Cutting The Joint On A Swimbait

[Luke Brennan]

I've made a couple single joint swimbaits recently and both times that I have cut the "V" joint they have come out slightly crooked and I had to sand them a bunch to get the two pieces to be symmetrical. First time I used a ban saw, and the second I used a small wood working saw. I'm assuming that cutting the joint while the bait still has a flat uncarved bottom may be the best choice which is what I did the very first time I made a lure, but not the second.

How do you guys cut the joints straight the first time so you don't end up wasting so much time and wood by trying to straighten everything out?

Thank you for the help.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Luke Brennan

[Vodkaman]

Because the V-cut is the most difficult part of the operation, I like to get it out of the way as early in the process as possible. I make the cut with a hand tenon saw, but not cutting all the way through. Making the cut while the blank is still square. This allows me still to carve the body as a one piece.

 

The V-cut is always going to need some tweaking, but practice makes perfect.

 

Dave

[Luke Brennan]

Thank you. That is reassuring to hear. I appreciate the advice.

[jigginpig]

Cutting while the stock is square is best practice in a number of regards. 

 

Still, you can cut the joint afterwards as well, you just need to practice. Beating up on yourself for failure because the first few are not right is giving up too easy. Each method has a time and place. 

 

Keep on it. They don't start getting good till you have made a few. Lures are like pies that way. 

 

SS

[Luke Brennan]

I'd say I got about the same results on both baits that I've made. I was able to correct them so it wasn't a big deal, but on the blue gill I recently made I had to sand into some detail I put on the fins in order to straighten everything. It got me thinking, and I figured there was a better way. I appreciate the response.

[jrhopkins]

tablesaw with the blade at 22 1/2 bevel

[jrhopkins]

forgot to add this. harbor freight has a small 4" tabletop saw that will not break the bank and do what you want.

[Vicious Fishers]

Make the cut while blank is square. Glue it back together with waterbased PVA wood glue with a bit of newspaper between joint. Carve lure. Run joint under warm water to separate.

[nedyarb]

I would listen to jrhopkins

[Mountain Man 26]

Just buy Johns video. It is a complete work on building a jointed hard swimbait. I had been building swimbaits for almost 8 years when I got it. I bought it to learn his techniques. I learned a great deal.

[Luke Brennan]

Just buy Johns video. It is a complete work on building a jointed hard swimbait. I had been building swimbaits for almost 8 years when I got it. I bought it to learn his techniques. I learned a great deal.

.

I didn't see the video pinned or anything. Do you have a link, or could you tell me where to locate the video?

Thank you to everyone for the help. Very kind of you all.

[mark poulson]

Luke, I've been making jointed baits for a while, and have forgotten to cut the joints when the lure blank is still rectangular more than once.  Doh!!!

And sometimes I decide to cut a joint in after I've shaped a lure, and decide it will swim better with a joint or two.

I cut the joints in the bluegill at the bottom of this photo after I'd shaped it, and it swims fine.

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/15541-three-bluegill-baits2/

I find that, for me, keeping a centerline on the blank throughout the shaping process, redoing it as needed, lets me cut a joint with a dovetail handsaw after the bait is already shaped.

I use a piece of cardboard, doubled over, to get my joints lined up equally on both sides of the bait.

I decide where I want the joint to come out on one side of the lure, put the doubled cardboard around the lure so that the edges meet at the bottom, hold it tight, and use that to mark the matching spot on the other side,

Then, moving to the centerlines on the top and bottom, I mark the exit points on the top and bottom, using the cardboard again, decide what angle I want the joint to have, and mark the point on the centerlines where the two joint cuts will meet.

Remember, the deeper the joint, the more limited it's movement, unless you make it more open.  A glide bait like the S waver doesn't need a really open joint, but a four part swimbait does.  I use sst screw eyes for my hinges, so I can adjust them in and out to get the joint spacing I want.  I use sst bicycle spokes or spinnerbait wire for the hinge pins.

Then it's a matter of clamping the lure down onto my work table, using a soft rag to cushion the clamp faces and table top so they don't scar the lure, and slowly using my dovetail saw to cut the joints, first one side and then the other.

The cuts will be very close, not perfect, but I've found that having the point where they meet centered is the most important thing, because it gives me a centered point to orient my screw eyes, which are the female part of my joints.

I can adjust both of the cuts as needed with a sanding block or a file to get everything close.

Close is good enough, in my experience.

Hand shaped lures are never truly symmetrical anyway, and this lets me get a good joint if I need to cut it later in the process.

[jigginpig]

^Great stuff Mark P. 

If you don't mind the joint being a little less than crisply defined, you can cut the joint, then wrap sandpaper over the male part of the joint, and flip the back half of the bait so it is upside down, with the belly facing the ceiling, and use it to sand the female part of the joint. You then wrap the sandpaper over the female joint, and sand the male part. Just keep swapping the paper from one side to the other, and they center each other. It will be rounded, but you can sharpen the angles back up with a knife or file if it bothers you. 

I actually made a lot of baits this way, using a sanding drum on a Dremel to make a hollow on the front/female part of the joint, then using that to form the back half of the joint. Here is a link describing the process: 

http://carpetrutta.blogspot.com/2011/03/swimbait-building-101.html

 

Another thing to think about is sticking two thin pieces of stock together with carpet tape or any other double stick tape. Carve the body blank to whatever level of detail you see fit, then separate the halves and make the cuts after you draw in guide lines with a pencil or whatever. Since the blank will have a nice flat side, the cuts will be a lot easier to make straight, and you can't cut deeper than half way through the finished bait. Alignment will not be as hard. 

 

SS

[Luke Brennan]

Sorry it took me a while to respond.  All the info I was given helps me a bunch.  The table saw idea by John is a very good idea.  Thank you for the recommendation.  The links also helped me out with joint ideas.  I had not though to use sand paper and to flip the joints around to create a better joint., as does cutting the joint flat and rounding out the inside.

 

Thank you all for the guidance,