diemai

@ spoopa Just like you I have made many topwaters out of light and buoyant wood(abachewood) . For sinking or suspending jerkbaits use some more dense wood , just because off that weighting reason . If making a larger lure of lightwood , there might simply be not enough space left to glue in sufficient ballast weights , so I already try to choose my woods after the intended lure models . On the other hand , when making , for example , a 5" flat-sided sinking jerkbait out of a very heavy kinda wood , so that it would barely float up without a lead weight , you might not be able to place enough lead without having the lure sink like a brick , to provide best possible glide action ! Or , in other words , if weighting accordingly to desired sink rate , the weight might not be enough to provide best lure action ! Greetz , diemai

@ bassn1 Hahaha , if you don't wanna be suspected as a pervert getting ladies underwear , you might as well check out different window curtain patterns ! Greetz , diemai

@ bbduc I haven't made as long baits as you thru-wired yet , but some smaller topwaters with a central wire shaft running through them , some of these are amongst my fist uploads in the gallery in here . Since I have never found any overlength drill bits in over here , I pre-drill with an ordinary bit 1,5mm dia. , as deep as possible and make the hole deeper with a rigid 1,5mm wire shank , on which I have ground a cutting edge onto one end . I'd fix my lureblank absolutely vertically in the vise of my drillpress(requires perfect eyeballing) , and start drilling with the bit in the previously accurately marked center , with an awl I have already made an indention for the bit to find grip precisely . After I'd chuck the wire shank and insert its point into the pre-drilled hole , after I switch on drill(don't have it turning without being inserted , it may otherwise snap off and cause injuries). At higher speed and lower feed(to prevent too much wandering) I'd drill down to about 3/4 of body length , maybe even 4/5 ! After I repeat procedure from the other side of lureblank , if having worked with most accuracy , the holes would meet somewhere inside the lurebody . You could extend holes a bit by using another wire shank with a flattened point end , constantly pushing the body by hand up and down the rotating shank , from either side(but never let it exit on the other side , it might make TWO holes) . Remember not to pull out that wire shank WITHOUT switching off drill before !!!!!!!!! Onto the wire shank to be assembled into the lure , I would grind a sharp point on one end , this makes it a lot easier to have it inserted into the entire pass of the center hole . I did these operations on softer woods without a pronounced grain like abachewood(better against wandering) , I guess , that with harder woods it would be more difficult to do with wire shanks , but not , when utilizing real overlength bits ! To determine , wether your holes have met inside the body , just blow into one side of it , if wood dust comes out , you've made it ! If not , you must still fool around drilling , maybe getting a bit larger in diameter as planned , the hole would be filled up with glue on final assembly , anyway ! And try getting still more accurate next time ! My longest body was about 5 1/2" , smaller than your intentions , but this is the only way , that I can think of ! Another way on longer bodies is to drill the hole only 1/2 to 3/4 through from only one side , off course , the remaining portion can be furnished with a belly slot , this way a wire shank with an already bent "U"-shaped belly eye on it could be inserted from that side , the belly slot would accomodate the belly eye , it would be impossible to slide the shank further down ! I'd cut that slot with "Dremel" cutting discs and the smallest router bits . Made such a construction before on some "Globe" lures . Hope , that my explanations are at least a bit understandable to you ! Greetz , diemai

@ Vodkaman Just googled for that wood , its obviously called "albesia" or "albecia" . Only browsed over the headlines within seconds , but I could figure out , that it is obviouly used a lot for folk art in the Far East , since there were masks and Buddha statues mentioned , being carved from it ! Greets , diemai

@ spoopa Every different wood provides different action to a lure , some woods are more suited for certain lure types and models than others . For instance topwaters could never work with low buoancy hardwoods , these should in my opinion only used for big sized swimbaits , crankbaits , jerkbaits and trolling lures . Big sized because they still require a certain grade of buoancy to be able to carry sufficient ballast and hardware . Lighter softwoods are the perfect joice for topwaters and smaller crankbaits , due to their high buoancy these there are far more options in terms of altering and setting their action with ballast weights . One other thing to consider is the working effort required , hardwoods can be quite tough to shape just with handtools . good luck , diemai

@ DSV Good luck and success , maybe make it also a bit deeper than 1 foot , since some baits would dive or sink , or in future you might get into building crankbaits ? Greetz , diemai

Accidentally got to the hobby deparment of a big store in Hamburg today , so I've checked out a bit about airbrushing in there . There was a "beginners complete set" by Revell , for plastic model painting , containing a spray gun , a comprimed air can , some paints and accessories , at about 90

@ anglerAdam Concerning low cost leadmelting in small amounts I utilize a simple stainless steel kitchen ladle . I have modified it by cutting off most of its long handle an bending it down parallel to the open rim of the ladle's "cupping" , filed the handle to a pointed shape , so that a wooden file handle could be stuck onto it , to hold without any glue . 90

@ newlurepainter Hi , welcome on TU ! To answer some of your questions check thread "painting" started by jeep brah or put the term "painting" into the search function , there surely would be a lot more to find dealing on that subject ! Greetz , diemai

@ DSV In fact a bathtub would sometimes be to short for proper testing , especially for swimbaits , those obviously require some retrieve distance to "kick" to work . Apart from building a test tank there is only one solution for you : BUILD MORE BAITS:yay: ! Taking three or even five of them down to the river makes the walking effort worthwile:lol: ! good success , diemai

Off course it won't be like predatory fish exclusively feed on injured prey , its exactly like clamboni stated , injuries mean easy forage , so maybe resemblances of injuries or unhealthy behaviour could trigger one or another extra strike . A similar issue , that I read about , is to work your lure slightly below or beside a school of predators prey fish , it would be more likely get hit than the real fish swimming close together , provided , that the lure design and action is similar to those schooling up minnows . Another rule of thumb over here is to take larger baits as the water gets colder in later fall , because the pike would not waste their energy for a 4" minnow , oughta tie on at least something 8"+ to raise their interest ! In warm water in summer that basic rule goes vice versa , since there are so many small minnows around , predators are exclusively feeding on them , so big lures would be ignored . But since fish can't talk to us yet , all this must remain uncertain:huh: ! greetz , diemai

I have once crudely painted a "natural shad" colored(white belly/silver flanks/dark back) , homemade small jerkbait with some red/orange/white irregular stripes on its flanks . These are to resemble infected bite wounds , like caused by predatory fish or also birds . Over here in Germany anglers are quite convinced about our local pike being a kind of "water health supervisor" , that would eliminate every sick or injured fish or even small animal in its habitat . Of course the action of such patterned lures should also be "not healthy" ! A few pale yellow/white flecks on a natural color design resembling a fungus infection should do the trick as well . I haven't caught on that lure yet , maybe its darting action does not match the injured appearance , really should paint a couple of different lure models that way:? ! greetz , diemai

@ jcheetam Welcome at TU , Jeff ! Wish , that mine would turn out as neat as yours , but painting isn't just my passion:huh: ! Greetz , diemai

@ Vodkaman Good statement ! We should think twice more often ! Greetz , diemai

Thank you guys for your further advice , obviously it seems , that small , low-noise compressors are either expensive or of poor performance . I won't like waiting during brushing on longer shots until sufficient pressure would build up again , and if it was only for seconds . I remember to have seen a book on airbrushing in our local public library long time ago , guess I'll get back there checking it out again:yes: . Seems , that there are bigger difficulties to consider than just the cleaning problem that I always have assumed to be the worst:? . The CO2 caskets are also an option for me , but this again stands and falls with their refill price and/or local availability . And Mark , don't think , I could trick her this way , she'd surely be suspecting something if I'd voluntarily suggest to do a different hobby work at home but luremaking , lol:huh: ! Thank ya' all , Dieter

@ Vodkaman Thanks , Dave , but I am aware of that:yes: ! I can't afford using a noisy compressor , since I live in a rented flat , the neighbors might get mad at me , if that thing would be constantly too loud . But I think , that I have seen small compressors in modelmaking shops before , haven't bothered about a close look so far , but I can imagine , that these might be not as noisy , since they are supposed to be used for hobbyist's work probably inside flats or homes (many , especially military , models require an airbrush design for the "real" look , I guess) . If these should perform well for modelmaking , they should do for lures as well , for repainting your car they won't work out , lol ! Just my thoughts , greetz , Dieter