Tried using this setup to make stencils for some of the lure blanks I paint and it worked great.

Plastic milk jugs can be used to make some really nice stencils. Using a heat gun the plastic heats up quickly and gets clear when its ready to be placed over the lure body. The plastic forms to the lure body very well and is easy to cut into patterns.

Materials:
Cake tin with holes drilled into the top
Popsicle sticks glued together to make a frame for holding the plastic
Gator clips to clamp the frames over the plastic
Shop vac
Heat gun
Xacto knife
Milk jugs for stencil material.

Hope this helps someone save a few bucks and make a few nice baits

did much the same thing. those are excellent stencils by the way!

I think I like your plastic holding frame better. What kind of wood is it made of? looks like it would hold the plastic pretty tight.

not sure what the wood is. came from walmart in the craft section. it's a sign that's designed to go over a door knob. originally it had a hole in one end to go over the knob and i just opened it up to accomodate a 3 x 6" piece of stencil material. the width of the opening is about 2 3/8" wide. you need two of them so you an sandwich the stencil. . they're only about an 1/8" thick and with the three clamps it holds the plastic nicely. i used a razor knife to cut the wood. it cut easily.
and i've quadrupled the number of holes in the vacuum box to get a better draw on the heated plastic.

Outstanding response..... I think that stencil holder is an improvement on my popsicle sticks frame. Gotta try and make one for my setup. Thanks for the info

A TFF'er recently asked me to repaint a lure style that he likes, but isn't too happy with the factory patterns. Its pretty hard to paint due to all the edges and angles so I opted to use stencils to put a clean pattern down. Used the homemade stencil setup and got a few stencils cranked out. Pretty pleased with the way they formed to all the edges and angles on this lure.



Cutting stencils next....hoping I can get a good pattern on this lure

again those are outstanding stencils. are those made from the milk cartons too. i've been cutting some gallon milk containers up to salvage the biggest pieces i can. haven't tried them yet but will do so soon.

Yes. they're made from the sides of milk jugs. I can get about three 5"x4" cutouts from each jug. The plastic changes to a clear color when its ready to put on the vacuum box. Its really pliable and will wrap around a lure without having to cut a lure body up. I just pop the lure body out and take the scissors to the plastic cutting it straight down the center backbone of the lure impression. A sharp Exacto knife cuts the patterns easily and will allow for some suprisingly fine details. I recently stumbled on an idea for stencil materials that sounds promising....foam sheets....like you buy at Michael's. I'm told it is easy to work with and makes some very nice edges.

foam sheets huh. hmmm? i'd like to see some done with that. more so like to see how it's done with foam. there are some creative people out there always coming up with something new and different. i feel pretty humble most days when i look at the work thats being done.

Go to TackleUnderground's site and search "Stencil Plastic" in the Hard Baits forum. There's a guy there who posted all the details with pictures. It looks like the foam would make some better edges since the lines would not be sharp like the lines done with a stencil. I'm not steady handed enough to paint some patterns without a stencil. Best guy I've seen paint freehand used the online name "Splattered2010". He did everything freehand and was amazing. I don't know if he still paints but he was really good at it. And you're right...there are some really great airbrush lure painters out there...makes me wonder how they do it??

Here's a few pictures of the lures shown in an earlier comment. A fellow TFF'er wanted them repainted to a firetiger and a bone color. The pictures don't do justice to the firetiger lure and the bone lure's belly looks pink but is actually a fade from orange to pearl tangerine.

\
dad gum bois the detail in those is unreal. makes my stuff look like i used a paint roller. beautiful work!

Weird shape and odd angles makes them hard to paint so the compliment is appreciated. Personally I really like the black eyes with bone color. Never thought of it before....just by chance I painted the one with black eyes in bone color and the eyes make it look good.

YES THEY DID..... WOOHOO
I be the owner of those VERY FINE pieces of work. I have had boisarc do several lures for me and they have always been outstanding. There is a third one that he has not even revealed to me yet that I am getting a little anxious to see.

Thanks CWorthy. I had to shut down for a few days but I'm back and I'll be getting your lures out this week. Hope to send pics of the last lure in a day or so. Appreciate your patience...it took a while to figure out how to paint those rascals