Travis

Simply you will get what you pay for. Personally I wouldn't source blanks directly from a Chinese source unless willing to put in the leg work and find a sound supplier. In my opinion not worth the effort unless we are talking about thousands of baits (10k amounts) nothing much to be gained. Trying to make a crap bait fish able is a losing cause in my book also. Paint them up as key chains and move on or throw them away. I would buy through a middle man (like most) and put them in the quality control department. Let them do the leg work, meaning they have bought from various places until they found something acceptable at a given price point . Any of the usual vendors you see mentioned on the site are likely fine. You also get with some of these vendors hassle free return and/or replacement of defective product. Simply most don't buy in quantities sufficient to guarantee a consistent quality product from these sources overseas. There are those that do but they are the companies whose baits guys are trying to buy cheap copies of to paint.

The transfer paper has always been available at my local big box craft stores. I buy it from Joanne's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby. I use a spray adhesive as the contact cement he used is too thick in my opinion. As mentioned above you need the foil as it hide/covers the areas that don't take.

I think this idea is nothing more than wishing for some. I have no evidence of it occurring that I can think of since I joined in 2004. There are claims at times someone stole this or that but I think that is sort of living in a vacuum and not realizing how much is really being done by guys. Often one might find out what is "new" today wasn't new to some guy 15 or 20 years ago. I have come across it a few times over the years. I think we have to be very clear on innovation. Some guy in his garage whittling out some strange bait isn't necessarily innovation. Too many guys that make lures think that odd and different makes them cutting edge (soft plastic guys about the worst). The true test is the bait in hands of many, fishing different locations, conditions, etc... These baits are the ones that historically have driven the industry. For the small builder they grow a local following and spread out and are sought after. Any one familiar with bass fishing can see that individual lure makers, painters, customizers, etc.. have heavily influenced (heck lets be clear essentially created) much of what we see. Deep diving cranks...shallow cranks...flat sided.... they all have had significant gains from small guys. Hard to find any "history of crank baits" and not see small time guys named mentioned and several have had huge influence on crank design/build and many of the "big" companies weren't exactly big when they started and very much small guys pushing a dream. Big companies just have the resources and abilities to quickly take things mainstream to the public where the guys tucked away in TN, NC, and several other little hot beds made baits as quick as they could and had trouble meeting demand from those in the now. Most hobby builders have little chance of creating something innovative as simply they don't fish enough or understand what they are doing. No harm in that and they may luck out and stumble on something but simply they don't have the time on the water and ability to know what/how the changes they make are influencing the end product. A lot of self claimed experts that fizzle out quickly if we start to compare to others. Innovation is alive and well. Many guys on the site simply don't/can't share what they are doing . Sure we all can learn from each other but honestly (real world not PC) one reaches a point that the average guy isn't much use in regards to forwarding the process of learning. The most and best learning occurs from guys that are similarly skilled and driven. For several there is little to gain (lure making wise) from others they just simply share to help pass along information and I have enjoyed what they share. As far as cranks I like to build them because I enjoy it. I do think that fit/finish is just as important for me as I see it a reflection of my ability. If I spend the time to learn and build a crank I find it unacceptable to slap some half attempt at paint/finish. Some of the first cranks I made were some of the crappiest paint jobs I have ever seen, they caught fish, but I knew I was capable of doing better. If not I would have moved on to something else.

I mainly paint wood cranks and always seal first. I use shellac as it dries quick. First coat sand what ever grain lifts then a second coat. This typically will give a good substrate to build on. I then spray (airbrush) a cheap white paint that has been thinned slightly as they typically seam to contain more pigment. I have used Krylon a few times and have dipped quite a few in a thinned Zinnser primer. Have also dipped a lot of propionate , dissolved solo cups, and superglue (balsa) on wood baits also. As long as your wood baits are sealed paint builds up quick. If not sealed a much slower process as several coats of paint will be needed to reach a smooth surface.

Personally it doesn't worry me to much but I do vent. I have used a respirator as a precaution, in some instances large extended pours, but overall low on my list of "dangers" I encounter daily. If using a box fan already personally I would just change the set up slightly. For years I set up with a cheap microwave on a card table in a plywood shroud with box fan in the back blowing out the window. No fumes to deal with and no smell in the room. Also used a similar set up in the kitchen with box fan in the window board/microwave across the sink and a "hood" made from pink foam insulation taped. I have come across threads over the years and some guys report headaches, dizziness, nose bleeds, irritated nose/throat, water/itchy eyes, , congestion and may feel "sick" the following day. A few I figure are just paranoid guys, some coincidence, and then some legit. Some plasitsol manufactures included lung irritation as a symptom of long term exposure. The usual irritation/dermatitis warning also gets slapped on it frequently in regards to skin exposure. You will also see decomp products generally listed as: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and HCl listed and the cover our rears "and others possible". Now not that big of deal as heat about any organic up and carbon dioxide and monoxide not that rare by any means.

Give it a really good mix and try again. Sticky.... is typically a sign you didn't get it mixed well. Once you have that issue resolved then determine if the bait is too soft. They sell hardener you can add to adjust to your liking.

Fist and foremost PPE should be your last line of protection. If one doesn't have a beard or health reasons a half mask with proper cartridge would be better in my opinion but still hood/vent system the way to go in regards to safety and cost. Proper engineering controls are the way to go. You would be better off building a hood system and vent outside.

As pointed out likely is douglas fir as fairly common in construction in pre WW II. Usually has pretty distinct odor when cut (resin) even on old stuff. The quartersawn exposed grain on your cut looks like what I typically have observed. Close up photos of the end grain photos can be very helpful for many wood species ID.

Nothing wrong with solid tubes. I probably made a few hundred messing around. I dip all my tubes. Most of my fishing I prefer a Gitzit style thin walled smooth tube with thin tails. I will make other variations but just always liked that style of thin wall tube. I would do the double or triple dipped flipping style tube at times also for guys. Dipping tubes really isn't that hard but we all have different learning curves. I used a dip, twirl, quick invert, then hang nose down motion and could dip out a 4 oz of plastic in one heating. I use nail/spikes and round the points off on a grinding wheel. The heads of the spike slid and hung into a holder made of egg crate. Definitely something you got into a groove and would knock out a bunch of tubes in short order. No sags in the walls or "nipple" fronts. Just a very simple no frills tube like those below. Cutting the tails was really the slowest but didn't take a lot of time by any means once you get it worked out. Slap the tube on the cutting mat and then I just pressed the stacked razor blade cutter down and done. Every dozen or so tubes just pressed the blades onto a cloth soaked with worm oil and kept going.

I would go with a moisture cure urethane. Either Dick Nites or KBS Diamond Clear. You are hitting a good time of the year as humidity levels lower and much easier to control in house if needed with a dehumidifier. Lots of threads on both on the site.

While not a big fan of rattle cans. Have used Testors Model Master Dodge Hemi Orange and didn't clear on some chrome traps.

I made a few this way just found it too slow of a method. You can also make a holder for test tube and over pour and then let cool. You end up with a long solid tube and some very thin tails. I did do some solid small tubes at one point also for split shotting along weed lines for big gills. Just split the plug/tube to make a tail (definitely not a "pretty" tube ) but teamed up with a 7ft light action spinning rod ended up with some nice gills and crappie.

Anglers put a lot of emphasis on things that they can control. From my experiences the better the anglers I fished with the less important such things became. Yes color can play and issue but typically one of the things I dial in after locating fish Any bets we can take a great crank bait guy and give him and upside down painted craw and he will school the average crank bait guy. I have painted craws all sort of colors and have messed with making the baits in "correct" fleeing motion but more for kicks and never thought it was critical. Few older baits as I did a lot of "soft/molt" colors to fish on some small rivers/large creeks that had a lot of craws. Also went to single mid treble as too many small fish with the rear treble on those waters. Gets old removing those dink smallies. I have come across baits at some shows painted the same color just craws facing bill or rear treble usually after some discussion boils down to we all have our quirks.

Primer in no way should make you paint job look bad. Proper primer and application makes for better adhesion of the paint.

Personally I would skip it but I am not a fan of buying something because it is cheap. I would rather do without longer and spend more on a quality set up and avoid the hassles that typically come with this sort of purchase. Iwata Neo is a cheap brush that will work and not too difficult to find a compressor for not much more. You can also buy a better brush and then rent compressed air tank for not too much and go that route if not painting a lot.

Based on my experiences a typical bass crank can be molded using something like Mold Max 30 (30 durometer) with no issues. The clamps with wood cauls is the trick (as mentioned above) typically as you can get even clamping pressure. Once you get it worked out you can do multiple molds at once. A rubber band also was sufficient for one but was more of a pain to mess with. Never had any issues with flashing with RTV molds. I did have issues with flashing on some of the bondo molds I made but that was remedied by slighting increasing the spru diameter and reducing the initial amount "charged" to the mold. While I ended up not like making them it was very nice to get consistent product in such a short time.

D bait is about the easiest to begin with. At one time template for bait and lip were both on the site. I am sure I have them somewhere on my computer with other patterns, tutorials, etc.. from the years. I will send it your way if I find it.

I fall into the replace category also.

Just buy a scale. It makes little sense for guys to get into this sort of work and not get the required "tools" to do the job. You could contact them and ask about the density and determine the volume needed or maybe someone here will take the time to determine the density. I always have used the scale method and weighed directly into the mixing cup with both components.

I found the 16 lb polyurethane foams easy to work with to be honest. Lot less effort than making a wood bait. Wasn't too difficult and one could flat out knock some baits out after working out the details. I use a pre-weighted thru wire system and worked inside so no severe temperature issues. Made them for several years but they never were as enjoyable to make as wood baits for me.

After 20 years of pouring lead, I wouldn't be worried about plastics. Essentially the same sort of risks that you have dealt with in the past.

I probably never would have continued making lures if PVC was what I started with......

No reason to turn wood and something that isn't usually done. Just needs to be stickered properly and in are area with proper air flow until dry. At that point the wood can be unstickered and stored however you want. Poplar isn't a hard wood to air dry. In many areas 4/4 and be done in 9-10 months. Your area may take a little longer but you can find the information on similar climate areas and the decrease in MC (moisture content) of the wood from harvesting (month dependent). Lots of variables however so the inch/year rule usually gets used as a catch all. For your area a 12-14% MC about the best you will get to unless you take it inside at that point and dry further in a controlled climate. Not really and issue for cranks and no big expansion contractions issues as one would have to be worried about with furniture joinery. Typically down to 8% and typically what is sought for 8 to 10% for general furniture making (get out west in dryer climates and 6% comes into play as being achievable). For smaller pieces and if you really are in a hurry you can microwave dry them. Heat for 1 minute to 1.5 minutes then let cool to ambient temperature. Repeat, repeat, repeat..... You need to take an initial weight and stop once you reach equilibration. Can always make solar kiln or setup a kiln with light bulbs and dehumidifier an speed things up. I would mill the logs into boards then visually sort it into high and low grades. The high grade/quality wood gets sandwiched in the middle the lower grade stuff. Space the stack off the ground. The boards should be spaced about 1 inch apart and the same thickness boards done on each layer. sticker properly, and use some treated plywood (or similar to cover the top of the stack) and weight with cinder blocks or similar weight. If you see mold you are drying too slow, checks/cracking and drying to fast. Plenty of examples from forestry departs, wood working sites, etc.. how to properly air dry wood.

Poplar will be fine for cranks if you want to to give it a go. Air drying takes some time however and probably looking at late spring early summer (and easily later depending on conditions) if you did it now. I would cut some up also if I had some available. Always more room for supplies.

Personally I wouldn't use sweet gum for lures. Notoriously difficult to keep straight when drying (so air drying usually out) and the interlocking grain is prone to tear out. It would be more valuable milled/kiln dried or cut up into turning blanks. Many turners find it desirable. I have made a few bowls and platters from it over the years and milled some and made small boxes to sell at the shows. Usually kiln dried sweet gum will fall in the middle price range for domestic hardwoods, depending on the area. Poplar would be the much better better option and does get used ( more for larger toothy critters). I would say most would find the color mentioned above opposite, however. The heart wood contains most of the color when present (usually do to mineral uptake or stress) but is typically pale yellow with the sapwood being pale yellow to white. All the color goes to browns upon oxidation/time. Grain usually straight and runs uniform and the wood is very easy to work with. Commonly used for utility wood as the color/appearance isn't valued typically. Gets used a lot in framing of furniture, core wood with more valuable veneer woods, moldings, plywood, etc... Many woodworkers like to use it for wood projects that will be painted. Commonly available at the store and essentially next step up over pine. Honestly wouldn't be worth paying anyone to mill a tree just for your use, in my opinion, based on the prices at the store. Not for sure what your going rates are for a guy and his portable mill. Not expensive by any means but usually better have several trees and a "more" valuable wood. Large company will want acreage to mess with. You can buy a lot of poplar for cranks for under 20 bucks at a big box store and even more from a mill and dirt cheap from an individual. For polar 1.50 to 2.00 a bd/ft is easy to find (kiln dried) in my area. A lot of guys end up milling wood and finding out they can't get rid of it. You can mill your own if you have some basic tools and don't have to to a big tree. A large limb will do fine for your use and resaw it, sticker it and dry. I usually have a small stack of various woods stickered and drying in the back near the shop for wood working projects.