CoreyH

By the way, I did what you suggested with regards to thinking about how the water flows/pushes over the bait, which is how I came up with the design of the bait last night. It certainly makes things more interesting when you start thinking about it that way instead of simply trying to copy a tried and true bait that's already out there. The downside is that the tried and true baits are that way for a reason...they've already been tested and the design works. There's always the chance that a design I come up with myself could perform terribly or not at all. But again, that's part of the fun and the frustration aspect of making baits. My wall of shame already has a few failed baits and I've only been doing this for a month or so!

Thanks so much for the help! That is the one thing I like better about PVC...I don't need to seal it before testing. I'll try what you suggested and let you know if I have any more specific questions.

Is this still a 2-part system? I tried looking up Rod Bond paste and all I'm getting is a 2-part resin and hardener. Is this the stuff?

So I messed around last night making a lipless out of some basswood. I have the body cut and shaped (and I'm actually very intrigued by it since I did some unconventional shaping in a couple areas), but nothing else done. Before I added rattles and ballast, I had another question. Where do you generally want your ballast weight in relation to the centerline (horizontally and vertically)? Do you want to keep it as low in the body as you can? Do you want the bait weighted more towards the nose or spread out more evenly between the nose and the middle of the body? I would think you would want it weighted a little more towards the nose to have the nose pointed down right away so that when you cast out and start your retrieve the bait is already in the correct nose-down position, but I have also seen some lipless baits that fall level and kind of shimmy on the way down (I'm thinking of the Strike King Red Eye Shad). Is this another area that can be done a thousand different ways, or is there a standard for weighting?

That's good information to have. Never having done anything with balsa, I always thought you wanted the low density for maximum buoyancy.

Again, thanks for the help. Sounds like I just need to play around with some designs and see what works and what doesn't. A little bit of fun and a little (or a lot) of frustration. But it'll be a good way to learn I guess.

Thanks for the info. Do you usually keep the "forehead" of the lipless crank flat so that it catches more water? It seems that a lot of the popular mass produced lipless cranks have a flat, wider forehead and then once past the line tie the rest of the back is rounded.

Very creative! I can definitely see me using the coin rattle with a lipless crank. Thanks for the suggestions.

So I decided to try making a couple lipless cranks. One I made out of PVC trimboard and the other out of basswood. I started with the PVC and went pretty narrow with it. So narrow that I don't feel comfortable putting a hook hanger on the back of the bait since I feel like the back 1/3 of the bait is so narrow that it could (and probably would) break if I put a hook on the back and actually had a fish hooked on the back hook. I went wider with the basswood so I wouldn't have that issue. While working on them both, a couple questions came up... 1. Is there a rule of thumb when it comes to the taper of a lipless crank when making it out of PVC or a softer wood like balsa or basswood? I know you want it wider up front and narrower in the back to give it the action it needs, but then you run into issues with the back being weaker. Just looking for suggestions here. 2. Is there a preferred way of adding rattles? I wound up drilling a couple holes in the belly and putting a couple BB's in each hole. The hole is bigger than the BB's, so it does allow some room for the BB's to rattle around. It worked OK I guess, but I can't imagine there's not a better way. I wound up using some wood putty to plug the hole without filling the hole and ruining the rattling, but I'm not sure that will hold up well. I did put some super glue over the wood putty, but again I have to figure there's a more efficient or better way.

Thanks. I'll try getting some from Hobby Lobby and go from there. As always, I appreciate the help.

So you use the rod bond paste instead of epoxy for attaching the lip, line tie, and hook hanger? Ever have any problems with the holding strength of the paste versus epoxy? Does the paste flex or does it dry rock hard?

Yeah, it's never a good sign when a company named Balsa Wood Inc. can't find any balsa to sell. I haven't checked Hobby Lobby yet, so maybe I'll try there. I'm not looking for a bunch of it, just a block to try and make a few lures from to see how I like it compared to the basswood. But if I like it, it would be nice to know of a place that sells it at a decent price and has it in stock.

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked both of those places, but neither place has balsa in stock.

I just started making crankbaits a month or so ago and I've been using PVC trimboard. I'm going to continue to use PVC as well, but I bought a block of basswood from Menards and decided to try using it last night. I really enjoyed shaping it and sanding it. There's something about working with the wood instead of the PVC that I just like better. Anyway, when I was originally looking for balsa, I only found the basswood blocks at the places I stopped (Lowe's, Home Depot, Menards, Walmart). I'd like to try balsa (who knows, maybe I'll like the basswood better), but just don't know if there's a good place online that carries it? I see some listed on Amazon but just wasn't sure if there was somewhere better to get it?

Thanks for the help. The baits are just for me (I'm not trying to sell anything), so I'm not looking for perfection, but I also want a clean looking bait and don't want epoxy or topcoat globbed up in areas or completely covering the hook hangers.

I'm going to start using epoxy to install my hook hangers, line tie, and lip. To get as clean a look as possible, what is the best way to remove any excess epoxy from the bait or lip once I have installed the lip and hook hangers? Is it better to go the dry route by just wiping off with a dry cloth, or does that just smear it? In the same line of thinking, I'm going to be dipping and hanging my baits using KBS diamond clear. Do I clean the hook hangers right after hanging the bait up, or do I wait until the topcoat has cured? If I wait, do I drill the topcoat out using a small bit or is another method better?

I saw that video too. Epoxy definitely had much better holding strength but I believe he said that for fish like bass, the super glue had more than enough holding strength as well. Either way, I’m going to start using epoxy for the longer working time for adjusting lip position, line tie, and hook hangers and also to completely prevent the cloudiness issue that happens with super glue.

Good to know. Thanks

Right now I’m twisting .041” as wire for my line ties and hook hangers. Would I be better off going with a cotter pin and bending it for the through-lip design?

Bob, thanks for the info. I lost my last E1’s last summer and figured I’d get more, but then Mr. Chambers passed away and there was no way I was going to spend $50+ on any bait so I didn’t get any more. I’ve tried to find a substitute for it and just bought a couple of John Hott’s H-1 squarebills since they are supposed to be replicas of the E1’s. Water is still frozen up here so I won’t know how well they work until spring. Since I just started making some crankbaits myself I thought I would ask about the line tie in the E1’s since I’m sure that factors into their great action. The cranks I’ve made so far have all had the line tie attached directly to the nose of the bait, just above the lip. If possible for a beginner I was wanting to try putting the line tie in the bill like the E1. The build was always so clean on any of the Zoom cranks that I just thought the line tie didn’t go in below the lip, but was rather somehow molded into the lip. Thanks again for the pic and correcting my mistake. Any suggestions on how they got such a clean through-lip design on the Zoom cranks? Did they just epoxy and smooth it out?

Thanks for the clarification. I just assumed the D2T and BSI were what people were using for installing hardware and lips. I'm planning on trying the KBS Diamond Clear to dip and hang for my topcoat, so I won't need the D2T or BSI for that.

I've noticed that my favorite crankbait (Zoom WEC E1) has the line tie actually located just slightly forward of the body, in the lip of the bait. It's a very clean look, almost as though the line tie was molded into the lip, not like some I've seen where the wire for the line tie is situated below the lip and comes up through the bottom of the lip through a couple holes or a slot. If I'm wanting this type of line tie positioning and this clean look, is this something I can do myself or is there a place that sells the lips with the line tie cleanly built in? And for now, I'm only interested in the squarebill lip, not an elongated round bill for a medium or deep diver. As always, thanks!

Looks like I'll start using epoxy. I was leaning that way to begin with, mainly because of the longer working time to make sure the bill is straight. I would try what Dave suggested, but I'm just not sure how much confidence I would have by only securing the bill with a drop of glue on each side. Most likely it would be fine, but I would struggle with feeling good about it not coming loose. I've heard guys talk about D2T and Bob Smith slow cure. Is one better than the other or just personal preference?

I've still been going back and forth a little about continuing to use super glue or going to an epoxy for gluing in line ties, hook hangers, and bills. One issue I'm having that is making me think I'll go the epoxy route is that I'm constantly getting varying degrees of cloudiness on my lexan bills from using the super glue. I understand that this is due to a reaction between the plastic bill and the superglue which causes a vapor and the vapor is what causes the cloudiness...at least that's my understanding. For those that do use superglue for installation of the bill, is there a way to prevent the cloudiness effect?

What is that? Looks like a grinding/sanding attachment for a dremel, but I've never seen a pink one before. Where you do you get them?