lostfisher Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Hi, I am new to the site. I am pretty confused in the whole relm of tackle making. I was wondering why you put weights in the cranks. And should i put weights in every crank that i make. Also if someone could just tell me the general process of making a average crankbait, that would be very much appreciated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boskabouter Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Welcome! The weights in the cranks/ baits (or no weights) are used to make a bait floating, sinking or suspending. So it's actually up to the builder wether he wants weights in it and how much, I guess. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamSpartacus Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 I'd click on the forums tab, and scroll down to member submitted tutorials for a general outline on making cranks. I'm not sure whats there exactly, but theres only four pages to look through and a really good one on making a balsa wood minnow. After looking there some of these other guys are amazing when it comes to answering further questions. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Most crankbaits will just flop over on their side without ballast. The treble hooks are ballast but rarely enough weight to keep the bait in an upright posture. You have to balance the ballast against the action of the bait - too much dampens the swim action, too little makes the bait uncontrollable. BTW, when searching the User Submitted Tutorials, go to the bottom of the page and change the search period to "From the Beginning" instead of 100 days. Then you'll have tutorials to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Balsa Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Weight placement? is a better question... Weight placement- Where the weight is located with-in the bait. Weight placement is used to achieve casting distance and action. Weight placement will cause a bait to (sit, sink, or rise) nose down, tail down or horizontal. Weight placement can cause a bait to back up, or wiggle/shimmy while floating up. Weight placement is what causes a bait to have more or less Wiggle, wobble, waggle, swagger, Z-ing, and X-ing (what ever we call all the different actions). Weight placement is the part of the lure you can't see and in my opinion it is what makes a crankbait work or not. In general lighter woods will need more weight and denser woods will need less weight. If you choose to make baits out of dense woods you lose a lot of the ability to move the weight around with in the bait. Lighter woods will allow you the most options to achieve the characteristics and actions you want in your baits. This is not How to Build a Crankbait, but just something to think about while you read along some of the other threads and start out whittling your own piece of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 you build your lure, you put the lip, this can be tricky, but after some experience you will know what type and dimensions are good for different body shapes. after that you need to seal your lure. Then after all this is done, you take a needle put some lead on it, and stick it in different parts of the lure, you can place two or more needles if it's necessary. You play with your lure in a tub , and see were is the best spot for placing the weight for that body shape and lip. After you finish playing you'll drill some holes where the needles were stick for the desired action , place the weight and all is done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamSpartacus Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Pikeman, Im not sure if that idea is a new concept to more then just me, but even so... brilliant. I had never thought of that, I've just been putting weights where I guessed they should go and crossing my fingers. That right there is why I love this site. Thanks, this is going to help a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 man, I'm not so good at english, but it seems I managed to make myself understood , very good:lol: forgot to tell you that you'll have to put the screw eyes before sealing , and measure everything you do and build schematics , stencils, templates , it's good to have precision in what you build;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 I manage weighting the same way pikeman does (we talk together), but in a slightly different way. I glue the weight under the belly using superglue. The crankbait is sealed, including the wood inside the lipslot, the lip is pressed into the lipslot (not glued, so I can try different lip shapes and sizes). First I try the crankbait in a water pot, to see how much weight it needs. Then I do the testing of the action not in a tub, as pikeman does (unlike me, he is not married), but at the local river. The crankbait in the photo is shown as I tested it at the river. It has a tight wobble, and goes very deep. If I change the lip to a shorter one, it would not go as deep, but the action is the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 Hope you can see the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 [ATTACH]2398[/ATTACH]Hope you can see the photo. I can see the photo, but what I don't understand is why you can't tub test cause you are married ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 ... what I don't understand is why you can't tub test cause you are married ... Wait until you upgrade to the best part of your life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted December 10, 2007 Report Share Posted December 10, 2007 Wait until you upgrade to the best part of your life If I can't use the tub it must be a "downgrade":nuhuh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAWGHUNNA Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 Rofish, What are the lines on the crank for and how did you determine where to place them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbkindle Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 [ATTACH]2398[/ATTACH]Hope you can see the photo. hey rofish kbhere can i ask why the weight is in one place on belly and the hook hanger is at a different location i use the belly weights that have the hook hanger as one piece? kb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Just a guess but the hook appears to be just about at the balance point of the body. Weighted there, the bait would swim with a standard "X-ing" action. When moved forward, you get a head down attitude that makes for a stronger thump. When you move the ballast around, you change the angle at which water hits the lip and body. That can change the bait's action significantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 HAWGHUNNA and kbkindle, The red lines represent where and how long the twisted wires go into the body. I needed to know this, because I didn't want to drill a hole for the led cylinder where the hole could meet a wire. To make the markings, I put the drill bit into each hole (about 2/3 of it remained outside the body), then with a pen I traced the line of the drill bit on the wood. (eye ball, but quite accurate). Then, using a wire or a smaller diameter drill bit, I measured the depth of the holes and then mark the depths on the outside lines. For the relatively small crankbaits that I make, there is a limited room for the hardware, so for the angle and depth of the holes, there is not much choice. But I have the choice of where to place the lead, and this would result in different actions of the lure. If the belly hanger also has the weight, there is not much choice of where to place it, to see how the action is affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAWGHUNNA Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 rofish, I assume that you drill out the holes and epoxy the twisted wires inside,as opposed to using screw eyes.....sorry for getting off the weighting thread a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 HAWGHUNNA, Yes, I drill the holes and glue the twisted wires, using epoxy putty, 2 components, instead of epoxy. Usually I drill out holes, including the lead one, and cut the lip slot while the lure is "square", then shape, glue the twisted wires and seal. But for a new shape of lure, I determine the position of the ballast as in the picture, so I make the lead hole after I see where I want it to be placed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellRAISER Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 thanx rofish...and thank you to pikeman...the metod realy works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Pikeman, I laid aside Rubber Ducky and was playing with my baits in the bathtub last night, you know, trying to get that ballast just right. The action and floatation were perfect but then I decided to see how it would swim if I burned it. That's where everything went south! The nurse at the emergency room told me I had chosen a unique way to decorate my tree this year. Ouchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbkindle Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Pikeman, I laid aside Rubber Ducky and was playing with my baits in the bathtub last night, you know, trying to get that ballast just right. The action and floatation were perfect but then I decided to see how it would swim if I burned it. That's where everything went south! The nurse at the emergency room told me I had chosen a unique way to decorate my tree this year. Ouchy. kb here did she help remove hooks from tree ???? and did you wish her a merrychristmas kb:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 Pikeman, I laid aside Rubber Ducky and was playing with my baits in the bathtub last night, you know, trying to get that ballast just right. The action and floatation were perfect but then I decided to see how it would swim if I burned it. That's where everything went south! The nurse at the emergency room told me I had chosen a unique way to decorate my tree this year. Ouchy. Now that's a holiday visual, for sure! Hope you didn't set the hook too deep. When I was a kid, my neighbor's Mom was an ER nurse, and she used to tell us some really juicy stories about what came through the ER doors, but I never heard of fish hook decorations on a tree before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted December 19, 2007 Report Share Posted December 19, 2007 Pikeman, I laid aside Rubber Ducky and was playing with my baits in the bathtub last night, you know, trying to get that ballast just right. The action and floatation were perfect but then I decided to see how it would swim if I burned it. That's where everything went south! The nurse at the emergency room told me I had chosen a unique way to decorate my tree this year. Ouchy. forgot to tell you , when you test the lure DON'T GO INTO THE BATHTUB, hope the tree is recovering well. P.S.what about Rubber Ducky?is it OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellRAISER Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 how deep was the water??? ....maybe is a big tree all most under the surface of the water:lol: hope that the ER helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
