BobP

Lexan is the GE Corp. brand name for polycarbonate, which is widely used for shatter resistant windows. It has been around since the 1940's and there are many producers. You can typically buy it in 1'x1' sheets at home improvement stores here in the US.

I use soft brass or soft stainless steel wire for line ties because you can shape it neatly and accurately without the huge amounts of force required by hard stainless steel. Cut to length, bend it double over the right sized nail or drill bit and, holding the ends in a pair of visegrips, twist them until you have a neat compact screw eye. .032" ss or .040 brass wire works well for bass baits and is durable enough that you won't have problems with the line tie bending or distorting under fishing pressure. A pair of wire bending pliers makes wire bending 100% easier and more accurate.

I get polycarbonate from mcmaster.com Good pricing and service.

IMO, if a popper is soft balsa and you want it to be durable, it should be split and have a wire frame installed for the hook anchors versus epoxying in screws. Scribe a centerline around the length of the bait while it's still "square". After shaping, use the line as a guide to split the bait with a single edged razor blade. That isn't necessary for hardwood baits but soft balsa is very fragile and needs reinforcement.

Bigrd71, sorry we "hijacked" your thread and veered off subject through no fault of yours. I just thought it was worthwhile discussing an issue that has been bubbling along for awhile on TU, and your query happened to float across. The D-bait is also one of my favorite crankbait designs and I make something similar. Looking forward to pics of your version when you've finished it.

I see your point, Dean. Fact is, I can't give you a pedigree of the features on most baits. Some design purists may get torqued if someone posts a pic of their version of a Zoom Tapp or whatever. I understand but personally don't think it's valid criticism. I have several versions of Tapp, all by different commercial builders. I don't know which ones were design thieving scalawags but I like mine best. It does what I want, looks how I want, and I enjoy catching fish on a bait I hand crafted. It's not for sale. If commercial baits were built to my standard, I'd never have begun building crankbaits in the first place. Conversely, if I built baits for money I'd have to compromise on many features to produce enough volume to make it viable. So it's hardly a clear cut question however you look at it. What it boils down to is; if you feel guilty about a design, you probably are. If I feel your design is unethical, I'm just imagining myself in your shoes - I'm not actually wearing them. So I may be wrong. (Note to self: don't let wife read)

I'm not trying to be flip, but I'd just trace an actual DT-10 lip on an index card, cut it out and use it as a template for cutting a new lip from polycarbonate or circuitboard.

Yeah, I'm not trying to get up anyone's nose, especially TU members who work hard to develop and produce baits for sale. I don't see any ethical problem with "copying" commercial baits as long as I don't sell them to the general public. Besides, I know I can't EXACTLY copy anyone's production bait. I don't want to! If I want one exactly the same, I'll just buy it. I'm looking to take the good attributes from the commercial bait and incorporate/modify them in a bait that works better and lasts longer. That's what crankbait builders have been doing since the first crankbait was carved a century ago.

Scale effect is done by wrapping the lure in net fabric and shooting paint over it. Lots of fabrics with open weaves look good - check out the options at Walmart for some examples. Or you can buy it from Staminainc.com or Janns Netcraft. As far as finish quality, I guarantee you it gets better the more you do it. I find there aren't many shortcuts to a better finish surface. It's lots of detail work, careful sanding and a willingness to go back and correct anything that turned out less than perfect (as if anything is ever really perfect!).

Agree with the above. For #6 and #4 trebles on bass baits, I use Size 2 split rings which are rated at 20 lbs. I only go down to Size 1 or 0 on a very short bait where tangling is an issue. The Size 2's will handle any bass and most stripers, pike and catfish. And I like 2's on line ties because I feel the larger diameter gives the bait a tad more freedom of action (not an issue with a popper).

Dean, I understand where you're coming from. Call me an "ethical relativist" or just stupid but JMHO, the only thing I've seen lately that's "original lure design" is the wire weed guard that Lee Sisson invented for crankbait lips, shown in this month's Bassmaster. And I'm probably thinking it's original design only because someone hasn't yet told me that it was ACTUALLY derived from someone else's earlier bait As a buyer of too darned many wood lures (and a maker some too) nobody is gonna sell me on the concept that they've come up with a new way to put wood, lead, wire and Lexan together that is so unique and BETTER that they should enjoy patent protection. I personally have never seen a crankbait that is not derivative of earlier crankbaits made by someone else. I'm willing to buy or build durable crankbaits that fish well, look good and catch bass. In other words, I want a consistent high quality fishing tool. The best custom crankbait makers sell exactly that - high quality - and not unique designs, IMO.

Epoxy - the specific product is critical to get the right work time, leveling and clarity. Many use either Devcon 2 Ton or Envirotex Lite brands. For a fairly large popper, the thicker clearcoat of epoxy will work just fine. Since a popper doesn't bang much cover, polyurethane is also a viable option IMO but it can be hard to find tough non-yellowing polys. Whichever, brush it on.

I use a scroll saw and a Dremel sanding drum. It's not hard if you stay disciplined and round over the edges equally to keep the bait symetrical. I measure and mark hardwood baits with guidelines for the taper and center line to keep them straight. That also aids in placing the ballast, bill and hook hangers.

You didn't say what you primed with but if it's water based, it will raise the wood grain. You need some kind of solvent based primer or waterproofing on raw wood before shooting water based colors. I prime with prop pellets in acetone then shoot a white latex primer and colors. But any solvent based primer will usually work fine. If you clearcoat with Devcon 2 Ton, it will usually level out over any small bumps or raised grain. I sand primed baits with 400 grit paper to knock down any stray grain or bumps.

Don't think a swivel will do anything to help lures tumbling during the cast. I think there's usually a sweetspot in how hard to cast most lures for the max distance and if you exceed it, the lure tumbles. That's especially true of spinnerbaits. I mostly use a baitcasting reel and don't have line twist problems. But if you're throwing #5 balsa Shadraps, the only way to go is a spinning reel with light line, and line twist is inevitable whether the lure tumbles or not. If the water is stained, you might consider 20# or 30# braid. It will still twist but won't cause problems on a spinning reel since it has no memory at all.

Pete, airbrushes come in various types, at prices ranging from $20 to "the sky's the limit". I've used a simple Badger 200 and a can of Propel CO2, then a Paasche VL, and lately an Iwata HP. The best advice I can give you is to read many posts here on TU about airbrushes and make your own decision about which type suits your needs and pocketbook. Use the search feature to find them. The Paasche VL is a popular mid-priced internal mix brush. Paired with a decent compressor (around $100 for a tool compressor with regulator), you're in the $150-175 range. So it's not a cheap step up from spray cans but maybe worth the $$ if you want to get into more detailed painting with latex acrylic paints.

Just FYI, Blackjack posted the D-Bait schematic, but I don't think it included any info on ballast position or weight.

It depends on the hardness of your balsa. I wouldn't do anything but thru-wire with soft balsa. I've epoxied ballast in soft balsa and had it shoot out of the lure the first time it was slapped on water; so don't think an epoxied screw would be strong enough. As long as you scribe a center line around a balsa bait while it's still "square", it's easy to split them with a single edge razor blade.

I wipe mine out with a Qtip and acetone but it has teflon packing and yours, being older, probably doesn't so I wouldn't fill it with any harsh solvents. I'd take off the tip (careful, it's easy to lose) and the needle before cleaning. Then, clean out the bowl with a Qtip and denatured alcohol or just soapy water and use the needle back-end-first to ream out any paint build up in the front of the brush.

Yes, microwaves are chancy. The resin gets soupier faster than the hardener and the cure time can be drastically shortened. I just warm mine in a pan of hot tap water, or take the epoxy inside the night before I use it.

I use a Sharpie too and haven't seen any baits that I thought were actually signed with an airbrush. With a Sharpie, you can't have any solvent in your clearcoat or the signature will run. I've read that some guys use a very fine caligraphy pen and acrylic paint.

Yep I clean mine with soap and water but was just trying to repolish the tip after a couple of year's use to get rid of corrosion and pitting. The 1200 grit paper does that but 20000 rpm is way to fast! Next time it's strictly hand turning.

Do a search on "drying wheel" while looking at the hardbaits main page and you'll get several threads on the subject. I use a small dryer powered by a 4 rpm AC stepper motor that holds 6 bass lures. Built it from a piece of 1/2" shelving, a 1/2" dowel for the axle, with small pieces of 1/8" dowel dowel for the spokes and alligator clips stuck on the spokes. A proper size screw inserts in the motor and is epoxied into the axle. Pretty simple. Most guys favor 4-8 rpm motors. One from a barbecue rotisserie is also a good choice.

In a word - Yep