oleo40 Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Where do those of you that make hard baits out of PVC get your product? I have been to Lowes and Home Dept. and all they have is trim boards in White and a 1x4x8' runs about $14. The lures I see on here are a wood color [raw PVC?]. Is there a difference? What glue do you use if you make through wire lures? Sorry for all the questions but new to trying this[making hard baits] and want to get off on the right foot. TKS Ole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinorf Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 The white 1 by- x trim boards are the ones I use. Azek brand is the best quality as far as the stuff available for my area. The ones I bought from Lowes and HDepot had a few tiny bubble defects, but are the same density and strength. I use 2 part quick curing polyurethane plastics for filling large voids like thru holes used for wire forms and ballast holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleriver Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 The trim board I have been using is also white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 I use the "white as the driven snow" brick mold from Lowes. It's less than $10.00 for eight feet. I need a little extra thickness for some of my musky lures. I haven't seen the Azek brand here, could just be my old eyes. Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Moreau Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 I also cant find the AZEK brand at my lowes or HD. I use the white trim boards for some of my stuff but call me crazy I still prefer balsa, basswood and poplar for my baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oleo40 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Thanks for all the help. I bought some White stuff from Menards. Also, where do you get Lexan for lips? Know one has it, even a hobby shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Moreau Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 I buy mine from Tap PLastics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 I buy mine out of the scrap pile at Lowes. Super price for small stuff they can't sell. It's not Lexan brand but works nicely so far. Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 There are different grades of PVC and some of them are heavier than others. Mark Poulson is the one who got me started with PVC and he tells me that the trim board is the lightest with deck boards being the heaviest. There are also composites that are PVC mixed with wood fibers (I think) that are a different weight than the other types. So all PVC's are not equal and they are not a miracle material that will take the place of all the other materials, but they do have their place in our lure building arsenal. You have to think about what you want your lure to do before you start building it and design it accordingly. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdL Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh Oh. I'm now in trouble. Ben is right about having to think about what it is you want to accomplish. Let's see let me think about........ another beer. Kidding aside I agree with Ben. You really do need to think and study (even at my age) about how to accomplish the task. Whether its selecting materials but what tools and what safety precautions working the tools and materials. There are many materials that can be used. Just use some of the info on this site and then exercise some brain cells. Who knows it may be a way to keep a few cells working properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 11, 2012 Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 I'm doing all I can to preserve what few brain cells I have left Ed. I sure killed enough of them in my 20's and 30's. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oleo40 Posted August 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 At 71 I am sure I have a LOT of brain cells to wake-up. I have one more ?, ballast info if you have some [how much, Where, and when] Is there a post on this, as I can't find one. Is it just trial and errorrrrrrrrr!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 11, 2012 Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 (edited) I use the Archimedes dunk test to determine how much ballast is needed. It's really easy once you do it a couple of times and it comes in especially handy when trying to build lures that are slow sinkers or slow floaters. It's the most accurate method I've tried and can be done without having to leave the work bench to do testing in a sink or bathtub. Read the material at the link below and it will describe the process to you. If there's anything you don't understand just holler back and I'll try to help. You will need a scale that is capable of weighing in tenths of a gram. They can be found on Ebay for around $20 if you don't have a local source for them. http://www.tackleund...__fromsearch__1 As far as locating the ballast on a lure it really depends on what style of lure your building and how you want the bait to sit in the water. Baits with diving lips will be different from a minnow type lure. Most minnow type baits sit level while at rest in the water and crankbaits need to sit at least a little head down to allow the lip to bite the water so as to start the diving process. The action on a crankbait is also effected by ballast location. The farther away from the center of gravity the ballast is the less action the lure will have. If your building cranks and just starting out a safe place to start would to be to locate your ballast where the front hook hanger is. There are different size belly weights with the hook hanger built in that can be purchased online. This is an easy and quick way to ballast a bait. That is of course if your building a lure out of a type of wood that is strong enough to hold glued in parts. This type of ballasting using balsa isn't a good idea in my opinion. Any lures I build out of balsa get through wired with the ballast installed in front of the belly hook. On deep diving cranks I like them to sit with the lip down and almost vertical when at rest in the water. When building deep divers I like to build them so they're slow floaters. This allows me to add as much ballast as possible, while still retaining some floatation. I think this gives me a little extra depth, as well as casting distance, when doing it this way. And on the deep divers I usually use a belly weight/hook hanger with more ballast located in front of the belly weight/hook hanger to achieve the amount of ballast I want. One way of playing around with ballast location is to use double sided tape. Just stick a piece of tape where you want the ballast to be and then stick the ballast to the tape. Then do a float test. If you don't like the way it sits in the water just move the ballast around using the double sided tape until you get something you like. This way you don't have to drill holes or permanently install the ballast. hope some of this helps, Ben Edited August 11, 2012 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oleo40 Posted August 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 Thank you everyone for all the help. Ben that really helps instead of guessing [my method] I will try and post when I get a lure done. Ole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdL Posted August 11, 2012 Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 (edited) Like Ben says. I used this method for my last batch of cranks.. Works for me and its better than guessing. With PVC bodies it takes the 'sealing wood before dunking' step out of the process as the pvc is water proof. I use inline wire method for hook holders and line ties and put it in a groove slot in the body. Then fill in the slot with PCV putty (white epoxy for PVC from homies). No worries about water proofing. I even put on the split rings and hooks to get the weight amount. I figure the paint and finish coats will offset by shape for bouyancy. A tip: Some PVC trim boards will have more bouyancy than some woods so you might find that it may take more ballasting for the body shape in PVC than for wooden bodies. But you will find that out after a couple of builds and get a feel for shaping the body to accomodate the ballast. Edited August 11, 2012 by EdL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinorf Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 I bet Archy Medes made plugs back in the day, and figured out the whole pre-ballasting thing on his own, and everybody thought he was a crazy fisherman with too much time on his hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthsnooks Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Guys. ever heard of gatorboard?? Google it, i believe it's used in making baits. Not cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WART_HAWG Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Thanks for all the help. I bought some White stuff from Menards. Also, where do you get Lexan for lips? Know one has it, even a hobby shop. I'm just getting started on building and I want to go PVC for my first rodeo. I am also wondering what thickness acrylic for lips? I see they sell .20 up to .157. I also considered buying some circuit board lips as well. I just want to build something that goes about 8-10 ft deep. I know that the angle of my bill dictates quite a bit of that. Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I get 1/16" thick polycarbonate sheets from McMaster-Carr online. That's the only thickness I use and it works fine for bass baits of any size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I get 1/16" thick polycarbonate sheets from McMaster-Carr online. That's the only thickness I use and it works fine for bass baits of any size. Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WART_HAWG Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Ditto wonderful..thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
