JBlaze

I use indiana blades in these, it wasn't that hard to do. I just flattened out the end with the hole and epoxyed them in the billl slot They looked good but I had too much weight in them and it killed the action, John Tackleunderground Home - Luremakers Photo Gallery - My First Jerks (Suspending)

Given the proper treatment, I think Balsa wood is strong enough. These twisted pins held 54lbs of weight without budging. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/16268-hinge-stress-test.html

I use 302/304 stainless steel safety lock wire .032 diameter McMaster-Carr and .031 spring temper wire McMaster-Carr The soft temper is much easier to form and work with. It is fine for bass lures, you may want a larger wire for musky lures.

Thanks Nathan, look this site over well. there is much to be learned here. There are both proffessional and ametuer lure builders on this site and all are free sharing and willing to help others learn about building lures and solving their problems with them. Take a look in the gallery and you will find many beautiful hand made and custom painted lures that are unmatched by any assembly line from any factory. I must warn you that just looking at these will give you the urge to try your hand at it and it is a very addictive hobby. I enjoyed seeing your mom and dad the other day, it has been a long time. John

On Its Way

Lurehead03 and BobP, I will order some .062 poly. BobP, it wasn't the cover I was using, it was the CD itself. I cut it with scissors and flexed it while using my thumbnail to scrape off the aluminum coating and it was crystal clear. I figured as much as I flexed it that it would hold up pretty well as A bib but I guess flexing and bending is not the same as yanking it free from a rock. Thanks for the advice. John

Band saw. I have both and find the scroll saw much more difficult to use so it just sits there taking up space. John

Havn't used it yet but I bought a stencil burner at Walmart in the crafts section. It has several different accessories and tips with it. I think it was around $20.00

Took the Half n' Half to Watts Bar yesterday to try and catch a bass on it. It tracked and swam like a champ and I was just sure that I was going to get a big smallie on it. But on the fifth cast, I hung it up in the rocks. I jerked it a couple of times and it popped loose but it felt different. It was, the bib was shattered and broken off. I wanted a very thin clear bib and I read somewhere that CD disc,s were made of pure polycarbonate crystals so I reasoned that this woud be very strong and make a perfect thin bib. Boy was I wrong. This bib was coffin style, 7/8 in wide, almost 1

I use MinWax wood sealer and hardner. I get it at Home Depot.

I know nothing about lipless cranks and what it takes to ballast them. I do know that I have cut a couple of them open and if I remember right, the only weight in them was the ball bearing rattles and I think the rattle chamber was in the bottom

Thanks for the compliments. I been wanting to try this for a while also. V-Man, I did not cast the tail I cut the tail off of a Kalin grub and screwed it on to a stainless coil. I did not realize that the vibrations are present with the dampened action. Glad to know that the sonics are still there. Seems that I learn something new every time I sign on to this website. Thanks. John

Got this idea from some of the recent threads on TU. It seems to work well in the tub. With a slow retrieve or twitch, only the tail ripples with very little body movement. With a faster pull, it feels like a rattle trap. It is a very slow sinker, havn't tried it yet but I think a smaller grub might turn it into a suspending version. It took 6.1grams of belly ballast to make it slowly sink. John Half N Half pictures by JBlaze1952 - Photobucket

Thanks Bob for the JPeg I think I am looking at this thing all wrong and am getting ahead of myself way to soon. I have a bad habit of the so called," counting my chickens before they are hatched". Am going to fiddle with this one a little longer then start on another one, same shape and size. Thanks again for the insight. John

V-Man, you never suggested that. I was thinking about one of the posts that you made a long time ago in which you talked about a stick or broom handle with the weights out on the end of it and the weights in the center of the axis. I think it was when you were explaining the X-ing action of a crankbait. I was hoping that by turning the weight verticle instead of horizontal, that due to the less leverage required to rotate the weight and first section, that it would make starting the movement of the head a little easier and the other body parts would follow. I hope this makes some sense to you as to my reason for installing the weight verticlly. I actually am thinking, that I may just need to go to a slightly heavier more dense wood, and use less weight. John

Here is a pic of it drying on the lure turner. As I said, it is now out of balance and a sinker. The hinges are free and non-binding if I can get it balanced and swimming, I can use it as a sinking swimbait Swimbait01 :: OntheWheel.jpg picture by JBlaze1952 - Photobucket

This is how it looked with the weight and hardware in it but after gluing and clear coating, it was out of balance. I got way ahead of myself. And did it again when I re-weighted it. Now, it sinks and is still out of balance. All I could picture was that beautiful snaking across the water. I think that I may have to start all over again. At least I will have an idea of where I am going this time. One more thought when you look at this. I had been laying my weights in horizontally along the belly but I started thinking about Vodkamans example of twisting the baton with around the center of balance so I put it in this one vertically with the heavier part of the weight at the bottom of lure. I was hoping this would get the front section to start moving at a slower speed. It didn't move at any speed. Except when I stopped pulling the lure and it would then snake around and do a 180

bbduc, that is a really smooth and fluid motion that you managed to attain out of your swimbait. I don't think I have seen one swim any better. Congratulations on your prototype. I am one of the unconventional builders. It seems that I have the same problem. Mine won't swim. I gave my first one the bath tub test today and it just rolled over on its side at about a 45

Hey Bob, I certainly am no expert on swimbaits, as I am trying to get my first one ready for a test in the water. I just want to say that I certainly do admire your thru wire set up. I know that took a lot of work building and fitting it inside the lure. Good job. Good luck with your modifications. Keep posting your results. John