Legendary Lures

I have to agree. Jaime's lure is very nice. Here's a couple scale ideas: - Visit a craft or scrapbook store. They have little rubber rollers on a handle. These are intended to be used to roll the bubbles/wrinkles out of paper that is being glued to something. - Make your own scale template. This way you have control over the size and shape. Place your foil on the template and make an imprint with the rubber roller. Then glue the foil to your lure. - You could use a small (or any size you like) half-round gouge (lathe tool). Roll it into a piece of wood or blank lure body for each scale. Make the rows staggered. - You might be able to make a cutting tool for a Dremel tool. You could shapen the edge of some tubing. Or you could drill out the end of a nail, then sharpen the edge. Hold the tool at an angle and cut each scale into the template. Be careful, it will propably want to "run away". - Keep your eye peeled for something that you could use as a scale template. Things like kitchen tools, like a grater might work. I've used the checkering on a pistol grip. Hope this helps or at least spawns some ideas.

Very cool, indeed! I can appreciate all the effort that went into it. Thanks, too, for sharing your plans and scaling jig. Isn't it amazing what some planning can do.

Cool stuff! Thanks for pointing us to it. I especially like the Noizy Frogs.

Thanks for all the kind words. Here's a 'head shot' as requested back at The Docks. This fellow is going fishing. The more teeth marks, the better! hahaha When it gets all chewed up, I'll retire it. I suppose I can always make another one, right?

TBC: Thanks for the compliments on the paint. Much appreciated. The score was only used to line up the edge of the needlenose pliers. Since my pliers are somewhat cone shaped, it throws my eye off and I need a line. I've had thoughts of getting a second pair of pliers and grinding one side flat, but just haven't got around to doing it.

I didn't keep exact track of time while making this lure. But I started it Saturday and completed it Sunday. The epoxy was still a little "green" when I took the picture. I was more concerned with getting a good Northern Pike look to the lure at the beginning. The lip came latter. Originally, I was going to use a purchased metal lip. However, none of the ones I had onhand suited me. Also, I didn't like the way metal lip interferred with the lure's profile. Since the lip was after the fact, it was too late to cut a groove, so I bent the lip. Here's how I did it: I lightly scored the lip with a knife so I had a nice straight guide line. I laid the lip on a sheet of aluminum flashing and heated it with a paint stripper gun. A hair dryer just isn't hot enough. This little paint stripper generates about 800 degrees F. It's amazing just how much heat and the length if time it takes to get Lexan soft enough to bend. I was careful to only apply heat near the end where the bend would be. Once it ws soft, I gripped the lip along the score with needle nosed pliers and bent it, held it while it cooled a little. I had to redrill the mounting holes since they deformed. The lip is attached to the body with 2 wood screws and a gob of epoxy.

Spent a little R&D time in the shop recently. Here's what I came up with. The one piece pine body is handcarved. Overall length is about 6 inches. The diving plane is handcut Lexan with stainless steel wire re-enforcement. Hand painted with acrylic paints. The hooks are size 1/0. The eyes and clear coat are epoxy. I sprinkled in a little micro glitter. Can't wait to give it a try.

Yes, they look familair. Thanks for reposting them. Anyone else have any?

A while back, someone posted several pictures of "Lure Autopsies". They sanded away half of some lures by laying them on their sides, on a bench sander, revealing the guts. Some interesting things to be seen. Has anyone else done this and will you share some pictures?

Found it, fixed it. Now its a Bluegill.

Here's a couple ideas: Plastic-coated playing cards. The jumbo size works well for larger baits. They come with a free storage box, too. Cut two identical stencils then flip one over. This way, you have the same pattern on each side of the lure. Visit the hair care dept. There's a wide variety of combs and clips that make very nice stripes. No stencil to cut, either. You can get nice aluminum sheets at a building supply store, in th eroofing section. A pack of about a dozen 4 x 6 inch sheets is under $2.00. Of course you could use the sides from a beverage can, but it's easier to start out flat, cut it, then curve it than starting out curved. The lure pictures was stenciled with a milk jug. Shift the stencil and shoot with different colors.

Thought yuns might enjoy this : Sorry. Don't know her and there's none of these shirts for sale.

Candy-makers' foil is the thinest foil you can get easily. Get it in the candy making section of a craft store. You could get a bag of Hersey's Kisses. Eat the chocolate and save the foils. Now, I'm guessing your next question is this: How do you get the pattern in the foil? Simply lay the foil on something that has the desired pattern and rub it with your finger. I used the checkering on a pistol handle. You could try a very fine grater, like a hard cheese grater. A wood rasp might work. How about a file, but you'd have to rotate the foil and rub it twice to get a crosshatch pattern. A fine comb could work, too. You apply the foils to just the sides of the lure. Attach it with some glue. Burnish the edges. Spray with some transparent paint. Coat with your favorite finish.

Hey Jerry, Put me in the "pestering you" column.

Neither Lowe's nor Home Depot in my area have Lexan. They do have lots of plexiglass, which is way different and not as good. I tried the plexiglass. After a couple good belly smackers on the surface, the lips broke. However, my local glass shop has it. I was able to get some 1/8" thick Lexan scraps for next to nothing. Thanks for reminding me. I need to visit again, scoop up some more scraps and give the fellow a lure or two for saving them for me.

Dang. About a month ago, I was thinking about making a lure with a buzz blade in the middle. Just didn't get to it. Your's is cool with the jointed tail. Mine was going to be straight. They're all looking good! Keep 'em comin'

True. You get what you pay for. However, a lathe makes a fairly widespread mess, so you're probalby not going to be using it on the kitchen table. So, bolt it to your bench to prevent it from dancing around. Besides, being fastened to a good solid bench will give you better results. I would save my money on the dupicator. They are fairly slow. Instead, use check gauges. You can make your own by Xeroxing the lure's profile. Cut it out and glue it to a plastic playing card or coffee can lid. You could even use a coffee can metal bottom. Turn the blank. Compare to the check gauge. repeat until happy. After you turn a couple hundred of the same lure, you'll be able to throw your check gauge away and eyeball them.

The scam works something like this: You sell an item for $10.00 The buyer pays you $10,010.00 and want $10,000.00 change. Wait. That can't be it. Why would they even THINK they'd ever see the change? Well, there must be some kind of scam to watch out for, so "HEADS UP!" If we could round up an old school bus to put in Red's front yard. It would have to have a kickbutt stereo. We could paint it Northern Pike. Or if someone had a really REALLY big printer, it could have a photo finish. We can't start making 1,000 lures until the window boxes are made, though. I hear Red's old lady makes some great brownies.

Here's a couple thoughts if you're going accept this order for 1000 lures: - Get at least half the money up front so you can cover hooks, hardware and other purchased parts. - The upfront money will also assure the purchaser is sincere. - There's a money laundering/fraud type thing from either Singapore or Nigeria, so watch out for that. - New idea: It seems there are quite a few craftsmen who hang out here at TU. How about forming a temporary "virtual" factory? Examples: A few folks make bodies, a couple others paint and maybe some others assemble. One or two could package. OR Let's say 10 workers make 100 lures, each, start to finish. The first scenario is probably the better idea since all 1000 of the lures would be more alike. They don't call me MOO (Master Of the Obvious) for nothing, you know.

Well, let's see: Lure Wizards http://www.boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?&user=Tydwater2 Tackleunderground -- obviously Carolina Chips -- I'm featured this month :oops: Ontario Fishing Net -- Friendly Canadian fishing board Tacklemaking -- When they're not out of bandwidth

Looking good! Could you describe the process of making them for those of us that are curious but lack the equipment and skills to make them ourselves?

This isn't a very direct or exact answer. Sorry about that. But I thought I'd at least contribute an idea that you haven't had. Check around for a shop that does die cutting and/or laser cutting. They may ask you to provide the Lexan or perhaps they can get it for you. The type of cut shop might make die-cut cardboard boxes rather than a metal stamping plant. A blanking company might be able to do it, too.

Here's some ideas for lead molds: Aluminum works best. If the insert you want to make is small enough, you can't beat the price/quality of Do-It's blank mold. You can make the cavity with a Dremel tool or have it milled by someone with a CNC mill. Check Del-Mart.com Del has a machine shop and specializes in fishing lure molds. He's reasonably priced and makes a qualaity product. Dunham's Water Putty ( available in the paint dept. of well stocked hardware stores) is a quick, easy and very inexpensive way to make a mold. Beware these molds deteriorate quickly. If you're planning on pouring a bunch of inserts, I would recommend using aluminum. Anyway, you could make your mold-master from wood. Make a mold container with Lego blocks. Be sure to grease up the master. Embed half of the master in modelling clay and fill the container up with Water Putty. Let it dry. Demold. Make the other half. Be absolutely sure the mold is DRY before pouring molten lead into it. Like Chip said, water and lead can product explosive results. Well, not exactly an explosion, but you certainly don't want molten lead splattering on you. I usually set the mold on top of the furnance for a few days. You can bake them in your oven on very low heat for a couple hours, too. Good luck. Be sure to show your results.

Wait a minute. I've listed things on eBay that no one bid on and Iwas still charged a listing fee. Someone clue me in on how to avoid that.... Granted, there's no "final value" fee if it doesn't sell. On the other hand, lighted lures are illegal in lots of places, so it might take a while to recoup your investment.

Yes, but the molds degrade quickly. The molds I made also allowed quite a bit of flash. I tried using a clamp on them, but I was afraid to compress them too tight. I recommend backing up the plaster with some wood. It would be a good idea to make a master mold, so you can make multiple plaster molds.