mark poulson

The occillating spindle/belt sander I have has a shaft the rotates, and also moves up and down (occillation) so the sandpaper doesn't load up in one spot. There is an attachment with a free center shaft and a belt sander support for using the sanding belts. I always use the sanding belt attachment, because the ends are circular, so I can get the same sanding shape as the spindle, but I also have the flat belt surface to work with. Basically, it looks like a belt sander on it's side. The machine came with four different diameter sanding spindles, with removable sand paper, but mine have never been used. I can shape a lure, with curves all the way around or even circular, if I want it, in five minutes, using a 60 grit belt, and refine it with 80 grit in another minute or two. Once that's done, I drill for the eye recess, cut the mouth and carve the gills and fins, and then hit it with a hand held vibrater sander with 100 grit to remove any burrs from the last machining, and to further smooth the lure's surface. I own at least half a dozen routers, including ones I use in router tables, as well as an old hand held router/shaper that was used in boat yards to round over wood handrails and deck trim, but I don't use any of them for lure making. The Rigid Occillating Sander, from Home Depot, is just too much easier, faster, and safer.

Just a thought (rare, I know ). Would a pump dispensor, like for the two part epoxy systems, work for DN? Or could you use a tapered syringe, like the Flexcoat syringes, to pull out only what you want from the bottom of the container?

I used Ika bodies with the skirts cut off. Half of the two piece mold is POP, and the other half is 20 Smooth Set drywall mud, because that is what I had. After I cured the molds in the oven at 170 for half an hour, I coated them with yellow carpenter's glue, cut 50/50 with water. I brushed it on on softly, and tipped the molds up to drain out the excess. I poured the next day, and the baits came out great. Thanks to all of you who helped me learn everything I know about pouring, and mold making.

I wound up putting the pyrex cup on the scale empty, zeroing it out, and adding 4oz. of plastic. Then I added my salt and flake, another oz., and it worked out perfectly.

No, you don't need a router. Routers can be tricky (spell that dangerous) when you're doing small stuff. The bit can grab the work faster than you would believe, and all of a sudden you have a red lure blank, from your blood. Even mounted in a router table, a bit turning at 10,000 rpms is nothing to take for granted. There is a learning curve that can be steep and short, if you don't know what you're doing. You can use hand tools, like a block plane and sanding blocks with both course and finer paper. You can even do without the bandsaw. Hand saws or a table saw will do that part fine. With softer woods, like balsa and pine,a carving knife works fine, followed by sanding blocks. If you've got the money, an occillating spindle/belt sander does the work faster, and safer, than a router. Home Depot sells a "cheap" one, in their Rigid line of power tools, that I bought years ago, used on the job, and now use for lures. It's simple, uses standard 4X24 belts, and is portable.

I am going to pour a 12 chamber mold. The masters I used to make it weigh four oz. How much plastic do I need to make four oz. of finished lures? I know liquid is measured in volume, and I don't remember how to convert to weight. I guess I could just weigh the pyrex cup and add 4 oz. of plastic, but that would be too easy.

That method would probably be good for any topcoat that comes in a can.

I think Dieter nailed it. The PVC is probably not as buoyant as the bass wood. The PVC I use is about the same buoyancy as poplar, a med. density hardwood that I used to use for lures. I've never used bass wood, but I understand it is very buoyant. One way to test it is to cut out two identical rectangles, one of PVC and one of bass wood, and see how much weight you have to add to each to get it to sink. To keep the same basic lure design, but with PVC, you may have to go to a more flat sided crank shape. I've found that more round shapes tend to roll, while flat sided, rectangular profile lures, with rounding only on the tops and bottoms, are more stable on the retrieve, with less roll and more side to side.

I'm looking for fat Ikas skirts in a clear/black flack color. Does anyone have them, or know where I can get some?

If you're throwing it post spawn, a bass scheme works well. The props make the lure look like the bass is chasing fry when they sputter and spit.

Pete, As a lifelong carpenter and woodworker, I can tell you the best way to defeat dust is to have a good dust collection system, with pickups at each individual machine, and on/off dampers, so your dust mask is not the primary filtering system. That way you can use the cheap cotton masks that don't cause sweating, and that have a metal strip that molds to your nose. I made my own cyclone system from a couple of 1000cfm kitchen exhaust fans (explosion proof) that I got off a job years ago. It has made a huge difference in both how much dust there is in my garage, and in how much my sinuses get messed up. If you decide to go with one of the masks that has a fan attached to your belt, be careful where you mount the intake, and what you eat for dinner, or you're in for a rude surprise.

Another sourced for screw eyes is Luremaking.com. Fish eyes you can get from Predator Bass, who is a site sponsor.

Gunnie3035 just posted a great "how to" for bluegills. It's titles "Scales and Painting", and it's near the top of the forum.

Beautiful paint jobs, and a very good "how to". You are a master with an airbrush!

I make mostly jointed lures. No two of my lures are exactly the same, but they all swim, so it's not as important as with cranks. Making your lures from the same size stock, tracing patterns for both top/bottom and sides, and marking center lines to use as reference points is key in symetrical shaping, which is especially important in cranks. Do as much work as you can with the blank still rectangular, so everything is square to the axis of the lure. I rough cut the blanks on a table saw, trace the lure outline with a paper pattern and a sharpie, and mark where I want the joints. Then I cut the the joints almost through with the table saw, leaving enough meat in each joint to hold the blank together for shaping. I drill a small through pilot hole for the eyes with the drill press while the blank's still rectangular, so the eyes are symetrically positioned. I rough cut the profile with a band saw, fine sand to the line with an occilating belt sander, use a compass to mark a center line all the way around the lure so I can check symetry by eye as I shape, and then shape with the belt sander. Once I've got it shaped, I finish the joint cuts with a drywall knife, or a dovetail saw, and then I lay out my hinges. I drill out recesses for my screw eyes on the drill press, and enlarge them by hand with an exacto knife. I drill pilot holes for the screw eyes with a cordless drill, and run the screw eyes in. I drill the recess for the coiled tail attachment, and for my ballast, on the drill press, using the cutoffs from the initial shaping to keep the lure parts horizontal, since they're now shaped. I drill shallow depressions for the eyes, and smaller through holes for the eye rattles with the drill press, drilling 1/2 way from each side. If I had to chose one power tool out of all of them that really makes the process easier, it would be the occilating belt sander. I can do the blank rough out, the joints, and the rough shaping with hand saws, and all the drilling with a cordless drill, but being able to shape the blank, working to a center line to keep things symetrical, is a lot of work with a sanding block. As it is, I still fine sand and shape by hand, but it's amazing how a 60 grit belt can melt away the material, and an 80 grit belt can smooth out things so fast. For cranks, I do the same things, but substitute lip slot cutting for joint cutting, while the blank's still rectangular. It takes me an hour to make a lure, a half hour to add the hinges, hardware, and ballast, and another hour to carve the mouth, fins, and gills, paint and top coat it. If I have the blanks already roughed out, and the design is one I've done before, I can shape a crank in half an hour, and paint and finish it in another hour.

Try saying this: "I am TN Bass, and I am a lureaholic". It may not help, but at least you're giving everyone else fair warning.

Dieter, I use steel balls in thru holes between my lure eyes for rattles, and have run into friction problems, because PVC can sometimes be a little rough when drilled. Have you considered using a piece of plastic drinking straw to line your sliding weight chamber? Just a thought. I love your idea, and your lure.

John, Go to http://www.westernbass.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2 and post your offer. It's the fishing forum. There are rod builders and swimbait fishermen there who would probably jump at the chance to have one of your baits.

Typically, I only put one coat of Etex on one piece lures, if that coat comes out nice. If not, I'll put on another. You don't have to prep the first coat before you add the second, but I wipe the lure down with DN alcohol before I recoat.

Really nice paint jobs.

I do it the same way as Rofish. Vman is the only one I know smart enough to use his own method. Generally speaking, the position of the ballast in a crank bait, unless you're getting into sliding ballast (really complicated) is somewhere between the front hook hanger (belly) and the bill. Water pressure on the bill causes it to wobble from side to side, dumping the water off to one side, and then the other, and the tail of the bait moves in the opposite direction. That's the X that lure makers talk about. The farther forward you move the ballast the bigger the swing from side to side of the crank when it wobbles. And the lower in the lure you can locate the ballast, the more stable it will be on a fast retrieve, so it doesn't roll over. Now, there are a lot of other factors in play, like lure shape, bill shape, line tie location, and the overall buoyancy of the lure itself. But that's the general idea. I would make my lures from whatever material gives me the most buoyancy, so I can put plenty of ballast in the belly and be able to retrieve my lure more quickly without rolling. If I were just starting out, I'd pick a lure that I like, and try to copy it, so I could learn from a proven design, before I started experimenting with a new design. But there's no substitute for trial and error. There are a lot of great builders on this site, so, once you've started and run into problems, post you questions here (pictures help) and you'll get all the help you need. Good luck, and let us know how you're doing.

From you lips to God's ear, it should only be true. ESPN has tried to turn BASS into NASCAR. And Peterjay's right, it's all about the money. ESPN would put cannibalism on at prime time if it would sell product. Bean counters only know one color, green.

Thirty eight years ago my wife had a pyrex dish shatter as she took it out of the overn. Both my Mother and her Mother said "It happens. These dishes only have a certain number of heating/cooling cycles in them and then they break". When they both said the same thing, independently, I took it for gospel. I microwave and pour outside, in full clothes with glasses on. I haven't had a dish fail, but that doesn't mean it can't or won't. I pour with a pyrex cup that has never been in a conventional oven. I don't know if that makes a difference, but that's what I know about it.

Imitation is flattery. Duplication is theft. If you're a hobbyist who pours for himself, and want to duplicate someone's work, email them and ask first. If you're a pro making a living pouring, don't even think about it.

I wish I had thought of that before..... The good new was, after I finally got my finger out, I didn't have to worry about nose hairs on that side for a month. Seriously, I don't do that many balsa repaints, so I don't worry about the cost. Zap crazy glue, in the larger bottles, goes a long way. I always hold the bait by a forceps attached to the belly or tail hanger. Now I do, that is.....