JBlaze

wwwhagensfish.com they have the VMC 90 degree barbarian jig hook

Like the idea of using GOOP, by the way Barlows catalog says FG30 is 1/8 inch in diameter

I make 100 at a time I put the stainless wires in a plastic cup and spray them with silicone or white lithium grease by the time I get #100 molded the first ones are cool to the touch and ready to pull the wires out. I get a little smoke when molding but they slide right out with no effort

Hnmmm, I have never tried modifying a mold to fit a smaller hook. I am usually trying to get a larger or a different style hook to fit in a mold. Take the other fellows advice proceed slowly and plan it out. Its easy to ruin a mold if your not careful. What I do when modifying a mold is to open it up and lay or place a hook in it. If the hook eye lays inside the original eye cavity and the hook shank lays inside the original shank cavity then close the mold carefully so as not to move the hook then put the mold in a vice and put just enough pressure on it to make a make an impression of the hook on both sides of the mold. Be very careful wih this too much pressure and you will warp the mold and get lots of flashing just tighten the vice until you feel the sides of the mold touch the hook and then just a partial turn of the handle. back it off and see if you got the impression of the hook if not, put it back in the vice and apply a little more pressure. Once you get the impression of the hook, you can cut this new slot out with a dremel and a cutting wheel. If you are repositioning the hook entirely then you will first need to make the new cavity for the hook eye then the hook shank. do this the same way with the vice but instead of using a cutting wheel, use a very small Dremel ball end cutting bit in the drill press to make the hook eye cavity. For a good tight fit, try to cut both sides at half the depth of the hook eyes diameter. You can do it by using a hand drill if you have the steady hands. And as Cadman says JB Weld does a good job of filling in unneeded cavities. also if you get the seepage of lead around the smaller hook eye open the mold and fill both eye cavities with JB Weld grease two hook eyes with vaseline and press them down into the JB Weld scrape off the excess, let it dry and remove the hooks carefully a little sanding to get it level with the mold facings and your good to go. Hope this helps. John

Youy can also color them with sharpies then clear coat with 2Ton. It gives them a real nice metallic look.

Looks good, How do you cut your lip slot and keep it square to the body after the lure has been shaped?

I agree with Jigfisherman and the buzzbait mold except that you could snap the keeper on after molding. You can also form the conical shaped keeper by hand using .020 to .024 stainless wire and the spiraling threads on the pointed end of a wood screw. Form the snap end of the keeper using round nose pliers. Hold the wire against the screw with pliers (Cutting a groove in the threads to place the wire helps to keep it in place) wrap it counterclockwise and the keeper will become conical shaped as it reaches the point of the screw. Clip off the excess wire with a pair of side cutters and back out the screw and your done. With a little practice, they will look just like the ones in the picture you posted.

How about using your screen name and calling it, Lunker Baits

Nova is correct, that is what I do and it works fine. The problem I have pouring lead into an RTV mold is heat dissapation or the lack of it. THe mold will get very hot with just a few pours so be careful when handling it while placing the two halves together. Your casting will also be much hotter than it would be if it were cast in an aluminum mold. John

Got my degree from "Master Baiters University", dang no wonder I can't paint:)

Whitedog, what is CA glue? thanks John

Very good Vodkaman :-)

I use the VMC BN needle cone spinnerbait hooks and havn't had any complaints.

Nice job, Don't give up. It took me four months, lots of reading on TU, and a big pile of useless cranks to get one that would run right. I now have two crank styles that do very well with many bass to their credit (two big ones, 6lb 14 oz and a 5 pounder) those two really fired me up as to making my own cranks. and it is an addictive hobby as you are probably finding out. Study the posts and ask questions, thats what I did. The people here at TU are very encouraging and a great source of information and ideas for just about any tackle creation you would want to make. Good Luck with your endeavours. John

I am not an expert, but I have found that basswood with its close grain to be about the easiest would to carve and shape. it is also a very firm wood and for bass cranks, there is no need to worry about thru wiring. On the upper right hand corner of this page, do a search on "crankbait making" you will get lots of information from previous posts and questions. This TU site has been invaluable to me I think there is an expert on TU for every phase of crank making. A word of warning, building cranks is a very addicting hobby. I have been at it for 8 months now and it is all that I think about. At work or home, its constantly on my mind. Good Luck and enjoy, John

Rally Nice, great idea. John

Dave, glad you made it safely to your destination. By the way, I was wrong about my lure and the reason it hunted and you were right. It was no different than the others so I am still trying to figure why it does what it does. Good luck with your new job and keep us up to date with your lures. John

Feels good doesn't it. I have made jigs, and wirebaits for many years and it is enjoyable, but that is nothing compared to the sastifaction of creating your own crankbait and the thrill of catching your first fish on it The first time I took it to the lake to fish (early March), I caught two small bass and a 6lb 14oz largemouth on it(I was instantly sucked into the world of the crankaholic maker) It also has a 5lb largemouth to its credit and numerous smaller bass. I think the hardest aspect of making my own was learning to carve, shape and keep everything symmetrical. I started trying my hand at crankbait making back in Oct 2006. TU was my go to source for anything that I needed to learn/know. The members here at TU are very generous with their knowledge and ideas. Their advice and tips kept me from giving up and saved me many hours of frustations as I tried to create what I wanted. Even with their help, it took me almost four months and 40 crankbaits before I made a lure that looked good and had the action I wanted (a very large waggle) it hammers! Vodkaman, helped me to understand the xyz axis and the movements the lure makes around them. If I remember correctly, Those movements are called waggle, wobble and porpoising. Skeeter gave me the guidelines for line tow position on the bill. Jawjacker with advice on sealing and treating redwood. There were many other tips for making belly weights, hook eyes, bill slots and the importance of keeping everything in line. Sealing, Painting, Clearcoating? There is an expert on this board for every phase of crankbait making. I hope one day to be of help to someone like us who is just getting their feet wet in this wondeful world of luremaking. I now have two different lure designs my first one and last week I made a fat bodied crank which does well also. I doubt that I will ever buy another crankbait. Many thanks to all of you for you here at TU for your advice and encouragment. Hmmmmmmmm wonder how long it will take me to make my first jerkbait!! JBlaze

Vodkaman, I have the ultimate respect for your views and theories. I don't always understand all that you say. But, you give examples and experiments to help me/us understand what you are talking about, that is greatly appreciated. You have helped me a lot. Especially with understanding the movements of a crankbait and what causes them. I hope that you do well in your new job in malaysia. I also hope you continue to be active on the TU board. You are very helpful and always make posts which are interesting and relevant to the subject of tackle building. I now look forward to learning about a hunting crankbait. This is a new term for me. Is this something new or is it just another term for a searchbait? If it is something new, What does a hunting bait do that is different from an common, ordinary production made crankbait?

The round nose and nesting pliers are the better choice IMHO, be careful when using the nesting pliers with the smaller wire diameters not to squeeze too hard as the lower jaw tends to score the wire and will create a weak spot.

Thanks Fat Fingers for the idea on marking the spot first. I have struggled with symmetry. Eyeballing the spot, just don't work.

A friend of mine showed me how, just using different sized wooden dowels. just touch the end of it in your paint and it will pick up enough to dab one eye. do the same for the other eye. wipe the wet paint off your dowel and you can use it over and over. let the paint dry on the lure then use a smaller size dowel to make the pupil.