jt_ncbassman Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 First off I just want to say thanks to all who have taken the time to answer my questions here. My baits are looking and running better everyday, and I am becoming more efficient at making them. Still, Every now and then I will try something silly, and after my failure I will think to myself " well, those guys on the board said this was a bad idea but I tried it anyway " I've got a stack of balsa on a shelf that could keep a fire going for a couple years. I have written things like - "not for lures" too heavy, looks wet, too light, too grainy. I've got a big batch of 1" x 1 1/4" blocks that all have this "vein" running through the middle of them. And let me tell you, you could hit those veins with Obi wan's lightsaber and it would just bounce off. If it wasn't in the middle of the block, it wouldn't be so bad. I don't mean to put down Specialized Balsa, because they were very helpful in all my orders, and I was able to speak to the boss directly to convey what I needed. But I am frustrated because out of dozens of blocks that I ordered, I've only had 3-4 that are truly middle weight, (heavier than what the hobby stores stock, but are still cream colored, and can still be carved with an xacto). The rest of them... I think the guys in the stock room pulled them from the "we should throw these away" rack. I don't know. Don't mean to rant, what I'm getting at, is if any of you want to share some experiences and "what you can expects" from various balsa dealers, via message or right here, I would appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I personally use the light weight balsa and have never experienced the problems your having. The light weight balsa I've used hasn't had any grain issues or imperfections. The lighter weight balsa also has a livelier action than the heavier weight and it's that livelier action in shallow cranks where balsa really shines in the first place. I only use balsa for shallow cranks and it is for the reasons I've listed. After carving, shaping and installing the through wire harness I coat the balsa bait with runny super glue and then give it a final sanding before paint. Not exactly how deep the super glue penetrates the balsa, but there will be a very noticeable increase in the hardness of the lure. There are several discussions on this so if you want to know more it should be in the archives. I'm not trying to say this is the "best" way to do it, but I like to simplify lure building as much as possible and this has been working for me. I can pick up the light weight balsa at local hobby shops and super glue is readily available. And I don't have to educate myself on exactly how the different types of balsa are graded. These things are a big plus for me. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Yep, The surest way to learn is to try something and have failure slap you in the face. The density of the balsa can differ and still be made into good crankbaits. When starting out, I ordered "competition balsa" not knowing it was light density balsa intended for model airplanes and that sane bait makers use heavier balsa. I certainly wasn't going to throw away a bunch of balsa so, through trial and error, I learned how to build durable crankbaits with it. More work but the featherweight balsa had some benefits too. As far as bad grain effects like you cite, I have always had to contend with that when using paulownia, which is one of my favorite woods. Dark crumbly soft grain beside tough dense light grain. Makes it interesting to shape and sand. Don't know how you shape baits, but I use a Murphy knife and a Dremel or Foredom sander and have no problem with any wood species, including hardwoods. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 I have made my best running baits with balsa that I almost have to tape it to the bench to keep it from floating off into space.... The lighter the better, in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted May 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2013 I have also got some great baits that were made from "hobby store" balsa. I suppose I could just switch to hobby lobby balsa. My only issue is, I really like the way I'm making my square bills now, out of touger, heavier balsa, where I can precisely drill a hole through the bill and get my tow exactly where I want it. And Rayburnguy, I also use super glue during the sealing process, sometimes I will do the whole bait, and sometimes just around the tail for those small baits made out of light balsa. Thanks for the responses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted May 19, 2013 Report Share Posted May 19, 2013 I understand completely about you not wanting to change your system. If you like the way your baits are turning out then there's no need to change. I don't have a lot of experience with balsa as I only build a few shallow divers out of it and they are built from the softer grade. The best advice I can give you concerning the quality of the balsa your buying is to contact the people you got it from and ask them if they have something in a similar weight class that is free of troublesome grain and other imperfections. Just know that your going to pay a premium price for hand selected wood if it's available. You might also try contacting other balsa wood suppliers and explain what your looking for and see if they have it available. good luck, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinorf Posted May 19, 2013 Report Share Posted May 19, 2013 Im hesitant about buying balsa online. The hobby RC guys are as picky as they get about quality, and my local store gets the best anywhere, for that reason. I don't even look at the price when I go to the shop... I really like super glue as the first sealer. I stay upwind of that process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 A little bumpage on this topic. In the last couple weeks I haven't touched any of my Medium density balsa blocks. Picked up some sheets of 1/4 and 1/2" hobby store balsa, lots of super glue, another 9 oz of D2T, and I've been churning out the flatsides and some squarebills. All through-wired now, which turns out to be easier for me. I never was too good with twisting wire. I haven't made any of my deep divers yet. Ive got a design concept I've been working on which is kind of inspired by the Poes crankbait design. I just wanted to get some opinions on how you guys handle larger diving lips with light balsa that is laminated. I know Bob you mentioned that a common cause of death of balsa crankbaits is water penetration around diving lips. The last thing I want to do is build a crankbait that could easily fail on somebody while they're on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Reading complaints on different balsa baits made by many users over the years, it seems to me that the #1 cause of bait failure is water intrusion and the #1 cause of that is the user slapping a balsa bait on the water's surface to clear weeds from the hooks. Even if you don't break the head of the bait and the lip clear off the bait (which will often happen if you use very light balsa - even if you thru-wire), you can easily break the glue seal around the lip and water intrusion will kill the bait. I don't think there is a way to build balsa baits that can avoid this - you just have to eliminate the bad fishing habit. What really brings this topic home to me is reading a complaint by a well known fishing guide concerning $15 balsa crankbaits which were breaking in large numbers for him and his clients, and a pic from another guide holding hand fulls of broken $25 top water prop baits. You'd think the solution to the problem would quickly occur to guys who fish for a living. If it hurts, stop doing it! You mentioned Poe deep divers and balsa together. I make a similar design and found that it was very difficult to fit enough ballast in a balsa body to make a deep diver behave properly, so I switched to heavier woods. If that's the project, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 If I have learned one thing in the (almost..) year and a half I've been doing this it's that balsa and deep diving don't go together.... Balsa shines best at depths of 4 feet or less... Like Bob says... If you want a deep diver, go with a heavier wood.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluetickhound Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 And slapping a bait on the water to clear weeds is dumb. No matter what the bait is made of, whenever I see someone doing that I immediately judge them (rightly or wrongly...) as lazy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
