.dsaavedra.

wow a 10 inch senko....that is almost scary! good luck making them. i've never seen one and that would be quite a sight!

i epoxied the head. it went well. no problems at all with the head! tomorrow i will put the second coats of epoxy on everything and then after 24hrs it will be ready to fish!

when putting in hardware (mainly hook eyes and line ties) that requires you to cut out a groove on the inside of both halves of wood, how do you line up the grooves so you know exactly where to cut? on my swimbait i kinda eyeballed it, and it was a P.I.T.A. to do. on future baits, i want to speed up this process so the bait is much neater inside (like it really matters ) and mainly so its easier to do. my only idea would be to put in the hardware and then squeeze the halves together in a vise to make indentations as to where the hardware will lay. any better ideas?

so if i understand you correctly, you drilled holes crosswise in the lure and poured melted lead in?

diemai, i saw how you taped weights to the outside of the bait. what kind of weights were they? what shape were they? do you plan on putting them inside the bait? i would think that if you temporarily attatched weights to the outside of the bait, it would affect the swimming action of the bait when its being tested, because it would cause different water currents around the bait, and the weights aren't in the exact location they will be on the finished bait. maybe im over thinking?

your theroies make perfect sense. maybe this isnt such a far-fetched idea after all. still dont know if i am going to try it... maybe i'll just try it on a test piece of wood first and then if it works out, i'll incorperate the idea into a lure.

thanks for the tips guys. but what i really wanted to know was not so much where to put the weights, but HOW to put them on so they can be easily removed and added at the bath tub, so that way i dont have to go dry the lure off, cut new holes, re-seal them, and try again. i was thinking maybe taking the weights i will use (3/0 split shot) and just sticking them to the bottom of the lure with hotglue in the spots where they will go. the only problem i see with this is the weights would be in the same position on the X axis of the lure, but they would be lower on the Y axis. so how do you guys put on and take off weights when experimenting with placement while testing your lure in water?

the main reason i wanted to do that water chamber idea is because i wanted a light swimbait (i dont have an actual swimbait rod, im using a rod taht is only rated for 1.5oz) that would sink. i would make it light by hollowing out the chamber which would also make it sink. BUT...in order for it to still be light, i'd have to pour all the water out of the bait before each cast. im not about to waste my time doing that. i put the first coat of epoxy on the midsection. unfortunatley it didnt go as well as the tail section. i started running out of time and epoxy so i got kinda sloppy inside the joints. i also accidentally touched my knuckle to it once or twice when it was drying but that leveled out. but it is still totally covered, just a few small pits in it which will get filled in with the second coat.

how do you guys determine the positions and amounts of weights on a swimbait? when i did my first one, i carved out holes where i thought the weights should go, but then i needed to add more holes and it wasnt very easy. i was wondering if there was an easier way.

very nice baits. i would not call those attempts how much weight did it take to get those big baits to sink?

i remember what my "great idea" was last night, and i guess i forgot it because i remember dismissing it last night as "not that great". my idea was inorder to create a slow sinking bait without adding a ton of weights, just hollow out the inside of the bait and leave a hole that goes out the top of the lure and seal the inside very well. then when you assemble the bait, be sure not to clog the hole at the top, then when you fish, the bait fills up with water and sinks. probably wouldnt work so great...im not trying it. first coat of epoxy is on the tailsection...no fatalities....yet . in a few hours i will put the first coat on the midsection. this [epoxy drying] is going to be a long, drawn out time period; i think im gonna go ahead and get started on my next bait!

thanks for the comments guys. i do think outside of the box a lot, mainly because i have limited resources, and i dont like to go to the store and buy every last little thing i need. so i stay at home and imporvise with what i have. i came up with a great idea last night while trying to fall asleep, but i cant think what it was now! hopefully it will come back to me. i remember it was real cool and hadn't beed done before. anyway, the epoxy goes on in a few minutes . im pretty scared. i hate doing epoxy. i am FULLY capable of RUINING a bait with epoxy i am gonna take my time and do this one segment by segment, hopefully i will get a nice even finish. wish me luck!

diemai, your bait looks most like the third picture, the carp with almost no scales. anyway, i hope nothing else goes wrong from here on out so you can hurry up and fish this bait and land some big fish! what kind of fish are you targeting with it?

ok. im not sure if there are any plastics suppliers around here, but i'll do a little snooping around to see if i can find a supplier. how easy is expanded pvc to shape comapred to wood (particularly basswood)?

thanks ferg. i was very pleased with the way these eyes turned out. before i made them i considered how hotglue hazes over when its cool, but i decided to go ahead and test out the hot glue idea anyway, and it turned out to work great! cheap, easy 3-D eyes! the most difficult part was centering the pupil in the eye.

well i got all the paint done. i wanted 3-D eyes but didnt have any so it was time to improvise! i painted a black dot on a piece of aluminum foil and then put a blob of hot glue over it. when the hot glue cooled, it hazed over, which was neat because now it is reflective and hazy, just like a real fish eye. i am pleased with the results tomorrow morning it gets epoxy!

polyurethane decking is the same stuff as expanded PVC? how easy is it to shape? is the decking material expensive?

oh, duh! i never thought of wrapping the wire around a nail to get the coil. well now that doesnt seem hard at all....maybe i'll try that on my next bait. cant wait to see when your paintjob is done....i just cant seem to see how that resembles a carp. maybe i dont know the species you are trying to imitate.

basswood is a great all purpose wood. you can get it at the craft store.

wow that hinge does not look easy to make! sorry to hear about your lure though! there is nothing wrong with brushing on paint! its all i do (i either brush or photofinish) and i can get pretty detailed with a paintbrush, something i couldnt do with rattle cans. just wondering, is there any specific species of fish you are trying to imitate with your lure? the shape of the body and fins really screams "carp" but your paintjob looks nothing like a carp. will be interesting to see what your new paintjob turns out like

i have the other side painted. still need to paint inside the joints. i really dont know what im going to do with the head. i guess i'll just fade it black to blue to white like the rest of the body. and use black to make the details more pronounced. i call the color: midnight shad

well here is the paint. i still have to paint the head, the inside of the joints, and the entire back side. turned out a little bit darker than i would have liked but i am pleased that i didnt make it look totally rediculous.

diemai, our threads are so similar! i think it is interesting how we both just decided to try something new and jump into the world of swimbaits. i really liked the construction process of mine and tomorrow i am going out to buy more wood for the next couple of swimbaits! your bait is coming along nicely. have you tested it for action yet?

yep. they are all epoxied together now and they have past the handling time (2hrs) but they won't reach full strength untill 8hrs after application. in about an hour or so i will paint the lure and take pics for you guys!

ok. is that expanded pvc material expensive?