BobP

Propionate is a translucent blue plastic-looking product from cellulose that is sold in the form of little beads. You dissolve it in acetone and dip the lure into it. Palmetto Balsa, a TU Member, used to sell it but haven't seen him here on the site for several years now. I think it was the undercoating originally used on Rapala balsa lures. I've tried it, it works fine, but there are plenty of alternatives that work just as well, are faster, and most importantly are readily available as the above posts indicate.

I think rods do have harmonic balance that can help or hurt the sensitivity of of the rod while fishing. Unfortunately I don't know any way to determine how to space the handle parts and the guides except through exhaustive experimentation to get it optimized. You can use all the finest components and still end up with a rod that is less than ideal. And in the real world, you have to mount a reel on it, with specific line to see how it balances in your hand. If it balances well, that gives you the best chance of detecting bites. I'm not above adding weight to the butt to do that.

I really like a softer tip section backed up by plenty of power on bass rods and my favorite MH blank is a Rogue MB705.

Some blanks have spines in more than one direction, or secondary spines. Nonetheless, the latest pro advice is to build your rod so that the blank looks its straightest, regardless of what the spine may be. It really doesn't effect the performance of the rod one way or the other. But it is a little disconcerting to be casting a rod wth a well defined spine that is turned 90 degrees left or right.

I don't know how long the moisture cure takes to finish. First the solvent flashes off and it's the strength of regular urethane in a few hours. Over the next 2-3 days it gets tough as it moisture cures. Maybe ambient temp and humidity affect the cure rate, maybe not. I've fished lures after 3-4 days and they held up really well. My gut feeling is 3 weeks is at least twice as long as a 100% cure takes. You might drop a note to Dick Nite and ask him since he has the MCU custom formulated for use in his spoon business.

I hope that fixes it for you. I think DN S81 is the most durable topcoat I've ever used on a plastic bait. When I removed the lure finish on a bait later, it looked like the DN had soaked through the paint and made a very strong bond with the underlying plastic body. Can't get much better than that. Good luck with it.

Assuming we're talking about the Dick Nite S81 moisture cured urethane "Fishermun's Lurecoat" (he also sells other topcoats that are less durable in my experience)? I've never had anything like this happen on a plastic lure painted with water based airbrush paint and then coated with S81 MCU. Not trying to get picky but this seems very unusual if these are the coatings you used.

Are these plastic or wood baits, and do you use any primer or undercoating on them before painting?

I use a variable speed Foredom rotary tool with a soft rubber sanding cylinder and 220 grit paper to erase carving edges. But regardless I always resort to hand sanding with 220 or even 400 grit paper for final smoothing. A Dremel fine grit sanding cylinder does just as well as the Foredom if you apply a light touch. A rotary tool can get into areas that a disk or belt sander can't. I use my disk sander for milling blanks down to width and cutting initial tapers. I'm sure other tools will work as well. These are just the ones I had on hand when I started making baits, and I've stuck with them.

I go with 120 or 220 on my disk sander. Getting in a hurry with big grit paper tends to produce matchsticks instead of crankbaits for me.

Whenever I want to determine how much ballast to put into a copy of a commercial bait, I do it by subtraction. Weigh the original without trebles. Make your copy of the body and weigh it. Subtract one from the other. Then subtract an additional .02 oz to account for the finish you will put on the new bait. Voila. I regularly get within .01 + or - of the correct weight for a copy using this method. You can't really know how much ballast to use just by guessing or using someone else's numbers because their balsa may be different in density, or they may use different finish procedures than you.

Travis, I also looked at the Megabass S Crank video. Yeah, it does display some hunting action but it also has a distinct S-shaped swim pattern that is not hunting related and only confuses the issue. Not saying the S-shaped swimming would be a bad thing necessarily in open water - but that ain't hunting. And showing the baits deflect off bottom rocks is not helpful to the discussion. That said, I wouldn't mind owning one except for the Megabass prices. Ihave some Ito Vision 110 jerkbaits, though, so you never know!

I'd wait a few days like you said to see if the Krylon will eventually harden. If it's just a little tacky maybe the epoxy will be OK but if there's any doubt, I'd take it off with soap or denatured alcohol. Epoxy cures in and of itself and will harden over just about anything but Envirotex does contain some solvent and you don't know how that may react with the chemicals in the uncured Krylon.

https://youtu.be/Jyz7C7nGH5E While the above video from Littleriver (a TU member) is of his version of a specialized japanese bait called the Wattlebat, it is the best example I could Google of what I consider to be hunting action. You can find lot of crankbait videos that purport to show hunting but really don't.

Swamp man, take a look at the "blank crankbait body links" topic at the top of this forum. At any given time, a provider may or may not have what you are looking for so you need to peruse various providers.

I agree with Travis in regard to "the edge of instability" and what hunting actually is. Random momentary deviations left and right (6-8" or so) for a few beats from a straight retrieve path, with the lure returning to center path between the deviations. The best hunters I've seen will hunt at virtually any speed and will not blow out even when burned back. I built a hunting crankbait by accident and got on the "hunting bandwagon" for awhile. I was able to make batches of lures in which 70% would hunt, 20% would just run straight, and 10% were uncontrollable duds. That last 10% was what killed it for me, and I gave it up after awhile. But confess I still keep the hunters in the box for those open water situations. You can get a similar hunting effect by bumping your bait into as many obstructions as possible to impart deviations. So there is something to be said for a bait that runs straight enough that you can use it to accurately hit cover. Player's choice.

Don't use auto clear myself but several who do favor various brands that are two part urethanes with a high percentage of solids. They contain isocyanates so remember to wear rated protective equipment if you go that route. Auto painters wear space suits for good reason.

Nice work Dave! I'm not sure it explains ALL design factors of how to build a crank that hunts but it clearly lays out a path for those working towards that result. when KVD was designing the Strike King square bill series of baits, He said that he obtained the hunting action he wanted by moving the bait's ballast upward in the bait body. How does that fit into your scheme? I don't have an engineering bone in my body!

I've tried heating D2T resin and hardener in my microwave. If your resin has begun to turn solid white, that will make it liquid again, like you can do with honey that has begun to crystallize in the jar. But hot, not warm resin will also become very thin, almost like water while the hardener remains more viscous. That can cause problems with measuring unless you are using syringes. Another problem is hot epoxy will also cure much faster than epoxy at room temperature. My bottom line is you can warm D2T up to "room temperature" but if you go higher you start having problems. I just store D2T in the house and avoid the issues. The more you limit the things that can go wrong while building a crankbait, the happier you will be.

If you google "shrink wrap for lures" you will find several sources to explore. They originated in saltwater lures but some patterns for freshwater fishing are becoming available.

I use an art material called frisket that is designed for stencils. It's a roll of plastic sheeting that has an adhesive paper backing. Easy to cut with an Xacto knife. I cut the stencil but leave the backing on it rather than sticking it on fresh lure paint. That lets me flip the stencil to do both sides of the lure, then save it for future baits. Hold it firmly against the lure, shoot, wipe/dry the stencil, repeat. It comes in a 12" wide roll that lasts a crankbait painter for many years.

I don't use Etex but a guy who does recommends letting it sit for 10-15 min after mixing to gel up a little before application to apply a somewhat thicker coating, which also helps to avoid fisheyes.

I think it's easier to use open screw eyes so you don't have the problem of bending the split ring while putting them on. Actually, I don't buy screw eyes anymore because I prefer to twist my own screw eyes from soft temper stainless wire. You can make them any size, any length, and there's no way for them to bend open again. Plus they have more glue surface on their shanks.

Add alcohol a couple of drops at a time until you get the viscosity you want the epoxy. I dip my brush in the alcohol and shake it into the mixed epoxy, then stir it in. Not too much! A little goes a long way.

Home Depot paint department, etc.