Anyone make thir own wood crankbaits?

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Thanks guys. I wish my shipment would show up so that I could actually finish some lures. No huge rush though because our fishing season is closed until May 11th or 12th in order to protect the fish spawn.
 
Received my airbrush in the mail today! Now I just have to find a compressor and I should be good to go!

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Finally finished off some lures this week. What do you guys think?

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My epoxy finish needs a bit of work on some of them in order to get a completely smooth, glass finish. Maybe a second coat of epoxy will help. I'll be testing them out this weekend, so we will see how it goes.

I also cut out a whole bunch more blanks that are ready to be shaped and sanded. More nw lures to come!

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Very Very Awesome!! You my friend are quite talented. These baits look store bought due to the detail and colors. Keep up the excellent work and look forward to seeing some more of your creations.
 
Great looking...hope the fish agree!

What wood are you using...and how did you get that neat cross-hatch pattern on there?

As far as smoothing out the epoxy...I know that rod builders rig up a verrryyyy slow moving lathe type device to keep the rods turning and turning until the epoxy dries..maybe something like that would help?? I've seen where some of them used a rotisserie from a cooking grill to power the device.

regards, rich
 
Very nice. I'm so impressed with the talent we have on TinBoats.

Don't forget to add hooks before you throw them to the fish. :LOL2:
 
Thanks a lot guys! I need to go pick up some hooks today

richg99 said:
Great looking...hope the fish agree!

What wood are you using...and how did you get that neat cross-hatch pattern on there?

As far as smoothing out the epoxy...I know that rod builders rig up a verrryyyy slow moving lathe type device to keep the rods turning and turning until the epoxy dries..maybe something like that would help?? I've seen where some of them used a rotisserie from a cooking grill to power the device.

regards, rich

Rich, I build a lure dryer using an old microwave turn table motor. It's 6 rpm and seems to do the trick. I used some pine and poplar on this batch of lures and the next batch is all cedar. To make the cross-hatch pattern I took a piece of screen from a window and wrapped it tightly around the lure and then just airbrushed over it and it makes a sweet scale pattern.

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This is interesting, seems like a new hobby Im ready to jump into.

Can anyone provide me with some resources on how to get started? I have a scroll saw, band saw, belt sander etc. Id like to work with wood over the casting for now. I took a look at the blogs and you guys are making some nice stuff!
 
Excellent job so far. Very nice work. :mrgreen:

I too have thought about making my own as well. However I don't have any small wood working power tools. My shop is geared towards furniture, cabinets, and such.

Not sure if you got a compressor yet or not. However, take a look at a used pancake compressor at your local Pawn shop. It'll kick out more than enough air, plus it should be realatively inexpensive. Lots of guys in the construction business have dumped excess gear for cash.
 
aeviaanah said:
This is interesting, seems like a new hobby Im ready to jump into.

Can anyone provide me with some resources on how to get started? I have a scroll saw, band saw, belt sander etc. Id like to work with wood over the casting for now. I took a look at the blogs and you guys are making some nice stuff!
Where to start...

There are a ton of resources on the internet and youtube. I spent weeks looking on how to make lures instead of studying for exams lol.

The easiest way to start is to trace out an existing lure that you already have and go from there. Basically anything that looks kind of like a fish or any other lure will work as long as it is even on both sides.

I found a lot of information on these sites https://www.tacklemaking.com/default.php?pageID=39 and https://www.bassfishin.com/article27.htm

and this guys tutorials on youtube are also really good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA6Jpe4ZpcA&feature=relmfu. He has multiple parts to both lure making and painting.

This guy also has a decent lure painting tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-GePvdmp0U&feature=related&noredirect=1

Here is a huge lure building forum https://www.stripersonline.com/f/169/lure-building/

I bought all my lure parts from https://lurepartsonline.com/Online-Store/Plug-Hardware/
I couldn't find any screw eyes small enough locally so I had to buy them online.

For tools, I just use a scroll saw, drill, dremel with a snake arm, palm sander and an airbrush.

I have made lures from both tracing old patterns and just drawing a shape onto a piece of wood. I put up a short tutorial on my blog that can get you started (link in signature)

I'm open to questions if you guys have any. Let me know and I can see what I can do.

@Hanr3, I ended up picking up a little 2 gallon compressor on sale for $50 and it came with a hose, thought it was a pretty good deal.

I went fishing this weekend and tried out the new lures. They all work! They swim beautifully, but are heavier than plastic crankbaits. I may need to lessen the weight that I added to the body. I am so excited to fish for some walleye and pike this weekend to see if they will catch some fish! The trout didn't seem too interested in the lures lol
 
fender66 said:
I'm looking forward to seeing one of these snagged in a fish mouth.

SOON! I will be so pumped when I catch a fish on one. It will be totally different than catching a fish n a crank that I didn't make. We will soon see! Heading out saturday, our season finally opens then!
 
This is a lipless crank I did a year or so ago, right ater I applied the epoxy. I know the picture isnt the greatest, did it from a cell phone. It has 2 ton epoxy non yellowing on it and have crashed this thing into rocks to see how it would hold up. Turned out better then I expected. But to be a little more different with mine, I cut the shape out on a bandsaw, then I carve with a knife, which goes a lot faster then one would think, get close to my final shape then sand with 100 grit, 200 and finally 500. Soak it in Thompson's water sealer for 1/2 hour then let dry for 48 hours, test for balance, place weights, test for balance, paint, add hook eyes and eye tie then epoxy. (Eye tie on these is very impolrtant to get it placed in the right spot or no action! Dont ask how I know this. LOL) Its not the greatest looking paint job, but I just slapped it together. To finish, I used #4 Eagle Claw color RED Treble Hooks on it.

Oh just so you know, the lipless crank I have found, is one of the hardest to make because of balance and action as there is no extended lip to do the work. The action all comes from the front half, top and bottom and the stream lininig of the sides and tapper off of tail. It all plays a role in its action. It took me about a week and half of playing with this to get it's action right. What a pain, but fun and satifying. LOL
 

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Looks good, Nice Paint job. Yea, lip-less cranks must be a problem because the front-flat part is all there is to impart the tail wag.

re the cell phone shot...most cell phones take a bit of time to focus. On mine, I have to wait until the little box in the center turns GREEN ...after.. I snap the shutter.

I have a tendency to be moving away from the pix subject too soon because....I have no patience....Ha Ha Rich
 

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