diemai

Mark , I assume , that this is also to achieve a tighter wiggle , .......I just imagine that if f.e. the tow eye bend(highest point where line loop or snap actually engages) would sit 1/2" above the lip's plane(just theoratically) , a certain kind of leverage would take place and cause the lure to swing further to either side and most likely blow out . Maybe this recessed thus lower tow eye has just the opposite purpose and lets the lure run just a tad more stable and thus maybe other of it's dynamics could be altered in attempt to ge ta certain action , ..........but to be honest , I don not have a dead proof explanation as well ! @ MEISTERICS I am definately sure , that you will enjoy the read ! greetz , Dieter

If you're willing to invest a couple of bucks check out the book "Crankbait Secrets" by Joe Bucher , heaps of info about crankbait dynamics and all aspects of how to fish them described in there ,..... but no crankbait building . Easy to understand even for me , that English is not my first language . I remember , that the best tow eye position on a crankbait bill is refered as the "sweet spot" in there , ......THE line tie location , that would provide the possibly deepest dive without yet causing the lure to blow out . http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Buchers-Crankbait-Secrets-Crankbaits/dp/0873417291 Some more info can probably be found in here : http://www.crankbaitcentral.com/CrankbaitABCs/index.html good luck , diemai

Fix it into a kinda frame in a stretched out condition(with rubber bands or coil springs) and brush on the clearcoat , ......if utilizing a slow curing product requiring a rotisserie , make sure that you could clamp that frame into the rotisserie , .........using fast curing topcoat just flip over the frame a few times to avoid dripping , ....you could utilize carpenters clamps or larger spring-loaded clamps as a mount for that frame to stand firmly on your workbench . Try not to apply any laquer into the joining hinge eyes , ...if such still happens , I utilize a "Dremel" with a 1,0 mm drill bit and a Stanley knife(carpet knife) to carefully scrape off the clearcoat remainders from the wire eyes after curing . good luck , diemai

Hope , that it helped a bit , .........Nuremberg is about 300 miles down south from my location , I'm in the North , ........been there once in terms of a one week school excursion back in 1978 , ....nice city ! greetz , diemai

@ schmink Maybe a sequence in this video of mine may help , .......look as from 3:30 : Good luck , diemai

@ Da big tuna Don't know about your local brands over there in the US , but in any supermarket or drugstore in the household compartment you shoud find some detergent meant to polish copper pots , silver spoons and brass flower pots and stuff . Apply it onto your blades after instructions and rubb clean with a clean cotton rag , ....you're done ! good luck , diemai

Many German lure builders use epoxy sold by this company , ......you can obtain a choice of different resins and hardeners to achieve different curing times . Since I do not have a rotator , I go for the fastest hardener , it sets within about half-an-hour , ....I'd only have to flip over the lures in my drying rack a few times , ........people using rotators go for slower curing stuff , as it most likely provides more even and thicker coats . http://www.bootsservice-behnke.de/ Finnish builders use a kind of concrete laquer for covering concrete floors and walls , ......but I do not have detailed info about sources nor brands . good luck , diemai

@ Sonny.Barile Thanks a lot for your comments and your experiences , ......I'm now through with those experiments , too . Crankbaits constructed this way seemingly are simply not buoyant enough to perform reliably , .....don't think , that filling in liquid foam would change things for good , ....probably just improve the action a bit , but not to perfection . But I've had the idea to give it a try on a sinking glider jerkbait as well , and that one in my opinion performs best out of all those four prototypes , ..........you may look at it here : Thanks everbody for your interest and input in my experiments , ........another learning curve accomplished , .........at least the glider does work well , ....so I should not complain ! greetz , diemai

Has become quite slow on my side as well , ........also the only one of my favorite sites , ........others remained at usual loading speed . greetz , diemai

Just let me chime in to say a big "Thank You" to Jerry , ..........TU is a great place to be , lots of great guys and heaps and heaps of info in here . Keep up the good work , Jerry ! greetz , Dieter

Gamakatsu's are the sharpest ones , that I know , but they are quite expensive , ...........with VMC's(bronzed trebles , or "Barbarians") you get a good hook for a bit less money , if you find them in bulk , .....also available in black color . I also like "Eagle Claw Curved Point" trebles pretty much , they also "stick" at one touch , ...but are hard to find over here ! greetz , diemai

Very interesting concept , thanks for sharing , .......just googled for a bit of more info : http://extremelures.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=64 greetz , diemai

Mark , I could sent you some corks , .....might probably save you from headaches in the morning now and then ! good luck , my friend , ....greetz , Dieter

Want info ? Check this out : http://www.crankbaitcentral.com/CrankbaitABCs/index.html greetz , diemai

Thanks a lot for your kind words and input , fellas , .....much appreciated ! @ rofish Thanks a lot about the styrofoam , ........I did not think of that one at all ! It is not rigid enough , but I may use it to replace the cork at least in the center of the lurebody , leaving cork at either end . @ fatfingers The lips on both lures were made bigger from at first , .....I did reduce their size to prevent the lures from overturning even easier as they are still doing now . The key to proper swimming action just seems to be buoancy , nothing else ! @ nova I am sure , that bamboo might work out as well for such simple lures , .......I've already seen some Japanese homemade cranks that had at least a slightly cupped diving lip of bamboo . @ mark poulson Thanks a lot , Mark , ...... in fact you need to make compromises with those artificial corks , impossible to shape them very accurately , not a material for eye-pleasing lures at all , ...I either cut them with a sharp carpet knife or coarse grind them on my sanding disc at 40 to 80 grit , but one can also use other tools , but never to very good accuracy , that's true ! Small particles or fibres of material evolving at ground away edges you can carefully burn off with a lighter flame to give it at least a little bit of a smooth look . The hook hangers on these metal tube lures are simple so-called "omega clips" , as these are shaped like this letter of the ancient Greek alphabet . They consist of the wire eye sticking out of the belly and the two 1/4" tag ends are bent a bit more than 90° offset away from the eye and now sit snug against the inner wall of the tube , the cork material really locks them quite firmly . The Australians use such "omega clips" quite a lot as line ties on the oversized lips of their lures , ....no thru-wire . You make it sound easy to use that foam stuff , .......well ,if nothing else should work out finally ........... ? @ Vodkaman Dave , these corks are heavier than light colored and soft balsa , ....probably as heavy as the most dense , darker balsa , .......my PVC hardfoam also is a bit lighter in weight . They are also a bit heavier than natural cork . There hardly are pores or airbubbles visible(but they must be there , anyway), the material is quite rigid , but yet does comprime very well , absolutely neccessary to properly seal off wine bottles , anyway ! Thanks again for your interest , .....greetz , Dieter

Thanks for your interest and input , mates ! Ben , .....I have thought about such foam as well , but I guess that it's gonna be quite a messy affair ! And actually I want to keep these lures as simple as possible , they are just too ugly to put a lot of effort into their production . If the next step that I've mentioned in this #2 video(squeezing the tube to an oval cross-section) would not work out as well , I guess I'd bite my lips and still use some of my precious PVC hardfoam to stuff the tubing ,..... probably it might even be enough to replace just ONE cork with PVC ? Dave , you're darn right about going without ballast would be rather impossible ,...I see to it now ! Actually on the first prototype I had cut a narrow strip of 1,0mm roofing lead sheet , cut two slots into it for the two hookhanger "omega clips" to pass through as well , thus fixing it , ............but the lure sank like a brick with that one , so I did not assemble that strip . As I said during the #2 bathtub test , ....guess , I'm at the limit with this design keeping the tube round , still going to try the oval cross-section , but it looks like I need to go more buoyant with the stuffing of the tube ! Thanks again , ....greetz , Dieter

Hi , folks , Just wanna introduce my latest lure experiment in here : Few days ago a workmate supplied some more artificial wine bottle corks to me , I've asked him to collect these , as they might come in handy for tackle ,-and luremaking somehow . About the same time I took notice of some aluminium tubing again , that I had thrown into my material junkpile down the basement about two years ago , after a storm had knocked down this set of tubular bells from my balkony , ...snapped the connecting cords and I did not feel like mending it but put the single tubes down the basement . Anyway , ....I had the idea to try making simple crankbaits from that tubing , ......using the wine bottle corks for buoyancy . Won't hurt to loose these simple and crudely made baits in snaggy waters , ...and they're not that hard to build , if I once would get the hang on it . The first prototype in the video does not work too well , on faster paces it would get to spin . As you would notice , the lip of the bait looks different in the video than in the earlier pictures below , ....had to reduce it's size and alter it's angle too in order to get something like a swimming action out of it at all ! Just now I've altered the design a bit and made another bait(the one with blue foil applied) , hoping that in my oncoming bath tub test tomorrow this second one might perform better . At least it is a bit more buoyant than the first one , but still I haven't bothered about any ballast , as I want to try keeping these lures as simple as possible . To gain a better buoyancy I might as well stuff the tubing with PVC hardfoam instead of the corks , but this material is too precious to me , as I do not have a reliable source for it over here . So possibly I wanna stick to the corks , ......but probably I won't get around assembling ballast weights into another prototype , if this second one should not work well , too . No problem about placing leadshot into these lures , just place these into a pouch cut into the cork , .....these sit very snugly , no glue required for this design ! greetz , diemai

Some of my very early lures(8" trolling baits of wood , thru-wired minnow style) I had equipped with plexiglass lips(found the stuff on the scrabyard of my work , it was used for machinery housing parts) . When I took the three unpainted blanks upstairs to show to my wife , one accidentally slid from my hand and hit the kitchen floor with it's rear hook eye first causing the lip to break off exactly around the body outline , ......that location , where it met the wooden body ! Well , I surely was pissed off , .......but in order to find out , whether it happened accidentially or whether it might be a material issue , I've dropped the second and afterwards the third lureblank the same manner , ......on both blanks the lips snapped off instantly . Off course I have never used that plexiglass stuff again , ....also elaborately cut out the the lip remainders from the blanks and made new lips from aluminium sheet ! greetz , diemai