phishmasta Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Hello everybody!! Long time lurker first time poster here. All the info on this site is amazing. Part of the reason why i havent posted yet, too busy reading...anyways I am a musky guy and last year started making some musky cranks. I have a 6 inch model that runs excellent and ive caught some real nice fish on every one i have made so far. It seems that everyone uses lexan for lips and that is what i use for the 6 inchers and it works fine, i use 1/8 inch...i have also made some bigger cranks 8 inch and 10 inch, but 1/8 inch is just too thin for bigger lips on bigger baits. I would like to use closer to 1/4 inch thick lexan but cant find it at the big box hardware stores, all they have is acryllic in 1/4 inch...does anyone use acryllic? Ive never seen anyone mention it so im wondering if its bad to use for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Firstly I am not familiar with the lip thicknesses for musky baits. But, I do have the knowledge to calculate deflections from my engineering background. Comparing the two materials, acrylic is actually stiffer than polycarbonate, but this leads us to one of the main criticisms, that acrylic snaps easier than polycarbonate. Also, acrylic performs poorly in cold conditions. To compare the thicknesses, I started off with dimensions that I am comfortable with: lip length 1" : width 1" : thickness 1/16" gives a deflection of 0.1" with a load of 36.7 ozs for poly and 45.2 ozs for acrylic. It made sense to me to try to match the deflection loads for the larger lip and find the thickness required to achieve this: lip length 3" : width 1.5" : thickness 3/16" gives a deflection of 0.1" with a load of 55 ozs for poly and 68 ozs for acrylic. lip length 3" : width 1.5" : thickness 1/4" gives a deflection of 0.1" with a load of 130 ozs for poly and 160 ozs for acrylic. lip length 3" : width 1.5" : thickness 5/32" gives a deflection of 0.1" with a load of 32 ozs for poly and 39 ozs for acrylic. lip length 3" : width 1.5" : thickness 1/8" gives a deflection of 0.1" with a load of 16 ozs for poly and 20 ozs for acrylic. Conclusions - 1/4" seems way overkill. 3/16" seems reasonable given the larger lip. Even 5/32" gives comparable load numbers. But, as you determined, 1/8" is just not up to the job. My calculator is a spreadsheet, so if you would like me to put in more figures or compare other materials, let me know. Welcome to TU. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishmasta Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Thanks for the info dave. I'm sure 3/16 inch thick lexan would do the job for bigger cranks, but the stores in my town dont carry that thickness, which is why i was looking at the 1/4 inch acryllic. But since it sounds like the acryllic is too brittle and no good in cold water i guess ill have to stick to poly...one thing i thought to try was take 2 sheets of 1/8 inch, scuff up one side and glue them together with etex to make a 1/4 inch sheet. Anyone out there tried that?? In my mind i think it would work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 If you are not selling the lures, I would go for the 1/4 acrylic rather than mess about gluing two sheets together. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Another material to consider is G10. Thickness 3/32" gives 48 ozs. Also, the thinner material is going to give you more action from your lure. 1/16" aluminium has reasonable numbers too, at 54 ozs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishmasta Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 I've never heard of g10 and have no idea where to find it. I have considered aluminum but dont want to use it on the shallow diving minnowbaits that i am currently making. I will probably try aluminum when i try my hand at deep divers though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 I use 1/8'' for 8'' cranks and haven't had a problem so far and I pound bottom with these baits. 10'' and up I use 3/16''. s56 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 hi were using 1/8 lexan on cranks for musky. 3/16 for deeper divers/larger baits. problems with acrylic is brittle. whever theres musky theres vast temperature changes.i have sheets of 3/16th and would wish it was 1/8th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 (edited) Here ya go - from McMaster-Carr - http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-polycarbonate-sheets/=xiw1k3 BTW, garolite G-10 is stiffer than polycarbonate at about half the thickness. Also carried by McMaster under the name "garolite" Edited June 7, 2015 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishmasta Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Thanks bob that site solves all my problems. You just buy the impact resistant poly right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Here is where I get mine. http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=15587&step=4&showunits=inches&id=270&top_cat=181 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 Like G-10, there are several versions of polycarbonate and you can choose based on their performance qualities as explained on the McMaster site. But the version cited is advertised to be the same as Lexan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
