Drying rack/lure holding rod question

[Dustinmul]

So I’m in going to build a drying a rack this weekend and I’m not sure how I want to set this up. I generally make larger 6-9 inch lures. One is a glide bait with a soft tail. I’m not sure how to make a drying rack that can accommodate the fact I don’t have a rear hook hanger. Also they weight between 1.5 oz and 3 oz. So it needs to be able to handle the weight and handle both lipped and lipless lures, some of which, again, don’t have a rear hook hanger. I’ve scoured google and every forum possible and can’t find a good answer.

Some other insights. I like the pvc option cause it’s easy to find small pipe and the friction fittings. Figure out a way to get the screws to stay in the pipe and that’s solved all my problems.  But I put my hook hangers before I epoxy lure because I feel like it’s easier to get a clean finish without breaking chunks of epoxy off. Since I see pvc as a common method, I assume I am wrong and I can unscrew those bases even after the epoxy cures and drill the other holes. Is that accurate with d2t? I plan to switch to etex and give that a shot because I now know d2t is prone to chipping. but I don’t know if drilling into either epoxy after it’s cured is a good idea. If hardware can be removed without damage I suppose I could add small screws to every spot I need a hanger/joint.

any other ideas or tips are quite welcome. Thank you guys for the help!

[mark poulson]

I made a turner using a BBQ rotisserie motor and shaft.  It came in a replacement kit from a local hardware store.

I cut two 12" discs from 3/4" plywood, used the meat holders to hold the discs, and suspended my jointed swimbaits between the discs.  I put them on evenly so they would counter balance each other, and I never had a problem.

This picture shows my turner:

 

[Dustinmul]

6 hours ago, mark poulson said:

I made a turner using a BBQ rotisserie motor and shaft.  It came in a replacement kit from a local hardware store.

I cut two 12" discs from 3/4" plywood, used the meat holders to hold the discs, and suspended my jointed swimbaits between the discs.  I put them on evenly so they would counter balance each other, and I never had a problem.

This picture shows my turner:

 

Thank you for the info. did/would this work with soft tails? And how did you secure the lure to the wheel?  I saw people using rubber bands. I feel like I’d get a lot of sagging and swinging though with larger, heavier lures

[eastman03]

I make mostly (ok all) large musky/pike lures. And I had made myself a wheel style drying rack, but I found the same thing. It was a struggle to get multiple heavy lures mounted securely across the wheel. 
I this is my solution so far, I have searched like you have for a better one, but for large lures without a crankbait lip I still don’t have a great answer. This is my solution so far. 
I have two Flat boards across my bbq rotisserie, real simple. Then I clamp or screw those metal spring style clamps in place to hold the lure.  

 

It works great for crankbait as you can just clamp the lip down on the boards.  And I can turn at least 12, 10” lures  

[Dustinmul]

7 hours ago, eastman03 said:

I make mostly (ok all) large musky/pike lures. And I had made myself a wheel style drying rack, but I found the same thing. It was a struggle to get multiple heavy lures mounted securely across the wheel. 
I this is my solution so far, I have searched like you have for a better one, but for large lures without a crankbait lip I still don’t have a great answer. This is my solution so far. 
I have two Flat boards across my bbq rotisserie, real simple. Then I clamp or screw those metal spring style clamps in place to hold the lure.  

 

It works great for crankbait as you can just clamp the lip down on the boards.  And I can turn at least 12, 10” lures  

I found a guy that uses vice grips and clamps. He used the Vice grips on a hook hanger then uses a clamp to to hold the vice grips and lure to the wooden shaft. He was spinning big baits and It seemed to work well. At least if you use a strong enough steel wire. I assume you do as those baits look pretty nice. I think I’m going to make a wheel that that clamps and a blank square section for the vice grip method. I haven’t started doing multiple lures at once yet so I don’t need a ton of room. Do you epoxy before or during the spin?

[eastman03]

Hmmm an assortment of small jawed vice grips would be a bit more expensive, but very capable of clamping onto the wire hanger.   That would allow me to hold the lure while clear coating, and just clamp the small vice grips to the turner (I have seen Marling Baits do this).  Not a great solution if you have 100 baits to do, but I rarely make more than 12, and most of mine have lips. 

I apply my epoxy when I'm holding the bait by hand, which ironically I  often use vice grips to hold the lure.  But they are larger ones, with tapped up jaws so I don't mar the wire or bill.  I like to hold the lure, so I can get a good look at it, hold it up to the light and make sure I don't miss anything obvious, then throw it on the turner.

[Dustinmul]

9 hours ago, eastman03 said:

Hmmm an assortment of small jawed vice grips would be a bit more expensive, but very capable of clamping onto the wire hanger.   That would allow me to hold the lure while clear coating, and just clamp the small vice grips to the turner (I have seen Marling Baits do this).  Not a great solution if you have 100 baits to do, but I rarely make more than 12, and most of mine have lips. 

I apply my epoxy when I'm holding the bait by hand, which ironically I  often use vice grips to hold the lure.  But they are larger ones, with tapped up jaws so I don't mar the wire or bill.  I like to hold the lure, so I can get a good look at it, hold it up to the light and make sure I don't miss anything obvious, then throw it on the turner

 

Harbor freight or even dollar tree probably will have cheap ones. I know the dollar tree by me has some tools though... I’m gonna look next time I find myself that way. Cause then I could cut out a few glides at a time and have a set up for a few lipped ones and be pretty set. 
 

my motor spins at 3 rpm and I plan to also apply epoxy Off the wheel. I have issues with it thinking my rounded corners sometimes even though it’s a decently thick coat. I am hoping the wheel fixes that problem. But I usually use a little fire and move it around back to where I need it. Not the cleanest finishes, but it’s not to bad for hand spinning I don’t think.