Fluid Beds

[smoothlures]

Where can I get a good one cheap? I'd only need it to do around 2 oz of powder at once, maybe eventually 4 oz? Just wondering what kind of prices I'm looking at.

[skiptomylu]

Where can I get a good one cheap? I'd only need it to do around 2 oz of powder at once, maybe eventually 4 oz? Just wondering what kind of prices I'm looking at.

Some have made their own, but I bought mine and it was not cheap. it was like $79 and each cup was like $13 each and I got 4 total as it comes with one.

I don't use it near as much as I would have thought, because unless you have a lot of one color it's not worth messing with. So most of the time I still dip it in the jar.

If you do a search on this site you will find several post about them and someone made one using 4" PVC pipe and coffee filters. I keep telling my self I am going to make some cups like that so it will be easy to use and change color by just throwing the filter away.

[smoothlures]

Thanks Skip. I think I'll save myself some money and just dip them in the jar the powder comes in. I doubt I'll be doing that many at one time of the same color.

[crappiechappy]

I have one that I bought on E-Bay. I can't remember the price, but I love mine and have the individual cups w/ lids for each color that I store them in as well. Using the fluid bed, a 2 oz. jar of paint will last what seems like forever and gets the heads painted more evenly. I buy my paint and acessories from TJ's Tackle on-line.

[skiptomylu]

I have one that I bought on E-Bay. I can't remember the price, but I love mine and have the individual cups w/ lids for each color that I store them in as well. Using the fluid bed, a 2 oz. jar of paint will last what seems like forever and gets the heads painted more evenly. I buy my paint and acessories from TJ's Tackle on-line.

That is a little cheaper, but still to have a cup for every color I use would take 14 of them. So that is still $50 for the unit and assuming you get one cup with the unit that is an additional $91 plus $8.95 shipping.

Total for me......$149.95 and man that is a lot of money to make up by using less paint. Think I will keep the few I have and if I have a lot of that color I will use it, otherwise I will just dip my jigs in the container they come in. Even with that I hardly ever do enough to make up for the time to set it up and pack it back away. Even though all it takes is getting it out plugging it in and then doing the reverse to put it up. it's just a pain unless you are painting a lot of jig heads the same color.

Also I am not totally pleased with how hard it is to get the powder to bubble and not make a cloud of paint, at least with the one I have.

At least that supplier is less for the cups so if I ever decide to add a few I will check into them. However I am not sure I would use it any more than I do now. All you have to do is stir you paint with a tooth pick every once in a while and keep it fluffed and you still have to do every step with or without the fluid bed. It is not usual in my experience that you get the same color enough. If someone orders a $50 order it will not be all the same color unless they want unpainted heads.

But maybe that is just me,

Skip

[NJcrappie]

I love mine and use it all the time. I made all of mine and it cost me less then $10 each. The most expensive part is the fish tank air pump. This guy sell them if you want to buy one already made.

http://www.tjstackle.com/

[skiptomylu]

I love mine and use it all the time. I made all of mine and it cost me less then $10 each. The most expensive part is the fish tank air pump. This guy sell them if you want to buy one already made.

http://www.tjstackle.com/

Maybe mine is just not a good one for some reason, has something wrong with it, but I am not impressed at all for that much money like the cost at http://www.tjstackle.com/.

Skip

[skiptomylu]

I don't have a problem using it, but I never paint 500 jig heads at a time. Maybe you sell a lot more than I do, but I hardly ever paint over 75 or so at a time and there us usually several different colors, more like 4-5 colors if not more. I too can do a good job with keeping the paint out of the eyes better than dipping, but I don't have that much trouble either way. I find that I can get a good coat and once it's baked on it's not chipping for sure. Maybe you don't bake yours and that will make the paint chip easier.

I do have a problem getting the air flow right through the cups though and that is not something I am doing wrong it's how the air flows through the membrane.

Anyway if you are doing 500 jig heads at a time for one or two colors I am sure it helps, but I don't think many people are painting that many heads if they are hand tying.

However I do like you glue better than most fishing glue's that I have tried. I don't use it tying, but I do use it.

[guest01]

Skip, it may not be yur cups, we have 23 cups, 1 for each color so we dont have to clean out the cups to change, but some colors do not do as well. the will not boil up. most colors do fine but there are differances in the way each color acts. it all comes down to what works for you and your methods work very well for you.

[ShilohRed]

I had one saved to my PC. But lost everything yesterday. But all it was, Take a 3" PVC adapters the cups were pipe coupling with a coffee filter on the bottom of the coupling. Then drill a hole in the adapter and you take a air pump for a fish tank. And a valve. Adjust the air pressure to where the power is where it needs to be.
I will get the link from a buddy of mine and post it on here.
Pete