your own spin on it.

I started with a body I had primed flat white with Rustoleum spray paint.  This is how I usually start most of my patterns for future reference.

I then mixed up a classic bone color.  I tend to use about 4 drops of createx white then add 1 drop of opaque yellow. 

 As I mentioned, I wanted this bait to a bit brighter than usual since I know the colors will darken with the clear coat application.

I painted the bottom half of the bait with this bone color.  Doesn't have to be exact as I have seen tons of bluegill with varying shades of this color in a range of body locations.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Nothing in nature is perfect so don't be too worried about taking the bone color the body further if you need to.  Also, make sure you paint the belly this color also.

Without cleaning the airbrush of the remaining paint, I then added a few drops of fluorescent orange, to give me a creamy orange coloring along the shoulders.  I paid special attention to avoid the head area of the bait.

If you noticed, in the photo of the finished bait. you don't see any of this color.  One might ask why even bother laying down that color if it is not going to be seen.

The answer is it is not meant to be seen, it is meant to help slightly change the hue of another color I'll put down later. 

This was something I discovered quite by accident.  I liked the end result and filed it away for future reference.  depending on the color, it can produce remarkable transitions that are not easily replicated by any other methods I am currently aware of.  

Additionally, it saves me time trying to mix up another  color later on in the process.

Again, without cleaning the brush of the remaining paint,  I add a few more drops of fluorescent orange to lay onto the breast area on the bait.  I target the lower hook area.  That orange is a draw and serves to help focus most strikes.

It is also a common identifier on a bluegill and other sunfish and perch.  Kind of an forage marker that says "eat me" and is understood by every predator that swims...  

I cleaned out the airbrush and put in a few drops of createx Pearl Lime color and lightly hit the back and overspray the shoulders lightly.

Remember, I was looking for a brighter looking bait and to achieve that, I had to have a lot of lighter background colors on the bait.

I started working on the head and gill area of the crankbait with 
a few coats of the pearl Lime until I get the depth and darkness of color I wanted.  

Once I was finished, I added a few drops of Folk Art color shift green Flash and a small drop of transparent gray to the remainder of the paint in the bowl to get this color 

Seems like kind of an odd mixture, but the tonal value was already there, I just needed a darker hue.  Adding the grey achieved that end.  

I went over the back and was even more subtly over spraying the shoulders.  I wanted a visible transition area that didn't take up too much space along the bait sides.  This fit the bill nicely.  

I opted to use a fine tooth comb and sprayed through it onto the bait to get the striping pattern I was looking for.  

If one notices, the stripes are slightly darker and sprayed with much less pressure than the rest of the bait pattern. I added another small drop or two of gray 

Went over the back at slightly lower air pressures with sepia in an effort to try and bring out the striping and give the bait a more lifelike look.

Rather than clean the sepia out of the brush, I added a few drops of black, got out my home-made blue gill "ear-flap" stencil and painted the ear flap with light low pressure passes.

Now all I have to do is add eyes, split rings and hooks and these bad boys are ready to rage!

They are indeed lighter colored baits, but are also readily identifiable as a bluegill pattern. 

I should state, that this generic pattern has a lot of possibilities.  Change a few colors and you'll still have something that looks great to most predatory fish.

Enjoy

BOGSTALKER PERSONAL UPDATE: FEB 7 2021

Just a quick update on some happenings going on here and why updates and new blog articles are slower in getting onto the web than previous months.

• Been super busy getting new crankbaits painted for the 2021 campaigns.  Since I've been leaning towards more natural patterns, its been taking a bit longer than usual as there are more steps involved in getting realistic looking baits painted, sealed and ready for the water.  
  
  
• The above point segues into another facet of my bait painting.  I've been busy painting jigheads, bladebaits, spoons, flashers, dodgers etc. 
  
  If it can be modded or customized, odds are its here in my shop waiting to get some paint thrown at it. I am absolutely sure that at times I look like a primate screeching and hurling things at bait blanks but thats a story for another day.  
  
  
• The weather needs to be a bit warmer in the coming weeks to get some plastic baits poured.  I don't have an outdoor heated shop so I am at the mercy of the elements. Going to be pouring a lot throughout the year and while I am at it, I'll be taking photos, etc and posting how to articles on how to get it done and finding out what works for your lakes.  There might even be some videos if I can find a video camera that won't break when I look into it.
  
  
• Ordered about 400 new crankbait blanks online in about 6 different styles.  Should be at the Lure Foundry here in a week or two.  Again, mostly natural patterns but there might be a few surprises thrown in there.  Have a lot of requests for specialized baits.  Have a lot of ideas for baits in my personal stash too. Hoping to find some time to get them done.
  
  
• Sitting on about 300-400 different colored and length hoochies.  Obviously, I need to get some of those hoochie rigs made up before the early summer trips to Oahe start.  Still working on wrangling up the other supplies needed for the hoochie rigs.
  
  
• Hagens backordered my order of 5" kwickfish blanks.  Im kind of pissed.  This is like the 4th time they've backordered stuff and it usually takes weeks if not months to get what I ordered.  Probably going to be the last time I order anything bait related from them.  
  
  
• Walleye worm harnesses of all types are going to be in the works and I should have some made up by early April in preparation for  post-spawn walleye fishing.
  
  
• 
  
  Still working on getting the Spin-n-glow rigs made up.  They're an under-used option for salmon and I want to see if I can manage some Kings or Atlantics on them this year.  
  
  
• Working on some ideas for a new versa-track tarping system for the boat ( ie the Mistress, ie High Plains Drifter).    It will replace the "pvc skeleton" I made up last year to get a better fit to my Tracker Pro V 15DLX.  Having a great fitting tarp can help you shave some mileage off long trips and with as often as I head north, saving mileage and gas is a huge plus which can translate into savings that cover 2-3 extra trips, so yeah, that is a huge deal that I have to get accomplished by late April.  
  
  
• Recently came into possession of a buddy's entire fishing magazine collection.  He was getting ready to move and had 4 decades worth of magazines ranging from In-Fisherman, Bass Master, Bassin, etc.  Have to go through them and get them organized and added to my own library.  Might take a while.  Lots of magazines.  Lots of information I've never seen before, so this is super exciting.  Thanks a bunch Dave Abler!
  
  
• Keeping the goals and objectives I had set at the beginning of the year is obviously a huge deal if I expect to meet them.  Fishing season for me really kicks off at the beginning of March so that is going to do some biting into my time.  Will be travelling to some different lakes and rivers this year so there will be more drive time involved.
  
  
• My real world job is picking up with no end to 60 hour work weeks really in sight.  Not that huge of a deal since I tend to work 60's anyway.  Still usually by early summer, the hours get trimmed back a little and I find a little more time to hit the water.  This year, that might not happen, so I am a bit worried about that.
  
  

So obviously, you are catching my drift on the current status of pending updates.  There may a little lag time between articles or posts, but I will definitely get them put up as often as I can. In the meantime, make the most of things and get your gear ready for the upcoming season.  It'll be here before you know it.