mark poulson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Woodie, I'm surprised you can't turn it. I would have thought a sharp tool, and gentle pressure, would work, but I haven't tried it myself. Have you tried using a belt sander to smooth the blanks while they're on the lathe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 the pvc deckboard I have seems to melt turning. we use sandpaper on the lathe every day. start with 80 and work to 100. many woods if you get them too hot the grains raise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Woodie, You're the expert. I just turn on a $10 lathe I bought at a swap meet40+ years ago. I have it turning slow to medium, because it has oiled sleeve bearing, and I didn't think they'd hold up to fast speeds. I have never tried turning it myself, because I don't use a lathe for making my lures. I find the decking is harder than the trimboard, and I have to use sharp blades, slow feed rates, and light pressure, or the PVC melts. With a table saw, it makes wispy little trails as it's cut. On my oscillation belt sander, it gets sticky if I try to remove too much too fast. I cut it to bland shape with a radial arm saw, cut the profiles and lip slots with a band saw, cut the joints almost all the way through with either a table saw, for multiple jointed lures, or with a dovetail hand saw, if I'm making one jointed bait. I leave enough material so I can final shape the bait as one piece, and finish the joint cuts once it's shaped. I do most of my shaping at the oscillation sander. I add details with a dremel or by hand, final sand with a vibrating sander, first 80 grit, and then 120. I'm telling you all this because it's been so easy to use for me I'm hoping something I do will help you adapt and use it, too. Not having to worry about water intrusion, ever, has made my lure making a worry-free process, at least as far as lure body and paint failures are concerned. Getting bit on them is a whole 'nother deal! Hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I turn at 2000rpm. . bandsaws fine .as you stated a slight edge on cutting. . table saw we bet a burr,plus it gums up hundred dollar blades. we did some 5 inch wire thru with that d board. holds paint nicely floats great,a little denser then cedar. my problem is TIME. .this time of year its long days short nites .. I run from molds to paint to sanding foamies. I feel like a 1 year old jack russel.. the largest problem with pvc boards ..cost for production.. oh ya expert lmao. im still learnin between dementia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowhunter Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 MP , I'm glad that azek is working out for you. For me , the only use might be a quick prototype shape test. I would never consider ditching wood, because I feel wood is far superior. As well I never did understand why anyone would put any detail work on these pieces. Seems like a waste of time when you consider molded resin pieces. Make one detailed master, mold it, then crank out the resin copies. This way you are not inhaling fumes from machining plastic, and making a mess of the shop. I have done resin with great results, but with proper wood choices I still prefer wood. Ask yourself this. If you had the choice of fishing with a nice old wooden meadow mouse or the newer plastic version , which would you tie on? For me that is a no brainer. I know there are inherent problems with wood, such as water intrusion and inconsistencies ,however, when you get it right it's hard to beat. I will happily keep cranking out these wooden beauties and if ,and when they fail, I'll build another. PS, maybe at this time I should disclose the fact that I also make wooden boats! LOL!!! Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 There's definitely something to be said about using only a few types of material for crankbait bodies. Once you get familiar with them, shaping, sanding and ballasting the material you choose becomes almost second nature instead of an "adventure in lure making". I just can't limit myself to only one crankbait material so have to have a very light wood (balsa), something light but durable (paulownia), and something moderately heavy (basswood). Since I shape and sand crankbaits by hand, I just don't like PVC board because of the electrostatically charged dust it produces - gets everywhere, clings to everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted February 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 I love to make many types of muskie baits and different types of wood, actually the type of bait you make kind of dictates the wood type to use. I really like to use the PVC deck board that has wood particle in it ( I ware a mask when I cut PVC deck board) One of the reason I like PVC especially when I build Glide baits is because I do not have to worry when ballasting the bait and water test it, actually PVC deck board makes a really great glide bait, has a good density to make glide baits, and due to the wood particle makes really strong, I do use wood dowel pins for the hook hangars and the tow line. I have caught many large muskies on PVC baits. Thanks to builders on this forum for introducing PVC deck board Here are some of the woods I like to use Red Oak, Maple, Red Cedar, Basswood, Poplar, Balsa and PVC deck board PS check out the Member Tutorial I made a tool to easily bend wire for the balsa baits and very fast to make the wire frame and accurate Gino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Gino, Auto clear is only good for coating a plastic bait for someone. It is not tough or durable. I will only use it on baits with sharp edges (because epoxy cracks on sharp edges) or any bait where weight of the clearcoat is concerned (such as weighted jerkbaits). That is the only thing it is good for period. You can get flex additives so that it can bend like it does on fiberglass car bumpers. But it always feels rubbery to me. And personally, that just drives me nuts. You also have to use many coats to build it up to be tough enought. My thought is 3-5 coats. I use a car clear that a was suggested to me by someone that did a ton of painting for pros. (No not Hughesy). He shot 3 coats on his with no flex additive. The baits look great, but the durability is in the dirt. The stuff is real expensive. By the time I got a quart of clear, hardener, and reducer; I had spent around $124. However, you can clear a lot of baits with a quart. To me brother, it is just not worth it. The best clear to use for clairity and durability is epoxy. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 I am staying with epoxy especially for musky baits Thanks fellow builders Gino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
