Hydro Dipped Lids...coming soon to a body of water near you!!

So again we are trying to improve our product! Many of you have seen our blog post about a new lid design, if not you can check it out here. Well we stumbled across something in our own backyard. A buddy of mine I have known for years has been talking about hydro dipping for awhile now and he now has the stuff!
  Naturally my first thought is how can I use this for our tackle boxes....lol. Well how bout Carbon Fiber Lids, Hydro-dipped carbon fiber that is. So we took a couple of pieces of our materials to him a couple of days ago and some interesting things have come to light! Not only does it stick to Polycarbonate, but it sticks well without much prep. Not only that but we are playing around with a different material as well just for the lids and it's first test dip was earlier today....and it was successful! so I am stoked. We will be doing some further testing but should have a prototype very soon if all goes well.
  So what does this mean to our customers? Well for those that want lids it means it will come standard as a carbon fiber looking lid, clear coat and all. Plus we will offer a ton of choices besides that print as well. While we still are working out costs and feasibilities I am confident that it is doable. Check out some of the patterns.....

Now there are about 250 in total that they currently have so the possibilities are vast!

Also we are going to play with maybe dipping the  bottom 4 inches or so of a box or PFS with like camo.....on the poly it is still translucent! Should be very cool so stay tuned!

Check out Deep See Customs on Facebook®

***UPDATE***

We are continuing to work with Deep See Customs and are getting some promising results. A lid is being made as we speak to go to them for what could be the final prototype. Keep your fingers crossed as this will you, our clients, more than 200 choices of patterns for your lid.....this is so cool!!

***UPDATE***
I still have not given up on this, I will have a dipped lid to show soon. Deep See Customs have been working on alot of things and refining the process.

New Lids

So we are always trying to improve what we are doing and most of which is behind the scenes with jigs and material to speed up the process. The latest mission is to take a material typically used for outdoor signs and make a lid out of it!
 So the material is Polyethylene sandwiched between two thin layers of aluminum. It's lightweight and strong and comes in so many different colors that it will blow your mind....even wood grain (depending on availability from manf of course).
  Right now we have a bending jig made that makes a killer clean bend. Our challenge is to find the right sealer and the cut of the corners to make it as clean as possible but we are close!

Some of the colors are:

 

   If this performs like we think it will it may even be possible to etch on it which will essentially remove the paint and expose the Aluminum below...should be a cool look, if not we have a weatherproof Team Cordwood Decal that looks killer! Stay Tuned!

UPDATE!!!
Ok so we finally had some samples etched and man are they gonna be cool! Here are a couple pics I just took of what we tried!

 

04/27/2015

The final product!!! We are opting for the single pass laser etch, gives it a golden hue.

***UPDATE***

\Due to the cost f this product being volatile we have discontinued the use of it. While this may be a temporary issue the bottom line is keeping costs down. As it is labor intensive we have chosen to go a different route and pass the savings on to you.

The Musky Huntress Project

So occasionally I get some jobs that are pretty cool. Bri Herman, A Female Muskie Fishing personality (many of you may already know of her) has a Facebook® community page called the Musky Huntress. With over 3.5K likes this site is no joke (since Muskie Fishing is not a broad topic). Well in a conversation with Ms. Herman we decided to make a Musky Huntress Esox Box. Complete with Pink DOT Tape and pink handle straps. The box will also be emblazoned with the Musky Huntress Logo making it unique and hopefully very popular with our Female compatriots. So be watching not only on the Team Cordwood Facebook® page but Bri's page as well!

Final Product...Bling and all!

Expanding our virtual Horizons

Hello again,
in an effort to permeate the web with Team Cordwood we have added a new Google+ page. Check it out and if you are reading this and have a google+ page yourself...follow us and we will follow you!

Team Cordwood Google+

The PFS on the Verge!!!

So we have been modifying the PFS [formerly known as the Cordwood Caddy]. The key in building any of these things we build is to get a system down for size and assembly...tinkering if you will. Well we are on the verge of what I believe to be one of the best additions to the fishing industry to date. "Bob, you say, There are already caddy's out there!". You would be correct, however there is a very short list of split designs on the market out there. While we feel that any addition of any caddy is essential to those that fish with a butt seat, ours has some great features we think everyone may like. We are tirelessly working on improving this system to make it useful to all fishermen of any species. From the dimensions to the accessories we have tried and failed, stumbled and fell flat on our face all the while improving this system along the way and we are so close to having it. The dimension are good the accessories stellar now it's just down to building a half dozen to get the process refined. We have already built 2 prototypes with great success which mean that YOU, are about ready to see something very cool...very soon!

Shop Maintenance Part Deux!

Ok so I mentioned that we had other projects that were going to make our life easier. And they are almost done. So while assembling some boxes that are long overdue I completed one project and I am in the middle of the other. My Partner in crime Bill "Coach" Breeden has been down for the count with pneumonia so well wishes and prayers for his speedy recovery please!
 The 1st project which Coach had the biggest part in building I simply took his idea and finished the installation was a Suspended rack for our sheet goods. Quite the endeavor and honestly a little too big for a one man job but I did it anyway!

Now we have storage and a bit more room. In moving the sheet goods up it opened where they were stored so the plan was to create an accessory station where we could assemble small pieces. Not quite finished but I have a couple of PFS to finish so I will finish it shortly.

Both projects will help in the organization of the shop and hopefully increase productivity by keeping us from fumbling over all this stuff! Stay tuned as I will update the progress of this and other projects in the near future!

Cordwood Partnerships - The IMC

Partnerships are the backbone for making it in the world of fishing. Surprisingly enough you don't see much of it. Sure you have sponsors of events and things like that but I am talking a real partnership! One that mutually benefits both parties. Don't get me wrong I am all for Sponsors, without them some events dare I say most events couldn't even happen.

  Partnerships on the other hand can benefit both parties and more effectively generate sales/membership/attendance etc. etc. 

  Team Cordwood is all up in this. We have partnered with Musky Clubs and Tournaments and a couple comes to mind. First and foremost is our partnership with the IMC. The Indiana Muskie Classic which is held on the Barbee Chain - Lake Tippecanoe - Lake Webster was quite the experience. They purchased over a dozen boxes and invited us to fish the tournament as well (which by the way I landed my biggest Muskie to date....48 1/4") so needless to say I LOVE THAT TOURNAMENT!! but I digress. Jeremy and the gang do an amazing job on hosting this tourney so if you get a chance Check it out!

19th Annual IMC May 15th - 17th 2015

A little shop maintenance

So we have been doing a little housekeeping. Amongst other things we spent probably an inordinate amount of time on building our tablesaw sled. I say inordinate because between sickness, injury,and a large order we also had a shaper malfunction and a bandsaw apocalypse!
  Once we worked out those issues (no small feat in itself ), in our infinite wisdom we have 3 other projects that have been held off too long and are hindering our progress. None of these things will stop us....if anything when finished we will be more efficient and produce products quicker...which is cool!
  You can't buy a sled like we made. We even considered manufacturing the sled for others but once we took a breath we realized it would cost about $150 in material and $3000.00 on engineering cost...lol, thus the thought quickly expired. Again we are not brought down by the recent events and minor setbacks, it's something everyone that manufactures products probably experiences.... I am just dumb enough to say it in public!

e-Commerce opportunity trough Team Cordwood

So here is the nuts and bolts of this. Team Cordwood already has a pretty cool website and our online store. What we are proposing is an extremely upfront opportunity for up and coming Bait Makers. In truth we just want to help others and in the process drive more people to our store. So while we have a sort of contract that may seem a little intimidating to some it is really not. You send us products, we inturn put it up on our site and help promote it. When it sells we send you your money in one of various ways (Paypal®, Check, Google® Wallet) less 15% More info HERE.
  We feel that not only does it save an up and coming bait makers a whole bunch of time but is cost effective as well. To set up a decent website and then to find a cart and understand how it works is not cheap and is time consuming. We have done all of that and users of this opportunity do not have to know how to do anything except make the baits they already are making. Our site can accept all major credit cards, PayPal® and even money orders. The % we take out covers costs incurred by Team Cordwood from these processors and a small amount for the time and effort it takes to post the baits and promote them. Tell everybody about this one!!!

So here are some of the baits thus far who have utilized our ecommerce opportunity!

 

The last of the Musky Snax made...Ever! See all the available colors for both baits HERE

Rollie & Helen's Here We Come!

So, back in November of 2014 Team Cordwood set out on an adventure to Minocqua Wi. to visit Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop. Turned out to be a great visit as we are now stocking the 24slot and 20slot Esox Box in their store. Complete with a cool R&H Musky Shop Etching on the front. Not only that but some of the boxes have a FREE Lure inside compliments of Muskie Metal Lures . There is a whole bunch going on and I will talk about it in future posts but suffice it to say Team Cordwood is gaining momentum.

From the 2015 R&H Catalog!!!