Lincoya

Yep! We should be sampling KC's home-brew, building baits, and telling lies about now. Gene

Firechief, When you get ready to build your River Runt let me know and I'll show you how to make the metal lip for it. Gene

I used it and had problems with it hazing and cracking. Not a pretty sight. Gene

Ron, this question has been asked several times here on TU. Do a search and you should find what you're looking for. However, the bone color that I use is Walmart's Almond in a spray can. I catch a lot of fish on it. Gene

I've made some copies of CC Pikies, Bass Orenos, one Charmer, Sonics, and some 3 and 5 hook Neverfails but my favorite "old time" bait that I have built has got to be the Punkinseed. It has a beautiful action to it. It has a slow, wide swing and a slow wobble. Find your favorite and research it. Then build it. Gene

Thanks Pete! Yes, Linda and I retired the same day. We're both enjoying our time. As a matter of fact, we just returned two days ago from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We spent 9 days there visiting the grandsons. Gene

NewCastle420, A better place to post this would be in the Hardbaits section of the forum. I think you'll get more responses. That said: If you are going to cover the entire lure with paint, you'll need to use a transparent paint. It will allow the foil to show through the paint. And, yes, I would suggest that you clearcoat the foil before you paint and then clear it again after you paint. Gene

Bill, Point taken. I stand corrected. Very nice. Gene

Nice idea but I would be careful when you part the lure off. I doubt that the socket keeps a firm grip on the wood. Gene

bassguy, Spend a lot of time on your template and make sure it's right. Any mistakes you make on the template will transfer to every lip you make. Gene

Vic, I don't use glue on the dowels. I just under drill and hammer the dowels into the holes. They won't budge. Gene

I have cut over 500 lips with the router setup in the video and have had very few problems it. The biggest issue that I have is, if I use a piece of Lexan that has a lot of excess material around the edges of my template, it wants to grab it more. I solve that problem by keeping the excess to a minimum. Another minor problem is, after you cut several lips, your tape starts to lose it's "sticky" and your Lexan will shift. Just replace your tape regularly and you won't have any problems. I don't find that the templates are "tippy". As far as for your safety concerns, it is mildly unsafe. But as Vic stated, keep a minimal amount of the cutting edge of your bit exposed and you shouldn't have any problems. Gene

Mark, If you'll notice in the video and in LittleRiver's photo, there is a handle on the template. I use a dowel and Vic is using a drill bit. That gives you something to hold onto and keeps your fingers above the bit. "Chicken"? Yeah, me, too. You should see my hands and fingers now. It took me a long time to "smarten-up". I'm much better now though. Gene

Ben, Check with Reeves here at TU. He makes a couple of different sizes, I think. He brought some to the TU Get-together last year. He posts in the Wire Baits Section. Gene

Here is a link to a video that we shot at the 2010 TU Get-together in Missouri. The video will give you an idea of how easy it is to use the router to make your own lips. Gene

That is how I cut out my lips. I use a router with a laminate trim bit. The hardest part is making the template and getting it symetrical. After that, the rest is easy. You can make all kinds of shapes as long as your trim bit will fit into the "nooks and crannies" of your template. Gene