BobP

Laminate trimmers or "compact routers" are usually 1/4" and have many of the advantages (and dangers) of a regular router. You might also consider a Foredom rotary tool, which is the big brother of the Dremel. It has variable speed controlled by a foot pedal, a flex shaft drive and accepts up to 1/4" shaft diameter bits. The Foredom is more expensive than most laminate trimmers, however. Good luck with it - I just can't bring myself to try routing 2" bass baits at 30000 rpm. Like Clint says "A man should know his limitations". I like the Foredom for hand shaping baits with a sanding cylinder.

I'm a bigger cheapskate than Tony. I clamp a treble in some locking hemostats and clamp that in my bench vise, throw a spool of size A nylon thread on the floor and wrap chicken feathers bought for a couple of bucks at Michael's craft store. Maybe throw in a few strands of flashaboo. A little clear nail polish and you're good to go. You can color the white feathers with a chartreuse highlighter pen or a Sharpie if you wish. I have a friend who actually wraps flies and does a much better job than I, but the bass aren't complaining yet.

Eastern hemlock has a nominal density of 25 lbs/cu ft, which is a little heavier than basswood (23), eastern white pine (21., or white cedar (20). Wood density is important to crankbait performance and lighter woods are generally preferred because they make for a more lively bait. But with a density near to basswood, which is a prime crankbait wood, you should be fine if it cuts, shapes and sands OK. Never worked with hemlock, so can't comment on its working characteristics. Basswood is nice to work because it has virtually no "grain effects", a relatively uniform density, and sands to a very smooth surface. I'd make sure the wood is properly dried before using it. JMHO, any wood you use for crankbaits is going to be negligible in cost compared to the value of the finished bait. 95% of the value is the work you put into building it, so it makes sense to use only high quality components.

Jed, Thanks for the info! I wondered if there was a short recoat time possible for DN and maybe you found it! A lot of solvent based coatings specify recoating "within a certain short time or longer than 24 hrs". Maybe the same applies to DN? My question is whether you brush or dip your DN?

To me, thin is 1/4 to 3/8" wide with flat sides. The wiggle is faster and sharper than a round bait, with less tail displacement. Some use them only when the water is cool in spring and fall but I like them year round, especially in and around shallow cover. The negative about them is the castability is usually not as good as medium or fat baits. But that's not a big issue when fishing cover and they seem to catch more fish for me, in more varied water conditions. JMHO

Ethan, Peruse the posts here and read the Member Submitted Tutorials. More info than any sane man needs to know about making crankbaits.

One nice thing about epoxies is they generally don't react chemically with underlying coatings so there's seldom a problem with wrinkled paint or bubbles. When cured, they are almost inert so are also good for waterproofing/undercoating raw wood. Envirotex Lite (aka ETEX) and Devcon Two Ton are good standard epoxies used by lure builders. It's worth noting that epoxies with longer cure times are usually rated as stronger than ones with shorter cure times. Whether that means they are less prone to hook rash, impact damage, etc, is a different question. In the end, I think there is more variation caused by application missteps than anything else. If you want hard non-yellowing epoxy, the important thing is to measure the 2 parts accurately and mix them very thoroughly (some don't realize what thorough really means!). I think there has been a tendency for musky builders to use ETEX in multiple coats (3-5) and for bass builders to use a single coat of Devcon 2T. ETEX contains solvent, is thinner, and has a much longer brush and hardening time than Devcon. You can do a search here on the respective epoxies to get hundreds of comments, application tips, pros/cons, etc.

Createx is great stuff - it's consistent, has good flow agents and shoots better than most. It's color array is fairly basic - mostly standard colors in either opaque or transparent. So you'll end up having to custom mix Createx for intermediate shades. Some guys don't mind mixing and stick with Createx. You have fewer airbrush problems and it lets you concentrate on technique. But I prefer not to mix paint when possible so always look around the taxidermy sites (http://www.taxidermy.net/suppliers/airbrush.php) for options. The consistency and flow characteristics are sometimes not as good as Createx, but there is a whole world of custom colors, flakes, iridescents, etc to pick and choose from. I like that and use a grab bag of Createx, Smith Wildlife, Polytranspar, etc. I've never had any incompatibility problems among brands, so it works OK. Just wanted to point out that there are options and you don't necessarily have to stick with one brand.

Mark, a hair dryer will certainly speed dry DN but it already dries quickly - you can touch the surface within an hour and can gently handle it after 2-3 hours. That doesn't mean all the solvent has gassed out, and it's still pretty fragile until 24 hrs have passed. At that point, DN has the durability of a thin coating of typical polyurethane, i.e., not much. It only becomes tough and durable after moisture cure and that lasts at least a week. How long it takes for epoxy or a moisture cure poly to get to true final cure state is debatable. I've read that most epoxies continue to cure for about a week and some suggest DN might continue curing for as long as a month. All this is relative to temperature, humidity, and how hard and tough you as a builder think is "good enough". I fish epoxied lures (D2T) with no problems after 24 hours. I've mailed DN covered baits after 24 hrs, reasoning the recipient would not have a chance to throw them for 4-5 days, enough time for the moisture cure to reach good durability. I personally like at least 5 days cure time before I fish a DN bait. No problem for me - I have lots of crankbaits and giving one time to get really durable is not a big deal. That's reason #101 I like building them

Scott, you didn't say what brand of epoxy you are using so it's hard to estimate how far it will go. Devcon Two Ton epoxy makes a thick coating while rod epoxies like Flexcoat or table top epoxies like Envirotex Lite (aka ETEX) contain solvents and make a much thinner coating.

In my experience, you need to wait at least 24 hrs, and longer if possible. Several days is not too much. Because of the chance of a bad Dick Nite to Dick Nite reaction, I usually only do a single dip on bass baits. One dip seems to give a fault-free coating with good durability. It would be ideal if the coating were a little thicker, yes, but realistically a thicker coating retaind its solvents longer while drying/curing, increasing the chance of a wrinkle or bubble. So like a lot of things, it's a balancing act.

I also got mine from Sunshine Glass. Not a lot of sources on the internet. I really like the Brite-bak silver foil. Not so much in love with the "gold" Brite-bak, which is an orangey brass color, not gold. When I want gold, I shoot transparent yellow over the silver to get a light, bright gold. Surfk9, aluminum duct tape works but is not the same because it is several times thicker and not quite as bright. Not a big issue on very large baits but on bass size baits, the thinner tape smooths down neater and has a thin margin that disappears with a single coating of topcoat. The Brite-bak also shows underlying 3D features better than duct tape over plastic baits, and it takes scale embossing very well too. I've done lots of baits with both tapes and the Brite-bak is better in every way if you don't mind the modest added cost.

I'm not an industrial engineer but think factories probably use a chrome electro-deposition method similar to the one used to chrome plastic auto parts. If you have peeled the chrome paint off lures (Rattle Traps come to mind) you see the coating is super thin and usually has pretty poor adhesion compared to other finishes. When I repaint Rattle Traps, I choose a chromed model to start with because it's so easy to remove its chrome finish.

Guys have tried various chrome paints and got the same results as you, except I remember someone saying they found a very expensive chrome product (more than $100 for a very small volume) that worked. Like Dave says, I substitute foil. Since there are foils with similar reflectivity, it's a good alternative. There are various foil alternatives but I like Brite-Bak adhesive foil because it is thin, strong, and easy to apply: http://www.sunshineglass.com/rcol/i-proj/mosaic-access-vent.htm It will transmit 3D features on the lure's surface very well, or you can texture it yourself on wood lures.

Bending the line tie down will increase the amount of yaw. That's the left/right movement around the bait's center of horizontal rotation. You can see it most easily on trolling lures and guys who troll lures have been doing it for decades. It may amplify an existing tendency to hunt by bringing the pull point of the lure closer to the level of the ballast. But that alone isn't sufficient to make a hunting crankbait. Look at a Lucky Craft RC 1.5. Its line tie is right down on the lip surface but they won't hunt (nor will most Japanese baits). And since they catch lots of fish and are one of the more popular shallow crankbaits around, who cares? I don't understand every crankbait dynamic that causes hunting behavior so won't be coy about it or slyly suggest there's some secret available to only the cognoscenti. I don't think there is. Like a lot of builders, I have a couple of shallow crankbait designs that will hunt reliably. I build them alongside other designs that never will - and I don't want ALL crankbaits to hunt. The hunters are built of buoyant wood with slightly oversize lips (not square in my case) set at about 45 degrees, ballast shifted somewhat forward from "normal" and the line tie sitting right down on the lip surface. Everything is built straight and square. They have heavy 'thump' and approach instability - but never so unstable that they blow out, even when reeled fast. This thread has a lot of good info about the why and how of hunting but you don't see any formulas and I don't think you can generalize too much from a specific crankbait design. At least that's my Wild Ass Guess

Jig Colors: Jig skirts and trailers come in a plethora of colors and patterns. If you have seen crawfish on the lake and they have a particular "accent color" like blue, orange or yellow, by all means add it to your jig/trailer by dipping the ends of the trailer in dye. BTW, those color accents exist seasonally, not year round for most craw species. Most craws are dull colored all over, most of the year. You have to be careful that all the options don't drive you crazy and leave you scratching your head instead of keeping your line wet and catching fish. Different color choices will usually work in the same lake at the same time so don't get too wrapped around the axle about color. Where you fish it and how you fish it are the most important things. I carry 4 basic jig and trailer colors: black/blue, brown, green pumpkin (black flake), and white. 70% of the time, I'm throwing green pumpkin or brown. 25% of the time black/blue, and 5% white (for swimming a jig to look like a shad). I usually throw the same trailer color as the jig, but occasionally mix colors just to see if they work. In cold water, I'll first try a jig that sinks slowly when fishing shallow cover. Heavier jigs when the water's hot, for a faster fall rate. But you always want a jig heavy enough to get to the bottom in a reasonable amount of time and heavy enough to stay there while you move it like a crawfish. That keeps it efficient and catches more bass. For me, that means 1/4 or 3/8 oz jigs shallow and 3/4 oz jigs deep. I use Arkie style jig heads in heavy wood, football style in deep rocks, and conical in heavy grass. There are lots of fine details you can use in color, weight, head style, hook style, and retrieve that can make a difference but those things will come after you learn the basics of jig fishing and begin to get particular (some might say peculiar) about the details which matter, based on your particular experience.

I don't cast jigs but think the original Chatterbait design with the blade connected directly to the hook eye has the best action. I tried modifying jigs/hooks to get a chatter style bait. It was a failure because the good hooks (I like Gamakatsu) are tempered steel and break unless they are heated to "de-temper" them and worked while hot. The only hooks I found that bend without heating are the thin wire Mustad jig hooks used on small ball jigs - which if you think about it, is not exactly a testament to their durability or resistance to bending (which is OK, they aren't designed to last forever). I gave up puttering with hooks and just buy chatter style jigs from companies that know how to get it done.

Since it cures over a week, I'm wondering if it isn't another moisture cured polyurethane. I've tried 2 brands so far, Famowood and Dick Nite. Cost seems almost identical for the 3 brands. The Famowood was much thicker than the DN, which is formulated to suit the viscosity requirement of Dick Nite for dip coating painted spoons. The storage issues sound similar. If you guys aren't using the stuff completely within 2-3 months, I'd recommend reading up on and following some of the threads about how to preserve Dick Nite. JMHO, it gets expensive to pay $50 for a quart of topcoat and then having to throw half of it away when it auto-cures in the can. Just tamping the can lid back down with a plastic liner won't hack it (I know!). When the finish level gets down to about 50%, there's enough moist air in the can to begin the cure process.

Just fyi, Lexan is a brand name for G.E.'s polycarbonate. There are lots of polycarbonate manufacturers now and any brand has the same properties (toughness, clarity, crack resistance). I buy it in 1'x 1' sheets from McMaster-Carr. Glass shops and home centers also carry it. I wouldn't use anything else for clear crankbait lips. Personally, I like circuit board for super deep diver lips due to its thinness and performance advantages (yep, it gets deeper) but Lexan has the advantage of being transparent, not just translucent.

I've used "hobby acrylic paint" like Apple Barrel thinned with water. The problem is that non-airbrush paint has no standard about how large the pigment particles need to be, nor does it have flow agents. It will be Clog City unless you are using an a/b with a large tip. No harm trying it but I think you'll come around to the view that airbrush paint should be used in airbrushes. A bottle lasts a long time so the modest extra expense is not really much of a consideration when you consider the hassles you will be avoiding.

The deepest diving commercial crankbait is the 3/4 oz Luhr Jensen Hot Lips Express at 22 ft deep on a 100 ft cast with 10 lb line. My copy of Precision Casting (printed in 2000) puts the Deep Secret at 16.5 ft with the same conditions. Poe's 400P and Norman DD22 - 17 ft. In small baits, the 1/4 oz Hot Lips Express dives 12 ft, outstanding considering its body size. All this points to a truism: most companies lie like dogs about dive depth. Like Marty, I think it's an interesting exercise to build crankbaits that will dive 20 ft +. It teaches you stuff about crankbaits that building shallow runners never will. It's not easy and it requires lots of testing and tweaking if you want a bait that runs deep, slow floats, and has good action. Most deep divers have relatively large bodies to balance and control the forces generated by their large lips. When shrinking the body and expanding the lip, you eventually run out of "design room". In practical fishing, that's when you put down the crankbait and pick up a jig, a C-rig, or a jigging spoon. But we crankbait nuts are always looking for ways to push the envelope. Here's one with a 3" body that will run 20+ ft.

I would look around your area and ask at some local bait shops to find out which are the "big sellers". Big sellers catch fish and dedicated fishermen are smart enough to buy repaints of them because they know the bait will perform well, above and beyond just looking pretty. A bait that seems to hold its popularity in my region is the Rapala Shad Rap, the wood model in size 7 or the plastic RS in sizes 5 and 7. Various lipless crankbaits also seem to be popular, including Rattletraps and Cordell Super Spots. The whole Rapala DT series of crankbaits is very popular and comes in a limited array of colors, so it's a good candidate.

In the Iwatas, the "+" designation, eg, HP-B+, denotes that the brush as a screw stop on the rear of the brush that limits the amount paint being released. The Paasche VL has a similar system. In my experience, the feature is just about useless once you get the hang of using a double action airbrush. A little time on the airbrush and you'll be controlling the paint without thinking. Any new tool takes awhile to get used to.