RiverMan

Musky, You know you bring up a good point and I have not experimented with it enough to know how much the lead placement will effect wobble. In recent weeks I have been building gliders and wobble really isn't a big part of the action for these lures. That being said tho, I have had some problems in the past with baits wanting to sit at a slight angle with the lead being drilled straight in which doesn't make one happy after taking all the time to shape the body. I have also had baits that ran perfectly while testing with weight rubber-banded to the bottom but wouldn't do anything but roll once the lead was drilled in. You must be very careful to not change the center of gravity on the lure or it flat won't run. From my limited experience, the lower the weight is kept the less likely it is that I will have problems getting the lure to do what I want it to. If you look at the guys tho that build alot of baits like skeeter, chip, and others most of them do drill the lead in and it seems to work fine for them. Joe, I'm curious as to how well your router is working for the slots. It seems like it would be tricky to get the slot on a bait with an uneven belly...is this true? Also, have you had the bait go flying across the room while trying this? Thx. Jed

Dave, I am most interested in the device for cutting out plug bodies. Do you have a feel for how would it work on other woods such as cedar or poplar? Also it sounds like you are talking about similar types of devices, is there a link you can direct me to? Thx. Jed

Jerkbait, That's a great looking glider! Some time back Splash recommended I insert the weight the same way you are describing as he felt it eliminated the liklihood of baits wanting to "tip" to one side or the other. From my experience he is exactly right and this is the way I have been building them. I have read where some guys will drill through the side of the baits rather than the bottom and placed the lead as low as possible..haven't tried this msyelf. I have been drilling out several adjacent holes along the bottom and then smoothing the slot out with a dremel and pouring in liquid lead. I want to get away from this tho as I don't want to deal with the toxic lead fumes. What is the shape of lead you are using? Are you also pouring in the lead? Jed

I'm curious as to whether anyone on the board has experimented with the duplicator Jerry has designs for. If so, is there an advantage of using the machine for production? Thx. Jed

Yea I like the lure too, very interesting design. I'm guessing if the pinchers were made light enuf they would toss about when retrieved, cool. jed

Have you posted a picture of one of your lures Marc? I would very much like to see one. Hey Dean I picked up several Poplar Boards today, hope to throw some sawdust later! Jed

You do want to make sure everything is round...I have had problems in the past in the nose area of the bait but if you make sure these areas are rounded off it will cure the problem. jed

You can thin Devcon with rubbing alcohol but it isn't necessary. The bubbles may be coming from the way you mix the Devcon. Watch the Devcon while you stir it and you will note it goes from clear to milky white and then to clear again. Stir slowly making sure you get all the edges and take your time. The "spots" are because you aren't putting it on heavy enough. Put the stuff on heavier and any bubbles simply brush out. Hold the bait at an angle to the light and you will be able to see any spots you have missed. Devcon is very easy to use once you get used to it. Hope this helps. Jed

Beautiful Chip, your work is getting better all the time. jed

I will give the Poplar a try Dean...will see if I can pick some up tomorrow. My only hope here is Home Depot so hoping they carry it. Would be interested in hearing what you find out for the Hughes Jim. jed

I heard from someone they were made from cedar but don't know that for certain. I have built some gliders from cedar and they swim perfectly. I am now building some of hemlock as I got tired of having to add so much lead to the wood...cedar is about like foam. Why Hemlock? Have no idea, it just "looked good", lol. I have read that many of the gliders are built of mahogany so you might try that. Do you have a pattern for the hughes? If so I would love to get a copy of it. Jed

Interesting, I like the quick dry time. jed

Terry, When you get all of the questions you have asked figured out let me know would ya? I have been building baits for months and have read everything I could find on this subject and still I have baits that won't run. Just today I tested a bait and it's rolling on me....all the others ran perfectly, not sure what happened. You will find that no matter how close you follow some instructions some baits will behave in a way you never expected. The best advice I can give you is to experiment and experiment. Cut out not one of your favorite style baits but 5 or more each with a different bill angle. Vary the tow-point and try lots of different bill sizes. You will eventually find the the bait you are looking for and learn much in the process......besides that it's fun! jed

Yea what's with Wal-Mart and their continuous low supply of Devcon. I always remind the guy to reorder for me and still find the shelf empty at times. The trick is to buy every tube they have when it comes in. Wish we could get the stuff in tubes that were much larger.....say 5 times the size of those we currently buy. jed

Hi Bob, There was quite a discussion on this exact subject a few months back. You might do a search on it. Jed

I'm sure you are correct on the bit "terminology" Lunge....... Off for a week of fun in the sun!! Woohoooo!!! See ya in a week!

Thanks you guys. Headed out tomorrow for a week of fun in California with my family. Chip will check with ya upon my return. Jed

I have never used a router before but do understand that they can be: 1. Dangerous 2. A great tool A wood-working friend of mine has suggested that I buy one for the purpose of cutting the weight slots on the bottom of the wood blanks and also for rounding off the edges of the lures. I would be interested in hearing from those of you much more experienced in this regard. He suggested using a fence to cut the weight slots on the router and then a "roll over" bit for the edges. Anyone doing this? Trying to find a way to make things faster and more consistent. Jed

Thanks for the info Skeeter, it's good to see some science put to lure making rather than "use it because I say so". I have only tried Devcon and Flex Coat and found the Devcon much more to my liking...harder finish and it goes on thicker. Jed

Hey Chip is that a fish or a lure you're holding? Hehehehehe. Out west we use those for bait and catch em like this!

Thanks Leon. Carolina and Skeeter pretty much got me into making hard baits. It it weren't for the two of them I wouldn't have a clue about how to build these baits, that's a fact! From what I know of Carolina he is a top notch guy and has ALWAYS taken time out to write me when I asked. I hope that Jerry will look into Carolina's complaint about having emails deleted and remedy this problem. Jed

Vytautus, it's good to see your name again, have not seen you in awhile. Most all of the lure companies now offer their version of a "photo lure". It looks to me like most of these are printed on a clear material that is then placed on the lure and finished over. Really the whole photo finish thing is is not a new idea, George Grant of Montana was placing pictures (most he drew) on the back of fishing flies 50 years ago and many other lure manufacturer's have been doing similar things for at least as long. If you want to do this type of thing I think you could just print a fish image on some stencil material which here in the USA is available in most office supply shops..it is expensive tho. Jed

What are you saying? Is Chip closing down his site or not coming here? Not following what you are saying. He is a great guy, has been nothing but good to me. Jed

Bass, Well this isn't "lure related" but I would suggest a couple things for your computer if you are not doing them already. All of these are free! 1. Go to this link, once there on the left margin choose AVG Free Edition and download the virus package. Update the package once per week and run the software on your machine. http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php 2. This is a free virus scan of your machine, run this if you want and then download the software for continuos protection in number 1 above. http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ 3. Download Ad-aware...this software searches out and find "spyware" that has been attached to your machine, great product and free! http://www.lavasoft.de/ You must also update the ad-aware about once per week. This is all I have on my machine and have not had a virus or any problem of any kind in years. jed

Great idea Shawn!