diemai

@ Spike-a-Pike How many miles and at which speed required for a 40" minimum size musky:lol: ? I once used compressed air at my work for about 10 minutes , until the laughter of my mates got too much for me:huh: ! Greetz , diemai

@ Bass'n'Cast Here are two pics about homemade wire eyes , took them from magazine essays , that I wrote about two to three years ago(sorry , don't have a scanner/printer) . I use 1,0mm dia. SST wire for these and glue them in thoroughly with two-component glue . The coiled ones are a bit finacky to bend with the eye fixed in a vise , but to fix them into the lure is far easier and faster . Tested these ones for pull out with fishing scales , the scales got spoiled at a pull force of 23 Kilograms (about 50 lbs) and the eyes didn't move out of the wood a single bit ! Greetz , diemai

@ mark poulson Certainly you are right , but we'd expected a far better performance of our team , also because of the way , that some players had been talking previously in TV interviews ! But I guess , such a "ballyhooing" is part of the game ! Also we German people are known to be always moaning and wailing about everything:) ! But thanks anyway , Dieter

@ The Natural Huh ! In my opinion you hit it right about a "ghost-like" appearance , also a great idea about the lipstick ! Well done first design:yay: ! I am always amazed about such ideas on simple aids and tools to get further without having to spend much money . keep up your good work , diemai

@ mark poulson Thanks , Mark:worship: , but to me (and I'm sure many others) it's a kind of bitter victory . The Turkish team in many parts was the better one , but also it shows a certain pofessionality about the German team , that they did not miss too many chances in front of theTurkish goal to score , due to some well played counter attacks and passes (in fact they only had a few changes compared to their opponents:() . Anyway , this match was nothing to brag about , not at all , just keep quiet in humility ! @ The Natural Thanks for your kind words , but I don't consider myself to be one as well , I just thought , I'd pick up the challenge for once ! But trust me , if I'd get the first good fish nailed to it , I'd be in my workshop the next day and launch some more:wink: ! Greetz , Dieter

@ seamsea I have made similar lures years ago , I was inspired by a picture of this certain "Herb's Dilly" that time , that I found in a collectors book . You may use search function in the gallery for " spoon buzzers " , if you like to take a look . Greetz , diemai

Well , the tailfin was a bit more finacky to do , since it required little longer bristles , so I had to open up the smaller brush to gather them . But finally everything turned out well , so I tried to fit in the taped fins into their grooves . I found this almost impossible , since there would always be some bristles binding on the outside , so the whole thing didn't slide in properly ! And one can't use greater force on it , it would all get out of shape or even spoil entirely:( ! So I had the idea about fusing the bristles together at their base with my two-component glue . Don't know , if this was described somewhere before ? If it was , I did not notice it ! In this case , please forgive me about saying that "I had the idea":huh: ! Anyway , I dipped the ends of the bristles into the mixed glue , the weakpoint about this is to bond them as flat as possible together . To achieve this , I had to wait , until the glue started to set , because it's too liquid and sticky during the first minutes after mixing ! At this stage I tried to press the bristles flat together with my fingers , but the glue was already to hard and they sprung back to shape , so I quickly pressed the fin base flat in my vise , which helped a good deal . But after curing more I found some spots still a little too thick to enter the slots , so I had to extend these for about almost one millimeter . Anyway , don't think , that this matters too much , because the entire fin slot would be filled up with glue finally . I really enjoyed this work , since it is a new challenge for me , my gratitude goes to all the guys here on TU , that provided their kind and generous assistance for me . Now I am hoping , that things would continue to turn out reasonably well with my first swimbait , and that one day local pike would honour my work ! To be continued..........Dieter

OK , I guess , for my first time the fin affair has turned out quite well so far:) . As a reference about their shape I have first cut out simple templates of cardboard , these I used to sketch the outer shape of the fins onto some masking tape , that I stuck on my workbench with some other tape , sticky side upward . This way I could better determine on how to lay the single bunches of bristles onto the tape . Off course I had to bear in mind , that the base of the fins had to potrude over the tape a little more than the depth of the fitting grooves in the lure blank . This did not turn out too well with the tailfin:( , since the tape got too close to the lureb lank , but I can still cope with that by lateron glueing it in very carefully . First the base only , after remove tape and then glue the rest . After all bristles were in place , I fixed them with a second strip of tape . When finally glued in after the final topcoating , I'd off course trim those fins to proper shape . I haven't used that many bristles , since I am a bit scared , that too many would have an effect on the lure action , I just don't have any experience with it !

@ Vodkaman Hahaha , indeed I have an idea about the Turkish fans blocking up the roads , making a helluva noise with their cars and horns:lol: ! It was during the last world championships 2006 in Germany , the Turkish team had won a match , and my wife and I were cruising around the city of Hamburg that evening , looking for a place to do nightfishing for eel (yes , you can do that , even in the heart of the city !) . Due to those soccer fans whe couldn't even go , where we wanted to and check for a good spot . We got into a jam for a while , I was totally fed up:pissed: , so we drove out of town again to put out our baits in a more rural area ! As far , as I remember , we haven't caught that night:( ! Tonight it's gonna be the same in Hamburg , there is a very large fan party going on in the city , with expected tens of thousands visitors , German and Turkish alike ! But I am not going fishing there tonight:wink: ! Greetz , diemai

@ Vodkaman Gee , totally forgot about that one , I even wrote a comment on it , thanks for reminding me ! @ mark poulson Thanks a lot , it's gonna be a very exciting match , starts in about 5 hrs. 15 min . , shouldn't miss it ! The Turkish team are the underdogs , many of their top players are either hurt or suffer from penalties , I guess , there are not even enough players left to be able to make the legal three player exchanges during the match . But never underestimate that team , their will to win is second to none and if one fights until the end , they are the ones !

Alright , enough about:pissed: () politics now , let's get back to lure talk : Few hours ago I glued in the hinge screweyes into my swimbait blank , the gratitude goes to mark poulson , for having explained to me , how to do that accurately (first set both eyes for proper spacing of sections , remove one eye and glue it in to use the second one as a depth reference) . Also glued in the tow ,-and hook eyes . This afternoon I am going to try on the fins , that I intend to make from bristles of larger painting brushes , I thought about using dark and lighter colored bristles together for a contrasting look . I guess , that it was on a German site (or here on TU ?) , where I saw the bristles first stuck onto a piece of tape to create the entire fin in one piece to later glue it in place into its fitting groove (off course after having finished the final clearcoating) . Well , I am eager to find out , how it would work out , but now I am hungry:popcorn: ! Cheerio , Dieter

Hi , folks Since my "SuperBug" version has already dried sufficiently from its linseedoil treatment (obviously takes a little less time on such lower density kind of abachewood:)) , I have just now glued in its lip and connected wire harness . It took me five glue mixing processes in total to fill up everything properly . On such curvy shapes it can't be done with much less mixtures (also some spots at the sides of the lip's base remained uncovered at first) , since the glue tends to flow away from its location for some minutes until it sets , so I had to change position of lure a few times and apply new glue into the center slot and sideward lip slot . After at least 24 hrs. curing time I would then remove excess glue the same way previously shown with the teakwood "Banana's" ! After this removal I'd finally be ready to give my entire actual batch of "Banana's" , my first swimbait and two of Tacklejunky's "RoboMouse" versions the first clearcoat for first bath tube testing:) ! Greetz , Dieter

Concerning employing wood dowels for fixing hook ,-and tow eyes to wooden lures : Here are some pics(sorry , don't have a printer/scanner) of one of the rare lurebuilding instructions in German angling literature , already almost 15 years old . It's about a large pike trolling lure of pinewood , the wire suggested here is of brass , 2 mm diameter . After inserting the "U"-bent wire , its ends are bent sideward inside the bores(With pointed pliers) , then cut flush to flanks and finally secured with that glued-in dowel , wich has a plane on its circumference to accommodate the wire ends . The woodglue would close up the dowel plane slot entirely ! For my very first lures at that time I have uzilized this method , since there were no such special tackle components available over here and I never knew about possibly mailordering such items from America . Anyway , it wasn't that hard to do , but later in use I found my lures to be expanding , leaving blemishes sideward at the dowel locations and the coating crackled there:( . Maybe , the pinewood hasn't set well before getting sold ? But today I blame this on my lack of experience back then , maybe also my clearcoat was not sufficient , also I did not treat the material with a wood preserver back then ! But I haven't employed this method again , since soon after I learned about getting myself screweyes from the USA . Off course this method would not work with soft woods like balsa ! Greetz , diemai

@ pizza Just noticed your picture and explanation . These slotted dowels are a very smart idea , I'll have them in mind , very clever , indeed:yes: ! Thanks for the input:worship: ! diemai

@ pizza I have also considered to use superglue for the purpose , since it's a lot faster process , but I left it for that two-component glue , since I was scared about the glue curing too fast and I'd end up with an eyelet fixed only halfway into its bore , not possible to pull out again:( ! But I guess , this depends on the type of brand , that one uses ? Once got a balsa lure blank from a Finnish friend , haven't used that wood before , but I was aware , that its surface somehow has to be rendered harder prior to painting . Well , I painted it over several times with a special two-component laquer , that I purchase from a local mailorder store . They state , that it is used in the auto-industry , it is quite liquid(consistency like superglue) . The balsa soaked very well with it , after the third or fourth coat a glossy surface developped , a sign , that it won't soak no more , so I gave it another three coats of ordinary epoxy clear coat , just to thicken the outer layer , after I sanded it a little rough and started with the first white primer coat ! The surface turned out quite hard , but never caught a pike with it to tell , how it would withstand the abuse of its teeth . But for bass fishing such a treatment would surely be sufficient , sadly we don't have them over here:( ! Greetz , diemai

@ pikester Off course cutting the lip slot at that stage is an option not to be overlooked . Just like you I had to learn it the hard way:wink: ! @ pizza I once rigged eyelets exactly looking like yours to some lures , these I made of SST wire , 1,0 mm dia. ! I did this terms of an "How-To" foto-essay , that I wrote for a German angling magazine , because special lure-eyescrews are not widely available over here(only one or two internet stores carry them !) Anyway , but these lures were not made of balsa , but of abachewood(or similar) and pinewood . Since I didn't use such eyes before , I had to test them , before publishing them in my essay . I took a piece of a broomstick , at the center of each end of it I rigged one of these homemade wire eyes , in away that it's shank sits very snugly in a fitting bore . This bore I have filled up with 5min. two-component glue before and then slowly twisted the eyelets in , for perfect coverage with glue , and wiped off excess glue (more about this glue in my thread "new Banana lure") . The shanks were about 20 to 23 mm long ! After 72 hrs. of curing(that glue achieves its full strength after this time) I fixed one of those eyes with some cord onto my vise , the opposite eye I tied to a 25 kilograms (55 lbs) fishing scales and pulled as hard as I could ! At about 23 kg indicated one cord snapped , due to the sudden release the scale spoilt , but the glued-in eyes did not move a bit:nuhuh: ! I found this quite remarkable , since the pull direction was in alignement of the eye-shanks , and not under certain angles , as it would be the case on a real lure ! Greetings , diemai

@ mark poulson , @ clemmy , Just realized about your concerns on this glue-drop to be cleaned off the line tie with knife and file:o:huh: ! You are bass anglers , you tie on your lures straight to the line:wink: ! In Germany not too many fishermen do that , in fact the restrictions of most fishing clubs(a membership is almost essential to be fishing over here at all , since these hold many of the waters) and also local restrictions command the use of a wire leader , when lurefishing . For deadbait either , off course ! So the lures would always be fixed with a snap onto this leader , not tied to the mainline directly ! Only some anglers fishing for zander(walleye) in our bigger rivers and trout anglers fishing smaller rivers and creeks , also so-called "put-and-take" trout ponds , tie on straight like you do , since pike are quite abundant in such waters , or lures are too light and subtle for a leader . But even when sometimes not using a leader , I'd always put a Duo-Lock-Snap on my line , just for easier switching:wink: . So I don't have to bother about blemishes and cuts on my tow eyes ! But thanks for your hints , anyway , especially this tool dip or wax thing I'll keep in mind , may utilize it for jointed lures one day . So well , I have now cleared off all the excess glue from my five new "Banana" lures , only took a bit more than one hour(check pics) . @ rofish , to me this is not too long:) ! But as I look closely on the third picture(sideview of all the five lips) I can clearly see , that you guys are just too right with your concerns ! Thank God , that for above mentioned reasons I do not have to bother about it:) ! Greetz , Dieter

@ rofish Hahaha:lol: , I have probably gathered so many lures , that I surely won't be able to fish them all for the rest of my lifetime (at least , that's what my wife says:mad:) ! So I don't have no hurry with building my lures , I want them to turn out the way , that I think is best . Actually it is a well-suiting leisure time occupation for me , since I have to work in a shift system since 1992 . The first 9 1/2 years I have made weekly changes of day ,- late ,-and nightshifts , now I only do day , -and lateshifts , but most likely lateshifts . My buddies take over the nightshifts for me , since they hate lateshifts and I can't find sleep during the day . What I want to say is , that sitting in my workshop and making something , that I like , with my own hands , is giving me a kind of satisfaction , not only to live for going to work . I have several times gone fishing before late ,- or even nightshifts , but it always turned out in dissapointment and frustration to have to leave the water at a given time , maybe even when fish just have started to strike well ! So I leave it now for weekends and vacations . I usually really don't have to hurry with making lures , I enjoy making them ! But I must admit , that for some reason I do not bother for a state-of-the -art paint job , I'd rather create different and sometimes strange and unusual designs . But I can tell you , that the described working processes are not that difficult and time-consuming . The point is , that after some time making several similar lures you'd become rather professional in it , so you also get pretty fast to work them down(in my opinion of speed !) Greetz , Dieter

@ The Natural Using balsawood you won't get around rigging a thru-wire harness into a slot to be cut into the belly of your lure . As you have already mentioned , screweyes would never hold in this soft wood:yes: ! Also you won't get around getting yourself some tools to start out in carving wooden lures . When using softer woods , that still hold screweyes , you might start out with a carving knife and different grade sandpaper , this is for shaping the body . The lip slot and pilot holes for screw eyes you could do with your "Dremel" for the start , only have to purchase the sufficient bits for the purposes . For sealing your lure you need some kind of topcoats , the better their quality , the longer your lure would last ! One more thing : Next time shape your lures in a way , so that the wood grain leads lengthwise the lurebody , not the way you did this one . It would turn out far more stable , on this pictured lure the tail might easily break off under the force of a fighting fish , even with a glued in wire harness ! Anyway , it seems that you are hooked on luremaking already , you'd only get better here on TU ! Greetz , diemai

Alright , here are some more pics showing the fine grade work to render all excess glue finally flush to the lure body . Only use the knife to cut off glue against the wire eyelet , never onto the outer contoures of the lure , you'd surely cut inside ! The inside of the eye(lip plane) you'd furnish with a slim triangle ,-or square file , just work the glue down to lip level , glue remainders around the "root" of the wire eye are cut flush with the knife , always guiding it parallel to the lip plane against the wire . Not much to say about the belly groove , just file smooth according to the belly contoure , finally sand over with 180 to 240 grit sandpaper . The glue would smear into the files teeth after a certain time , rendering it blunt , I utilize that special file brush shown to clean them up again , but an ordinary steel bristled brush should do as well . Before the first paintcoat clean all chips and dust away from the lure , I use a special cleaning brush for this . Gonna proceed with this in the evening or tomorrow , only worked a bit early in the morning to shoot the pics , got one week off from work , going fishing today:) ! Greetz , Dieter

Started out on removing the excess glue on my lures , sorry , that some pics got out of focus , but I hope , they are still easy to follow the step-by-step working process . The cutting with different "Dremel" router bits is fairly easy and reasonably fast to be done , make sure not to put too much pressure on it , since pretty fast you might cut blemishes into the wood body . When getting closer to it , just let the router only slide over the glue . Make sure to always hold the circumference of the bit parallel to the wood plane , also to avoid cutting into it . Go as close as you dare down to the wood , the fine-shaping is afterwards done with knife and files and sandpaper(180 to 240 grit) !