bladesandbaits Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Regardles of what facet of lure building you are involved in, have you ever took the time to realize just how many times you handle 1 single bait - from start to finish? After 10 years of Custom Lure building, it finally hit home with me. I don't know the exact count of all the type baits I build or paint for one year,but here are a few totals I could come up with. Custom Paints 1800 to 2000 Spinnerbaits 1500 to 2000 Jigs 1200 to 1500 Now, if I break it down and just look at how many times I handle only one bait for Custom Painting: note: Customer has removed all hardware. 1- Remove Eyes (if there are any on the bait) 2- Sand 3- Steel Wool 4- Wash Good 5- Tape Lip 6- Prime 7- Base Coat 8,9,10.11 Paint Average Three To 4 Colors 12- Apply Eyes Or ----12,13 Paint Or Dot Eyes 14- Accents ( shad dots ect.) 15- Sign And Date 16-Remove tape 17-Re- Tape Lip 18,19-Clear Coat (in my case spray at least 2 coats) 20-Remove Lip Tape 21-Clean Up Hook Hangers (eyes) 22-Roll In Protective Padding For Shipping 23- Pack For Shipping 24-Address For Shipping 25-Ship There are some cases where when multiple patterns are painted,these lures can be placed in a holder that will hold multiple baits but for the most part it comes down to handling them one at a time. Bottom Line------- Figuring on the low end- 1800 baits at handling them an average of 24 times give or take a step is a grand total of 43,200 times my hands touch a crankbait in a year. And customers wonder why we charge what we do Dear God, Know wonder my wife has asked me why I build lures in my sleep. What Say You? Regards, Blades Another note. If you build the Custom crank Bait them add about 10 more tothe total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPala Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Another note. If you build the Custom crank Bait them add about 10 more tothe total. Just 10 more?!!!!!! :eek:You must be kidding Blades. If it's really just 10 sell me your secret please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesehead Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 1 buy the wood 2 load it in the car 3 move it to the shop 4 trace your pattern onto the wood 5 put double stick tape on the blank 6 stick multiple blanks together to gang cut 7 cut out the blanks 8 rout the left hand blank 9 rout the right hand blank 10 carve a weight slot into the left half blank 11 carve a rattle slot into the left half blank 12 carve a weight slot into the right half blank 13 carve a rattle slot into the right half blank 14 bend the wire form 15 laminate the halves 16 fill any voids 17 sand the blank 18-27 dip in sealer 5-10 times now start with Blades steps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPala Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 You need to redo your list Cheese. You haven't installed any lips yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luretrekker Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 This is such an excellent thread...some people can't imagine how time consuming some steps can be and how much work is hidden in a custom lure. It sounds so fast "JUST" to carve and then paint the bait and it's finished But I'm sure everybody here on TU knows best about As a craftsman for example it is normal that you get your money per hour...as a lurebuilder it is worth the craftmanship as well or even all the more I think because often it is more than just to build something...it is also design, lots of tests and material, besides the time, which costs money either. Today where almost everything is machined by robots for my taste handcrafted goods have much more worth...just my Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjack Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 1 MARK OUT BODIES ON SHEET OF WOOD 2 CUT OUT BODIES ON SCROLL SAW 3 MARK LOCATION OF LINE TIE AND REAR HOOK HANGER 4 MARK LOCATION OF BELLY WEIGHT AND LIP SLOT 5 INDEX CENTER LOCATIONS 6 DRILL BELLY WEIGHT HOLE 7 DRILL REAR HOOK HANGER HOLE 8 DRILL LINE TIE HOLE 9 SHAPE BAITS ON MACHINE 10 ROUGH SAND MACHINEDED EDGES 11 CUT LIP SLOT 12 CUT OUT LIPS 13 SAND LIPS 14 GLUE BELLY WEIGHT 15 GLUE LIP IN 16 GLUE LINE TIE IN 17 GLUE REAR HOOK HANGER 18 FILL WITH FILLERCOAT 19 FINISH SAND 20 SKIM COAT WITH EPOXY 21 SAND SKIM COAT 22 SEAL W/ EPOXY 23 SAND TO ROUGH UP EPOXY SO PRIMER WILL STICK 24 TAPE OFF LIP 25 PRIME 26 PAINT 27 1ST COAT CLEAR EPOXY 28 CLEAR LINE TIES ,HOOK HANGERS 29 2ND COAT CLEAR EPOXY 30 CLEAN LINE TIES ,HOOK HANGERS 31 INSTALL SPLIT RINGS 32 INSTALL HOOKS 33 CLEAN BAITS FOR PACKAGING 34 PACKAGE BAITS IN CLAMSHELLS 35 PACKAGE BAITS FOR SHIPPING 36 MAIL PACKAGE There is my operation in a nutshell!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benton B Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Never thought about how many steps were involved when building a bait. I do know it takes a long time to take 1 from start to finish. That's not counting all the drying time it takes for sealers, paints, and clear. Thanks Blades for bringing this to my attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 And the killer is folks look at you cross eyed when you tell them what you want ($) for re-painting a bait(s). My typical response to that look is fine, go invest hundreds of dollars and hours and you can learn to paint it yourself and you can have a 300$ Rapala or you can have me paint one for you for a small portion of that cost. And for you guys that do it more for a living, God bless your souls, because until you get a following your probably working below minimum wage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b75nweav Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 GREAT POINT, GATOR!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 if i went there i would quit building. just think. the paint steps alone on customs. i need a beer now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Mae Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 oh joy! after reading this i cant wait to biuld my first crankbait! i am taking my time on this and making sure i am doing everything right these lists of steps are really helpful to me thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Im glad you posted this JT.. I wanted to post about this same fact long time ago.. All the dipsticks doing this crap for CHEAP PRICES WERE GETTING UNDER MY SKIN but I havent been doing this long enough to complain out loud yet!!!!! But, since you brought it up!!!! WOOHOO!!!! RELEASE DA HOUNDS!!!! Dean and I have talked about this 1,000 times on the phone before... Here is a interesting fun fact I did for everyone to read!! Did you know if you charge 10 bucks per lure... to make 10,000 dollars of pure profit.. you need to paint close to 1,500 baits. I figured at best you have around 1 to 1 1/2 hours of labor.. maybe more.. SO DONT BEAT ME UP ABOUT MY FACTS!!! THEY ARE JUST WELL FUN FACTS!!! I really dont have data to back them up only tired eyes.. paint all over my hands.. and my little girl looks older than I last remember !! TIME SURE GOES BY FASTER when you work freakin 15 to 17 hours a day so people dont complain about WHERES MY FREAKIN BAIT!!!... I TELL YOU WHERE YOUR BAIT IS!!! ITS IN A BOX COLLECTING DUST!!! with all the other 400 baits I got to paint!!!!! AND IF YOU ASK ME ONE MORE TIME!!! I WILL WAIT ANOTHER MONTH BEFORE I EVEN TAKE THE HOOKS OFF!!!!!...and dont just show up at my DOOR EITHER!!! (GATOR!!) LOL:lol: I might be getting my grove on with one of the many hot chicks that come over to watch me paint!! What can I say the CHICKS DIG DA TATER HOG!!! Hey that AXE CHOCOLATE CRAP WORKS!!! sorry I FEEL BETTER NOW!!! ...ok.. lets just say you have 1.5 hours of labor for a repaint! That means you have to work 2,250 hours to get that 10,000 dollars! THAT's $4.44 per hour! I RAISE MY PER BAIT PAINT JOB PRICE TO 29.95 on ebay.. nobody has bought one yet.. oh well!!! MY TIME IS WORTH MORE THAN THAT!! If they dont want to pay for it!! I will go back to ONLINE POKER!!... But I did auction off 50 or 60 paint job auctions on ebay with a avg selling price of 20 bucks per lure! If they want your work they will pay more for it! But even at 20 bucks per lure.. your not getting rich... Just making 14.44 per hour of profit MORE INTERESTING FACTS! ENJOY IF MY MATH IS WRONG!! WATCH THE AXE VIDEO AGAIN and you will forget about it! 1,500baits at 10 bucks per lure equals $10,000 profit 4.44 per hour 1,500 baits at 20 bucks per lure equals $21,660 profit 14,44 per hour 1,500 baits at 25 bucks per lure equals $29,160 profit 19.44 per hour 1,500 baits at 30 bucks per lure equals $36,660 profit 24.44 per hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b75nweav Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Sorry bro, cant type, too busy laughing at that video!!! Great data though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 I was thinking about this same thing last night while standing in my 40 degree garage in a cloud of poplar dust. I guess we now know why so many lures are made in China where you can hire someone for a dollar an hour. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snax Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Fortunately there will always be the customers who do appreciate all our hard work and will pay what you ask for your products. I've never been shy about my prices and the folks that can't afford it simply aren't the market I make my products for. Always sell for what you feel your lures are worth guys. It's a big world out there and lots of great customers who will pay you what you're really worth. So many of you sell your lures for too little in my opinion and that only hurts you in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted October 11, 2008 Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 Tater ............. holly cow!!!!!!! what a post! That Axe link is great! On repaints do you have to pay the excise tax? Is that only for the production on a new lure? It is amazing how much time we put into our baits. I know I only put my lures on ebay. If I was to charge for the time / hour calculation they would freak out! I just post them for a starting price for .99 cents and have been very very lucky have some people bid on them. I get batty if I do 20 lures in a row! I had to take a 2 month break!!!!!!!!! 1500 lures!!!!!!!!!!! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny.Barile Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 I build just for me. They are not nearly as pretty as most that I see on this site. Day one....... 1. pick out a plank from my pile. 2. Trace out lure. 3. Run through the ban saw. 4. Sand all faces (the old fashioned way......) 5. Radius edges on the router 6. Drill for weights and hookeyes 7. Sand again 8. Install weights and hookeys with glue and filler 9. Trace out lip on 1/8" lexan. 10. Cut lip out with coping saw. 11. Clean up edges of lip (file and sand) Day two...... 12. Sand filler and hookeye areas to remove excess material 13. Finish sand with fine grit. 14. Mask eyehooks and prime 2 coats. Day three...... 15. Paint with airbrush atleast 2 colors and painted eyes Day four....... 16. Clear coat (brush) atleast 3 coats. 17. Oven cure Day five...... 17. Snap rings and hooks 18. Admire (while drinking beer) First Saturday after completion...... 19. Take lure to the river 20. Tie onto line 21. Loose lure. 22. Say swear words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 @Sonny.Barile (if it was not that sad;)) !!!! Greetz , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) I used to make them in batches of about 40-50, usually in a batch I would only do 2 - 3 different colour schemes. From start to completion would take about 4 days, I would complete a step and go and do something else, then come back and carry on to the next. I used to love seeing them all painted, lined up ready to topcoat, they looked like lollies (candy??), all exactly the same, just different colours. I worked out that I made about 4.5-5 an hour, for which I got $4.80 ea, take out the cost of hooks (VMC) rings, lips and the brass hook hanger, which I paid $1200 to have the die made, including 3000 hangers, the guys at the tackle shops were laughing at me, they were making $4.80 on each one, for standing behind a counter. This was all about 25 years ago, now (when I get back to it) I would be lucky to finish 2 a day. I am doing colours, that usually work and are what I want, I can play with foil, and different weights, lose them all and not care, just go home and make some more - biggest problem I have is getting the wood. I don't think I could bear to count the steps, it would put me off again, I like it where you can please yourself what you paint and when you paint, never a slave again.pete Edited October 14, 2008 by hazmail edit text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
