1st Attempt on a Swimbait

[SoCalGuy7]

Hello Everyone my first day finding this site and I'm really enjoying all of the knowledge posted by all of you!

I'm from SoCal and wanted to start making some lures, here is my first attempt!

10/10/08

I started working with my Father-in-Law to try and make some wood swimbait lures.

We spent the better half of the day working, figuring out things,

and shopping for parts...

This is a few pics of today. We have our work "cut" out for us, but, thought I'd share our progress.

Day One

#1

First ones will be made of Poplar, to get the feel of things, we will use a harder, heavier wood when we get the shapes down.

Sanding

Here is the beginning of #2

It was a learning experience, with much more learning and working to do.....I'll keep you posted.....

SCG7

10/13/08

Made a few bodies today while the F-I-L was making some jigs.

10/14/08

First two protos were Hem fir, the next six are Poplar.

Figuring some wiring

#1 still in early stages

10/15/08

Six starter bodies

Some sanding

Final cuts

And the First SoCal proto...

Hitting up BPS for Hardware and hooks and real swivels tomorrow....

10/23/08

Had some hardware delivered, now just making the various jigs that need to be made..Got a new system for the lathe, the bodies will be more uniform.

Proto #1 and #2

Proto #2

11/06/08

Proto #2

Will have this proto with hardware completed and ready to paint by next week...!

11/07/08

Proto #2 put on sealer today needs 72 hours to dry

We got some paint today and practiced on some scrap wood, How does it look?

11/17/08

I got my first taste of airbrushing today !

11/19/08

Did some strength test today. The lure held up! We dropped a 15 lb weight attached to the rear hook. From two feet. The 50 lb split ring busted but the lure held up.

Had to change the under-body swivel to accommodate the 50 lb split ring.

Picture of some of the heads.

And bodies, we have six starters.

11/23/08

My Father in Law had put the primer on the six bodies yesterday so they were all ready for some finish sanding and painting.....Finally..!!!!!

Here they are with primer.

First job was to airbrush the bodies white on white primer...( real fun)

Completed with white base coat.

Then we mixed some custom green paint. And used it next.

Next mixed up some pink.

Then added some black dots.

And finally after some drying, the clear coat.

A finished one. Will add hardware, hooks and eyes tomorrow!

11/24/08

Today was the day...!

With the Dodoman trip to DVL tomorrow, we decided to quickly try to complete one lure for testing out on the boat. So we sped up our process on

the six and completed one today.....Tomorrow is the Test!

SCG7

[SoCalGuy7]

I crash coursed myself on tying up some hackle on the trebles.

My Father in Law finished up the hardware, here is one with tied hooks, hardware and hook covers.

Then the eyes were added! The first usable lure.

Tomorrow is the first test at DVL.

I need some suggestions on ballast weights!

SCG7

[mark poulson]

Nice looking first attempt!

Depending on how deep you want it to run, you can use the hook hangers to add ballast by inserting whatever size you need egg sinker in the belly at that location, and then running you screw eye through the sinker into the wood.

If you set the whole thing in D2T epoxy, it should hold fine.

A tip. Next time, seal and test a lure before you do such a nice paint job on it. Saves a lot of cursing. If you don't curse, I can send you a list of the curses I used when my untested/finish painted lures hit the water for the first time, and didn't swim due to lack of ballast.

Been there, done that!

[SoCalGuy7]

Nice looking first attempt!

Depending on how deep you want it to run, you can use the hook hangers to add ballast by inserting whatever size you need egg sinker in the belly at that location, and then running you screw eye through the sinker into the wood.

If you set the whole thing in D2T epoxy, it should hold fine.

A tip. Next time, seal and test a lure before you do such a nice paint job on it. Saves a lot of cursing. If you don't curse, I can send you a list of the curses I used when my untested/finish painted lures hit the water for the first time, and didn't swim due to lack of ballast.

Been there, done that!

Thanks MP,

I'm chalking it all up to experience. We needed to learn how to shape, paint and tie hooks anyways, just put the cart in front of the horse..

We just too excited!

The under body hook hangs from a swivel so it might hard to do as you suggested, I was just thinking of drilling a few holes and dropping some weight in......AFTER I rubber band some weights to it and see how it goes...But thanks again!

[mark poulson]

If you're just trying to test how it sits in the water, pinch some split shot onto the tines of your trebles.

I use 1/8oz. egg sinker, and just slip them over the hook points, to adjust the ballast on my lures.

I can do that because I'm using the same design I've used in the past, which I know swims well.

Taping weights to the belly of the lure is a good way to test for ballast weight and location. Once you've found how much and where, drill a hole and epoxy the weight in. Then put a little bondo over the epoxy, sand it smooth, and paint it.

[30ishbmx]

I sooo have to buy some tools....REALLY nice man

[RiverMan]

You guys really did a pro job on these lures. I wish I had a FIL to work with on projects like this. I am sure you really learn alot from one another.

I hope the lure swims after you have done all this work. You will get a more realistic swimming motion if you split the back half into two sections.....you might try this on one lure and see if you like the difference.

Jed V.

[Vodkaman]

I think you have both made a fantastic start into the world of lure building, congrats.

All the above advice is top notch. I would only add that if the lure does not perform as you want, do NOT throw it away. Failures are an opportunity to learn.

Make notes of how the lure swims and post the question, providing information like ballast locations etc. In fact, we all get to learn a little more.

After a while, you will get a 'feel' for what works and then you will get virtually zero failures.

Dave

[diemai]

@ SoCalGuy7

Man , this is a great , generously pictured post about a great job done:yay: !

Mark said it already , possibly trim your lures prior to priming them .

I usually apply two coats of acrylic clear laquer on my lures to prevent them from water sepage wilst weighting and testing in my bath tub .

One might later buff these coats for following paintcoats to adhere well !

But I have always had problems in weighting this type of lathe-turned , round and spindle-shaped plugs(unless these were sinking glider jerkbaits) !

After putting a weight into their belly to have them run deeper , I have always found their wiggling action to be minor as it would be in an unweighted condition !

So , honestly , I gave up upon trying to make deeper diving or even sinking lures of this plug type(except jerkbaits) .

My guess is , that the weight has to exactly be placed in about the center of the body , not just at the belly side , like I used to do , to still attain the best possible wiggling action of the lure .

I think , that this problem is not caused by the round body shape , but by the diving plane(actually just an angle cut on the head of lure) .

It simply does not provide as much leverage against the oncoming current on retrieve to cause the lure to wiggle as a lure with an ADDED plastic or metal lip would do , so that's why it is that sensitive about belly weights .

Weights placed in the center of gravity would probably tent to neutralize this issue , and the lure would swim better ?

Well , just my theory , haven't tried it out:huh: !

Keep up the good work with your F-I-L:yay: ,

greetz , diemai

[lockjaw]

Wow! Great set of pictures. Looks like you've got a whole woodworking shop. Good luck with the lures.

[SoCalGuy7]

I'm going to add some ballast weight.

Any suggestions on how many and how much weight it should take?

[diemai]

@ SoCalGuy7

If I am uncertain about that , I'd temporary topcoat my lureblanks with some acrylic clear paint(prior to priming/painting) to prevent water sepage and test them in my bath tub .

I'd stick sinkers , lead shots and/or folded/rolled roofing lead sheet onto the lure with plastic tape , cable insulation tape works fine for me .

This way I'd fool around with amount of weight and location , until I get acceptable results .

After having the blanks dry , I'd embed the weights into lurebody at proper location .

Bear in mind , that this way your lure action would afterwards slightly differ from your test results , since the weights come to sit a little deeper as they did during the tests.

In most cases weights have to be located at the belly portion of a lure , but in very rare cases , if you absolutely can't get your lure to wiggle at all , weights also placed in the back portion could do the trick .

If I was in your shoes about this , I would do the trials maybe only with one blank and take over the results for the rest of 'em , but this really depends on the grade of alikeness in shape and wood density and how accurate you wanna go with it .

From a distance I'd say to place weights right ahead and/or behind the belly hookhanger , but I've already told about the problems I had about weighting this lure type in my last post in here .

greetz and good luck:yay: , diemai