New member/first post /hook hangers

[rlcam]

Hey everybody,glad to be a new member here.I've visited before and all of you seem to be very knowledgeable and helpful.So here's my question,I am tinkering with hand carved crankbaits and have a lot of questions,but just onefor now,do most of you epoxy in your line ties and hook hangers or use the stainless wire all the way through.I was hoping the epoxy would do the trick,because I am just an amatuer at this,not wanting to sell them,just love to bass fish and was wanting to try my hand at making a few jigs,crankbaits,and spinnerbaits.Also has any one used Cypress wood for thier bodies.If any one on here is willing to help a newbie out and don't care if I give them a call,please get me a number so I could ask a few questions and my posts won't be so long next time,thanks a bunch.

[Jason]

Welcom Rlcam! For me I use screw eyes. I drill a pilot hole fairly smaller then the screw eye then use a toothpick to put some epoxy into the hole before the screw eye. Then I add some epoxy to the threads before screwing it in. You can wipe away any epoxy that oozes out while it's still wet. Hope this helps.

[MR KNOW IT ALL KIND OF]

rlcam,

Use Marine EPOXY!!! Im not a lure builder. just a painter.. but I use epoxy alot to clear coat lures.. I broke a lip and fixed it with Marine EPOXY.. I feel like its stronger than normal clear epoxy.. I just cant use it to clear coat because it dry's grey... try both out see which you like best.. but if I fixing stuff I use Marine Epoxy and paint over it..

The Rookie

[BobP]

Welcome to TU, ricam.

There are no hard and fast rules but most guys epoxy hardware into hardwood and use thru-wire construction on balsa (I'm talking bass baits and not baits crazy northerners build for pike/musky ) I don't have experience with cypress but it has similar density to cherry and ash (around 32 lbs sq ft) so it's pretty heavy stuff. As wood gets more dense, it can be hard to ballast a bait without ending up with a sinking bait, and baits from dense wood tend to be less lively. What the heck, try it and see how it works for you on your local fish. If it doesn't, you might consider lighter woods like pine, white cedar, basswood, etc. Basswood is 21 lb/cu ft density and is very nice to work with since it has little if any grain effect and very uniform structure that shapes, sands and finishes well.