Terrydabassman

Great read, I really enjoyed every bit of it.

I thought it was a "light". Great tutorial, but what am I missing here? Do they glow or something under water? Thanks, Terry

Squirrel roaster?? I thought I had the only one.

Right on the money, keep painting...wow those look great!!

It's very possible, I'd have to see the container. I threw mine away long time ago. They don't show "Virgin Lacquer Thinner" and I'm almost certain that's what works best with the plastic cups.

I'm thinking it was "Virgin Lacquer Thinner"??? I'd know the container if I saw it again to get the correct name of it. I remember buying it at Auto Zone and i also saw it at Wallmart, but the name escapes me at the moment. It would be hard to make an accurate tutorial without actually making a batch. But I'd be glad to explain how to make it, photo's of the finished product and then what a wood bait looks like after w few dips.

By Terrydabassman PDF Tutorial Attached A Hand Crafted Bomber I'm working on. Got my work piece rounded out, time to measure. I also use calipers, but not shown. Make sure I'm lined up correctly. Cut the fat end first. Starting to take shape. Looking good, eh? That's as far as I dare go on the pointed end. Cut the ends on the band saw, and sand to final shape. I'm using a model Falcon sent me. Here I've drilled the large holes for the caps and the smaller holes to accept the hook eyes. Here I'm cutting the slot for the lip. Here I've traced out the lip on .047 aluminum my good buddy Bill sent me. Been sanded to a glass like surface, time to seal the wood. Also notice the lip is drilled and tapped. I put the lip on the lure, center it, then mask it off so I'll easily find center again.The front hook eye will go through the center hole on the lip to secure it. The other two holes are to give the epoxy something more to bond to. Ok, several coats of Polyurethane , now to let it dry. I'll lightly sand it then it's ready for the primer coat. Lip looking good on the bait Drilled the holes and installed the line tie, and epoxyd in place. Now for a nice primer coat. This color is really close to the color of the soft craws around here in the summer. A little detail for the sides and underneath. Coated with Devcon 2 Ton for the top coat. On to the drying wheel for 30 minutes, then I'll let it cure for 12 hours. Ok, time for the hooks and caps. Hooks installed and ready to fish. A rear view of the finished Bomber. I had fun making this and hope you enjoyed going along with me. Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf Making A Hand Crafted Bomber.pdf

By Terrydabassman PDF Tutorial Attached These are the tools I used, pliers, 20 gage stainless wire I bought from Ace Hardware, tape measure, a drill bit, and a vise. Put the drill bit in the vise upside down to form the eye size I want. Cut a 3" piece of wire. Then bent it in half. Place it around the drill bit. Give it a squeeze with the pliers. Then again up close to the drill bit. It comes off looking kind of like a carter pin. Now I put the cut end in an Exacto knife handle and tighten it down. Put the Exacto knife handle in a hand held drill. Place the loop back on the drill bit and turn on the drill and start twisting. This is what it looks like when done. This is the finished product. You can finish off the ends any way you wish. I use 5 min epoxy and half way fill the hole and coat the twisted wire and insert making sure it's straight.I've pulled on these after they've set, you'll break the wood before these will ever pull out. It makes tuning wood crank baits a breeze. Hope this helps some lure makers. Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf Twisting Wire Made Easy.pdf

Got your PM and sent you the links to the tutorials. I use the plastic cups to seal my baits. One container has lasted me a few years so far. I cannot think of a less expensive method to seal the wood, puts a smooth rock hard shell around the wood and ready to paint. I found the longer you let it set, the harder it gets, even hard to put a thumb nail into the balsa wood beneith...but then again, I "really" coat them.

I'm very happy with the eyes I bought and wished I'd a ordered the mixed colors. HERE'S a couple on a minnow bait I made.

I do too.

That's what I'd do, talk to somebody "who knows" then hire them to program my CNC and teach me how to run it. If you're doing 125 baits a month @$22 a pop it could almost pay for itself rather quickly. Then too, you would also have more time for new or other projects.

Dell makes all those soft plastics molds on a CNC, you might want to give him a holler. He makes awesome molds.

Found it, thanks all

Yes, what is his web site addy? Thanks

Forgive me, old age thing crops up now and then. The member list is disabled and I forget if it's Kelly Lures/Kel Lures Really nice guy in NC. Can anybody help me out here? He is a member here. Thanks, Terry

I remember when I started, I just bought a saw, sander and a drill press and went to it. No way did I put out good looking "workable" lures. Then one day I amazed myself and made an awesome looking lure, BUT it didn't swim what so ever. Then came the questions, but I tried on my own first just to see how far I could go. I made some butt ugly baits I tell ya, but at the time they weren't. You can be sure the fellow that made those cranks with the tails went through a ton of trial and error before he got it right. To me I'd think the weight of the tail would effect overall performance. BUT then again, I've never tried it. The biggest tip I ever got from TU was two simple words, "center line". Oh what problems that did solve. Five years later, I'm still learning and I still make an occasional bait that looks great but won't swim...toss it and start over. I guess what I'm trying to say is, even if the fellow told you exactly how he did everything doesn't mean you could duplicate it. (kind of wood, wood density, etc.)Think about this too...what if it didn't swim...was an awesome looking bait and an awesome idea....but what if? There's nothing more satisfying for me than to make a great looking and great swimming crank bait....except when there's a hawg on the end of it, that's greater. I painted plastics and refinished lures before I started making cranks. It's fun and addicting and you never stop learning and experimenting.

My wife and I were fishing at Piedmont Lake Ohio one evening and down to the waters edge comes a big mama coon with 5 little ones. To my surprise, this huge musky came up and almost onto the shore like an orca or something and grabbed one of them baby coons and was gone with a huge splash. No skinny dipping in Piedmont thank you very much.

Yes, this is a prototype bait and could be too much weight. It's balsa and further tuning did make it blow out on the left as well. But wow does this baby thump. It's close, and I really do appreciate all the responses. I must a been hungry when I posted this about a "role", or it's just a West Virginia thing.

Good job on those....it's a never ending learning experience, enjoy the addiction and the ride.

Foiling round cranks is tough to do with out wrinkles here n there. You've done great job on that bait.

Did a search, came up empty. Crank bait runs great, really thumps the rod tip, then ka-blooy roles over on it's right side. My question is....hows come? Tunning helped some but didn't cure the problem. Everything is centered on the bait, the bait sets straight in the water....I'm at a loss. Thanks guys, Terry

Just got my order, I thought they were stick on but for the price I'll get used to them

Thanks everybody. I'll bite the bullet on the shipping.

If they're wood, not a problem, shoot me a pm.