BobP

Don'tcha just hate it when you're out on the lake tuning crankbaits and the bass keep interrupting the task? Dadgummed pests!

All of my DT's have painted eyes, not 3D plastic eyes. I remove 3D eyes along with existing finish and replace them with 3D eyes from Jann's, Stamina, etc. You can try removing them neatly with an xacto knife but as often as not, you mess them up. A neater way to go if you don't want to buy new ones is to paint over the existing eyes and use the bumps as guides for painting on new eyes.

Other types may work as well but I think most are using cellulose propionate disolved in acetone. An alternative is disolving Solo plastic cups in acetone. I use prop pellets for undercoating hardwood. IMO there are more durable choices for clearcoating.

This question came up a couple of years ago on a rod building site. The answer from a guy who developed finish epoxies for a living was that if you recoat within 24 hrs, the 2 coats become a single mass. Epoxy cures to close to "final hardness" in 24 hrs but may continue curing for as long as a week. That said, I lightly sand the first coat. First, it points up any goofs or high/low points. Second, you can see better where you need to brush if you're coating a matte translucent surface versus a gloss transparent surface.

I haven't used DN but have used Famowood Duratuff and had the same result. After experimenting, what worked for me was a single brushed coat, not multiples, dried on a lure turner for the first few minutes until the solvent evaporated. Then hung while the poly moisture cures over the next 24 hrs. When I dipped and hung them, the poly would collect at the bottom of the lure and cause a rash of bubbles there. So far, I have no complaint with the single coat poly. Although it's thinner than epoxies, it is tougher, clearer and slicker and has held up well for bass fishing.

Various online stores sell wood crankbait bodies. If you want something that already has the lip slot cut, check out lurecraft.com. Buy the bodies and lips from them and it's simple to paint them and then epoxy in the lips and clearcoat the lure.

I use Devcon 2 Ton to epoxy in belly weights because it levels very well. If you "wet" all the area around the hanger with epoxy and control the amount you add (use a toothpick or piece of ss wire) , the D2T will level out at the body surface or form a neat smooth mound around the hanger. When installing ballast without a hanger, I patch holes with either the white indoor Elmers wood filler (balsa) or the tan indoor/outdoor Elmers (hardwood). The indoor stuff is softer so you aren't trying to sand a hard plug without screwing up the surrounding soft balsa. I haven't had a problem with either of them showing through after sanding with 400 grit paper. One tip; after you put on the Elmers, wet the end of your finger and pat the area of the patch to make it smooth. Cuts down on sanding later.

Yeah, a little too much green and you got Greentreuse. I think most guys use neon yellow and consider that chartreuse. Maybe it isn't, but I like it better because it's brighter.

I bought one last year and it isn't very old However, the first Big O was produced in 1967 by Fred Young.

Heck yeah, it'll work. Might even turn the heat on low to speed curing. If you put foil on the pan, you'd probably still be able to use it for chickens! There are no doubt cheaper lure turners but if you aren't gonna sell it on Ebay or something and it's just sitting around gathering dust.......

Envirotex Lite (aka Etex) is an epoxy that's thinner out of the bottle than Devcon 2 Ton. Or you can add some solvent to Devcon for similar effect. Or you can try a water cured polyurethane like Dick Nite Fishermun's Lurecoat or Famowood Duratuff. Or one of the rod guide epoxy finishes like Flexcoat. All of these options contain solvent, which can make solvent based colors run. But all are thinner than straight Devcon. Be sure to use a lure turner with any thin clearcoat.

I shoot the orange belly first, then the gold low sides, then green high sides, then the black back and points (using a stencil). If I want scale effect, I do it when I shoot the green. But I don't really think it's necessary.

I also get 1/16" polycarbonate from mcmaster.com, in 1'x1' sheets. Mcmaster-Carr has better than average prices, good service, and they also carry G-10, G-11 circuit board (only yellow color however) and various wires (I like their soft stainless steel and soft brass for line ties).

I also like the shape and paint on the smallmouth. As far as gills, I'm among those who usually like them - just a touch to show a baitfish in trouble. If you cut out a template for them, they'll come out very neat and you can use them multiple times.

I think the up/down is probably due to having the line tie so far up from the surface of the lip. Who can say what bass will bite?, but I have best luck fishing baits with what I feel is a more natural side-to-side action.

Without flash drying it with a hair dryer, it's hard to say because temp and humidity determine drying time, as well as what brand and how thick you shoot the paint. Wet on wet paint has no effect except it takes longer to dry and there's more chance of ruining the job by touching it or pushing paint around on the lure with your airbrush during the next color shot. A hair dryer makes things a lot faster and goof-free.

I haven't used it but ..... epoxy is epoxy. As long as it's thin enough to brush on a smooth coat, I'm sure you'll be OK.

Looks nice! I doubt anyone can suggest improvements unless they fish it and see how it floats and spits. What's critical is how YOU want it to work. Personally, I like mine to spit more than chug and sit in the water at about 40-45 degrees. Looks like your lip angle will do that. Throw it out there and see if the bass applaud

I think Jann's assortment of bass blanks and crankbait components is better than any I've seen online. You might check Ebay if there's something special you're looking for.

Actually I don't think it was an article per se. It was a short sidebar in an article about spooks, referencing a mod that Penny Berryman likes. It says her favorite is a modified Super Spook given to her by a friend that has the center section including the hook cut out and steel ball bearings inserted to give the Spook a tail-down attitude and an overall length of 4.5". Sorta makes it into a LC Sammy, doesn't it?

It depends on what kind of wood you're using. IMO, soft balsa needs epoxy to prime and reinforce the wood. Hardwoods don't need reinforcement, just a primer to keep the grain from raising when painted with water based acrylics. Thinned epoxy works well but takes time to cure. I use cellulose propionate pellets or plastic cups disolved in acetone because it dries quickly. But any oil based primer, polyurethane, etc will do.

I like epoxy for sealing soft balsa because it's a "two fer" - seal the bait and strengthen it at the same time. I'd definitely use the 2 Ton Devcon, not the 5 min. The 5 min cures so fast that it's hard to get on the bait before it starts to gunk up. Plus it doesn't level like 2 Ton will. As to whether you'll need to sand afterwards, that depends on how smooth your sanded surface is before application.

I use airbrush frisket material, an adhesive plastic film with a peel-off paper backing. But I never remove the backing since I want to keep the stencils for re-use. I trace an outline of the bait, then freehand the cutouts with a pencil and cut them out with an xacto. If I want a left/right stencil pair, I trace a mirror image of the side finished first on another piece of frisket and cut it out the same. It only takes 30 mins for the whole process for most patterns. A L/R stencil pair lets me shoot paint without worrying about getting wet paint smeared on the other side. The stencils are pliable enough that I can hold them down with a finger tip while air from the airbrush keeps them pressed down on the surface of the lure. I do that rather than trying to get a stencil stretched out in place and secured on a curved surface containing a fresh coat of tender acrylic paint - which so far has NOT worked for me..

A Dremel flap sander is OK. A Dremel drum sander will damage the bait's plastic. Most often, I just peel and slice the finish off with a sharp thin blade (a Swiss Army), then sand with 400 grit. There are just too many types of clearcoat, finish, and lure plastic to use any chemical method reliably. gtlegs' sleeve idea is a good one. I doubt I could find a perfect size collar, but I could superglue some acetate pieces into the interior of the joint area to guide and reinforce the joint. Devcon 2 Ton or even the Devcon 5 Min would probably be a secure joint.

http://www.buyfishingstuff.com/products.html I buy Gamakatsu round bend hooks here. The price is the best I've found and the service is very good.