dochollow Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 gentlemen, good evening. has much as i have read about lure making, i am a bit confused as to how deep i should make my bill slot, {homemade bills}. the factory standard seems to be @ 7/16 to 1/2" on dt @ poes type baits. what formula. voodoo. or black magic do you use? thanx, DOC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 Doc, My bill depth is what I believe will give me the greatest amount of area for the adhesive to hold the bill in place. Mine are about 1/2" to 9/16" deep. No magic formula for me; just what I think will work for the bait size I build. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 21, 2012 Report Share Posted September 21, 2012 No "magic" depth for me either. A lot will depend on the body size and at what angle the bill will set in the body. On some of the shallow running baits I build the depth of the slot may only be 5/16" to 3/8" because I like to leave enough wood intact in back of the slot so as to not weaken the wood that's going to be holding the lip. Another thing to take into consideration is whether or not your tow eye is going to be in the lip or in the body above the lip. If the tow eye is out on the lip I always make the twisted wire long enough that it fits into a hole drilled into the body below the slot. This takes some of the pressure off the lip and transfers it back into the body. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Seems that the standard is 1/2". Mine are 3/16. I have never had a lip go loose or pull out of one bait in 14 yrs. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleriver Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Skeeter, Have you tried targeting bigger fish? Just play'in friend............I agree............ often overkill on this just for good measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 No littleriver, I just build crankbaits for bass. In this case too much is better than too little. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
