RiverSmallieGuy

I have used and like the JB Weld ClearWeld 5 minute epoxy. It dries clear and is really strong. Its fairly inexpensive as well. I have tried it as a clear coat too, not ideal, but definitely works. Braden

I think it would work, just not 100% ideal. I think it would be kinda like using 5 minute epoxy for a clear coat; durable, but not ideal. Braden

Ummm, the process depends on a few things; 1. the tools you have access to, 2. the kind of crankbait you are building, 3. the kind of wood you are working with. Since I only have one power tool, which is a drill, I will share with you my process. 1. Sketch or glue lure shape on wood 2. Cut shape out roughly with coping saw 3. Rasp wood down to accurate shape 4. Sketch the tapers (if not flat sided) 5. Cut the tapers roughly with the coping saw (if not flat sided) 6. Rasp down tapers to accurate shape (if not flat sided) 7. Sketch chamfer lines onto lure 8. Carve chamfers with utility knife and chisel 9. Sand every surface to 220 or 400 grit sandpaper 10. Drill eye sockets with brad point or forstner drill bit (optional) 11. Cut lip slot then Sketch and Carve gills (optional) 12. Make lure through wire, do not cover wire slot until lure is weighed and lip is installed (optional) or use screw eyes, cotter pins, or twisted wires and glue them into lure with epoxy or super glue. 13. Weigh lure after drilling lead hole 14. Cover lead hole after weight is in place (if not through wire) 14. Grab a piece of circuit board or Lexan 15. Cut out lip shape then file down to accurate shape 16. Chamfer lip edges (optional) 17. Install lip into lip slot with adhesive of your choice 18. Seal lure with polyurethane, super glue, sanding sealer, or any other suitable wood sealer. 19. Test lure, make any necessary modifications 20. Paint lure 21. Clear coat lure 22. Put hooks on and go tear em' up! Braden

What kind of lure is it? I can't really tell, but it looks like it would be a jigging lure or maybe a lipless crankbait. Either way, you would want to test sink it until you get the sink right. I am not sure what you mean by weight "displacement" but I am going to guess that you are asking where the weight would go. If so, where I would place it is a little up by the head, but most of it in the lowest part of the belly. You can't really go wrong with placing the weight in the lowest, fattest part of the lure, although there are some exceptions to that. I don't know if this helps, but thats what I interpreted. Braden

I am not 100% sure what the effect the shad dot has on the effectiveness of a lure, but it does make a shad color look way better in my opinion. I noticed when looking at shad, the dot is less present on the larger, older shad, and is way more present in the smaller shad. I would assume that the effectiveness is modified because the smaller lures that you were describing looked more natural to the predators and panfish due to the dots being more present in the smaller shad you were imitating. Braden

You could take some egg weights, bullet weights, split shots, bird shot, or maybe even tungsten weights to weigh lures. I like to use lead weights like split shots or egg weights because I can cut them up and shape them to be the size/shape I want. The thing about tungsten though... It is expensive, and you can't cut it, but it is far heavier and denser, so it has it's applications. Braden

I have never tried spraying glitter onto a lure, but I do know for a fact that you can put some glitters or flakes into brush on epoxy clear coats and have the glitter in the clear coat. Not sure if this is what you wanted, but thats what I know about this. Braden

Forgot to mention-- I am going to be using twisted wire hardware, and there is going to be a fixed Lexan tail fin. I know that Lexan sinks, so I thought I would mention that. Braden

I am trying to build a 7" very chunky trout 2pc glidebait from cedar, and I have the bait carved and ready to weigh, It is an inch thick and a little over an inch and a half tall. How much weight should I need to put in this bait to get it to sink very slowly? I am going to be using some size 1 bronze trebles with normal sized swimbait split rings. I have not cut the bait in half, but the joint is a 45 degree angle joint. Where would you guys place the weight, and how much of it? I want to make a big, smooth swimming glidebait to fish this spring along with my Huddleston style baits. (And yes, I know that line where the wood was glued together is not a perfect center line. The bait is indeed symmetrical, I made sure of it) Thanks! Braden

What are some good carving knives? I know what I like, the Lenox Gold fixed blade utility knife, but what about you guys? Braden

Thats a good point. I know that there is a ton of stencil stuff, and if you look at Toxic Baits, all he does is rattle-can, so there are good cans and good nozzles for them, I would look for a measurement on the Rusto and Krylon nozzle straw things that are below the cap (I have not a clue on what that part is called) and see if it matches us to the caps, and I only use hand tools (except a drill) so I don't have a ton of money to spend. Anybody have a good affordable cap that fits Krylon and Rusto? I use Krylon and Rusto because they have metallic finishes, and every color I need. If there are better affordable brands out there than bond really well to wood, sealed wood, and resin, I am more than happy looking at them. I am just trying to flatten the learning curve for those of us that use cans. Braden

I purchased a new clear coat recently, I heard great things about KBS Diamond Finish, but was worried about it taking away carving detail and the fact that it is expensive and finicky. I decided to go with the KBS Diamond Finish aerosol can. I chose this to save carving detail, but still get a very durable clear coat. Braden

The end goal, though is an airbrush. I just want to learn how to rattle-can, because if I get good at it, imagine what I could do with an airbrush... Im just learning here.. haha. Braden

Yeah man! Thats a far better tank than what I have seen, not only is it effective, it looks great too! Decent shop you got there, as well. Bigger than my shop.. (which consists of 1 workbench with a large drawer, and 2 smaller drawers, a vise, and a heater...) and it looks good! Braden

I am unsure of how it works, but if you look at the Bull Shad channel on YouTube, he has a huge test tank in his shop, I think it's like a huge fish tank, but I am not 100% sure. (Is something like that tank what you're looking for? I linked to the video; skip to the very end. You see his tank. I guess you could also use your bathtub, but that isn't ideal at all.) Braden

Yeah. I am trying to think of a way to get super detailed work with cans. I love to use cans, you just need to know the ins and outs of all of them. Then you get into graffiti caps, which I know nothing about... Braden

Makes sense. I was just wondering how the paint affected the weighting of the lure; like if it would throw off the balance. Braden

I kinda had hydro-dipping in mind as well. I was just unsure if the fact that the paints were oil based or water based had a difference. Do you know if standard Krylon and Rusto cans are oil or water? I would assume oil, based on your statement above, but I am not 100%.

100%

I figured thats how I would go about it, I am going to try that soon, when it isn't frozen outside... I will let ya'll know what the result was. Braden

I actually have a question referring to rattle-can. Does rattle-can spray paint from Rust-Oleum and Krylon sink? I don't think it does, but it might. Braden

I am already carving the body haha... I will definitely heed that advice for this glider, though. I'll let y'all know how she goes... I spent a long time looking at the Deps 175, S-Waver 168, Roman Mades, Gan Crafts and found that the weight generally sits really low in the bait. I am going to try incorporating that into this bait. Braden

I am going to build a modified version and test it and get it perfect with hooks on. I will post a picture of the finished bait and it's action in the gallery.

I had built a 6.25" trout shaped glidebait, it was very thin, 3/4" thick at the thickest and had a plastisol tail, and I tested it without hooks and it swam beautifully without hooks, but toss the hooks on, and the bait didn't even move. Any thoughts?

Forgot to mention. In general, if you want to make a great, smooth swimming glidebait, and if you want it to have that S on a straight retrieve, you generally want it to sink, be that slow sink, or fast sink. If it floats, I have found that it is hard to get it to swim on a straight retrieve, if it floats though, it could be a phenomenal large walking bait.