A chunk of wood,, a mold ,or over the shelf

[&DRE]

So far from what i see and here is alot of custom paint jobs but no one talking about hand carving or using dremals or what have yah to make lures with. What percent starts from a chunk of wood rather than a mold or something of that nature. perhaps theres something like this in a forum somewhere? i would like to here from the seasoned pros. Thanks.

[Orion]

You aren't looking hard enough...

[&DRE]

Thats not the answer sorry

[hazmail]

&DRE - have a look on the main forum page, at the bottom there are a heap of MST's (member submitted tutorials -about 40 I think) there, have a read and if these doesn't satisfy your curiosity, start asking, this is a good place to start, if you print them all off, they would make a decent book. pete

[Vodkaman]

Unless you buy blank bodies (hard baits) or copy an existing lure, the project always starts life as a sketch on a piece of paper. The sketch is refined and transferred to a chunk of wood or suitable material and the carving begins. Personally, once the very rough shape is cut out, I remove the paper guide and go with the flow, rather than trying to force a shape. Quite often, what looks good on the computer, is not so appealing in the hand.

As for the carving part, there are a few articles on the subject. Basically covering marking of centerlines, guide lines and attention to symmetry. Some of the members are true artists when it comes to carving, I myself am not. I tend to steer clear of the fine detail and go for pure functionality. Actual carving skill tutorials for fine details I do remember reading at least one, but generally, everyone finds a method that works for them and goes to it.

As I am not blessed with the carpentry skills, nor the patience, I take my whittled master to the molding table for reproduction. I envy and admire the work of those who can turn out true hand carved lures, individually tuned to swim correctly and finished to a high aesthetic standard. When you buy one of these, you are buying art, justifiably signed by the artist.

[Orion]

So, "You're not looking hard enough", was the answer.

[&DRE]

I Myself Start From A Picture Say Like From "the Lore Of Sport Fishing" Trace Out Say Like A Blue Gill Or Lake Trout And Transfer To A One Inch Thick Peice Of Wood . Once I Cut It Out On My Ol Jig Saw I Sand Even The Edges On My Table Disc Sander. I Then Measure Centerline Of The Wood All Around The Edge With An Ink Pen Then 3/8 From Center Left And Right. I'll Go Around The Face Perrimiter 3/8 With A Pencil So That When I Sand At A 30 Degree The Marks Will Dissapear Even On Both Sides Edge And Face Of The Lure. Then From There Finesse The Cheecks And Fether Down Towards The Tail. I"ll Have A Good Rough Draft Of The Shape To Start With From There. I Cut Half Inch Strips By Say Four Inch Peices Of Different Grades Of Sand Paper To Roll Over All The Edges Like Shoeshinning . Once I Figure It's Even On Both Sides I Hold It Up Under The Edge Of My Little Lamp-shade From There I Can Use The Light And Shadows For Highs And Lows And Eveness Also . Try This With A Lure And You'll Get What I'm Saying. Old Indian Trick. And That Is Pretty Much What I'm Looking For. Thanks For The Replys Guys.

[&DRE]

Oh One Other Thing I Do Is Take My Large Floor Fan And Stand The Lure Up On Its Belly On The Smooth Table And Wind Tunnel The Lure Like A Weather Vane Kinda Funny But Works For Me.