January 2022

[Micanopy]

It has been about three weeks since I wandered into that old speck fisherman’s garage and spied his lures still affixed to the rods. What I saw then was petite little under spins with itty bitty little willow leaf blades. After looking about on the web I spotted some that were probably that same small size. These are size 0/0 and are formed from brass. They had them also in a gold finish but those were like three times as expensive.



The heads are 1/16th oz and I have attached some smallish baits and the swivel is size 0 with split rings on each end. Man is it hard to finger these during assembly but I am getting the nack for it.


I also have been experimenting with electroplating and learning how things go with all that. There was more to it than I originally anticipated after watching all the videos proclaiming how easy it is to accomplish good results. It is not easy. Apparently there is a fine line to be drawn using the exact right stuff. The voltage and amperage must be suitable, and the solution needs to be properly prepared. I think I have what is needed now with one item arriving later today. I want to see if I can tweak it to get shiny copper penny heads. I shall share it I can get things to work out for me.

This is not something I invented but it was my idea until I saw that others on here had already done it. If I can get copper to plate then next up will be nickel. Done correctly you get a nice finish, done wrong you get garbage. So I am experimenting to see if I can get copper right before attempting nickel. The solution is poison so there is the issue of keeping it off the old fingers and out of my mouth, but I pour lead so……

The weather liar claims that the temps are gonna drop big time in the next few days, so I wanted to bring a pointer to you Southern guys.

Heat pumps in cold weather. A heat pump will produce heat, but once it dips down into the 30’s the effectiveness diminishes significantly. The unit will run and run and run and the house stays cold. Time to switch over to Emergency Heat. This will energize a set of coils inside the unit and they glow like your toaster and will provide heat. Yes it is more expensive to use the coils however when it is in the 30’s and below the electricity usage actually is in favor of the coils because the machine heats and shuts off. Under regular heat the unit will run and run. So just a little info gathered from my recent work in the HAV servicing business. HAH

[DockShootinJack]

I can remember the Ernest of Ernest goes to camp fame. He did a commercial for the gas company about heat pumps where he would run around hollering don't touch that it is luke! Some of the mini splits will heat down to zero degrees. Stay warm. Hope those new creations serve ya well.