bigworm Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Thanks to everyone on this forum for all of the great information that you provide here. Because of all of you I have created my first hand crafted crankbait. I have been reading for weeks all of the techniques that you all use to create these works of art and now I have done one of my own. I carved this bait from a chunk of cedar that I got from a tree from my back yard. The hook hangers and line tie were hand twisted from some stainless steel wire and the bill was shaped from a piece of plexi glass. The paint is createx sprayed with a Badger Cresendo 175 (1st time I painted a crankbait with an airbrush) and cleared with devcon 2 ton epoxy. I got all of the information about how to make this bait right here and I am proud of the results. With that said there is only one problem with my creation and it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 First off, your bait is really beautiful. Your choice of colors and the fades are great. As to the way it runs, it is probably the way the lip was applied. It may be canted to one side or the other or it may be that the line tie is too far forward. We all have failures from time to time so you are not alone. That you would be afraid to throw one of your baits for fear of losing it after all the work is also something we all share. Make a bunch more and you'll find the baits you're looking for. Good luck and keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankee jigger Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Saweet job Big Perm,i mean Big Worm.(Took that line from the movie "Friday") Love the choice of colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Did it run ok before you painted it? Experiment until you get one running good without paint. One you get this figured out then add the paint and clear......be careful to not use much clear on a bait this size because it will without doubt change the action. I would personally just use one coat of Devcon on a lure of this size. Getting the bill perfect is the hardest part....the slot must be cut square. Jed V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Balsa Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Welcome to Hard Baits 101. Everything the guys said is true. Keep plugging away and they will start to run perfect for you. Good looking paint. I have never seen a bait on here that looks so much like a DD22. Great shape. I'll send you a PM. We live about 5 miles away from each other. Small World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 And the ballast (and hook hangers and line tie) must be lined up with the centerline of the lure and not too high in the body line tie of course must be centered in the lip which must be centered in the body with lip set horizontally 90 degrees from the vertical centerline. Making everything square is job one! Keep carving, and don't rush to the finished product; build it as well as you can before you ever think about painting. That is the way all good builders operate. Build it dependable and repeatable, make notes on all facets of your construction; strive for accuracy. It makes building the next lure that much easier. Good Luck! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Nice job, Don't give up. It took me four months, lots of reading on TU, and a big pile of useless cranks to get one that would run right. I now have two crank styles that do very well with many bass to their credit (two big ones, 6lb 14 oz and a 5 pounder) those two really fired me up as to making my own cranks. and it is an addictive hobby as you are probably finding out. Study the posts and ask questions, thats what I did. The people here at TU are very encouraging and a great source of information and ideas for just about any tackle creation you would want to make. Good Luck with your endeavours. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 I think Fatfingers is on the money, the eye may need to be move back 2 or 3 millimetres. The lure looks really great. I would frame this one for posterity and get on with sorting out the problems. It is very disheartening after all the work, not to have it swim, but this is a good lesson for the future. On the next one, I would take it to the water with just a sealing coat to keep the water out. In fact, I would not plan to take the next one to a finish. Take some cutting gear with you. Take a few diferent size lips and fix them in position with soft glue (UHU) so they can be quickly swapped over. Extend the eye so that it sticks out 3/8 inch, this will enable you to experiment with the eye location. Swim the lure horizontal and make a note of the line angle to the water. Try the ballast a little forward. My guess is the lure is suffering from death roll type 2, I wrote an article on this subject not too long ago called 'death roll'. If you still struggle to get a swimmer, post again with all the information, measurements, ballast positions, materials, etc. This site loves to sort out these type of problems as we have ALL been there. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigworm Posted July 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Thanks for the information and the kind words. I never tought about running this bait before painting it I was being impatient and wanted to see the final product I guess. Yankee Jigger - "Friday" is a funny movie and the line you quoted is where my screen name comes from LOL. Palmetto Balsa - Thanks for the PM I'll give you a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Because you currently have the line-tie pulled forward, I'll bet you can pull it back towards the nose enough to make a significant difference in the action; don't know if that'll cure it, but the difference may well surprise you. Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie525 Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 that looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u63405 Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Big Worm, Congratulations on making ur first lure! Hey, even though this one is a little erradic in the water, I won't modify it one bit!! put it in a display case and marble at the hard work you put into it! this is like ur first born! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
