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CedarLakeMusky

Wood Cornering Tool

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I've never seen these before, but it might be worth a shot.  My wood cranks are made from balsa.  I'm a bit concerned that it could tear this softer wood, rather than shave it.  For the guys that use harder woods (pine, cedar, basswood, etc.), it could be very effective.  I think I'll stick to my homemade radius sanding blocks.

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Rounding off the edge of a straight plank and the edges of a curved 2 1/4" crankbait are very different.  I doubt I have the hand strength to use the 3/16" or 1/4" rounder on a small piece of hardwood and like Mark, I was also wondering how you would ever sharpen the darned things.

 

I use a Murphy carving knife, a Dremel sander, and hand held sandpaper to round edges, carefully pre-marking the limits and tapers with a compass.  Yes, it's time consuming and takes some experience to get it consistently right but bait symmetry is very important.  If I did lots of a single flat-sided bait shape, I'd use a router table with routing templates for safety.  But I don't.

 

One tip I saw on a YouTube video recently was using a side template to check the contour on the side of a bait while you round it off, to get both sides to the same contour.  Of course, the symmetry is only guaranteed at the one point on the side of the bait which the template fits, so the template check is more useful in rounding long tubular shaped minnow baits like jerkbaits than for bass crankbaits, unless you use multiple side templates.

 

One thing about building crankbaits as a hobby:  it WILL eventually teach you to become more patient and methodical.

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As woodworkers, the first question on our lips is "how do you sharpen it"?

 

A very clever, simple design, but the sales pitch needed to cover the sharpening to maximize sales. The reason why the sharpening is not explained is because it gives the secret away about how the tool is made and also shows how grossly overpriced it is.

 

The sharpening tool, shown in the sales image, is basically a sanding block for emery cloth or wet-n-dry paper I suspect.

 

I agree with Bob; great for large jobs but not practical for small, fiddly jobs like crank bodies.

 

Dave

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Ok I laughed. These are not a gimmick. They're used by many woodworkers to radius a straight edge. They work well on face grain, they don't work well on end grain. I've used the same pair I've owned for more than 35 years. They've never needed sharpening. They do however have a tendency to start an edge splitting if your not careful with them. You draw them down the side of a board and it gives you a nice rounded corner.

 

This being said the radius they will give you is too small for a fishing lure. It's the equivalent of a quick sand with a piece of 100 grit paper along an edge. Mostly used in cabinet making to ease an edge to take the sharpness off it.

 

Table router with a radius bit in it would be much more suited to rounding lures.

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Ok I laughed. These are not a gimmick. They're used by many woodworkers to radius a straight edge. They work well on face grain, they don't work well on end grain. I've used the same pair I've owned for more than 35 years. They've never needed sharpening. They do however have a tendency to start an edge splitting if your not careful with them. You draw them down the side of a board and it gives you a nice rounded corner.

 

This being said the radius they will give you is too small for a fishing lure. It's the equivalent of a quick sand with a piece of 100 grit paper along an edge. Mostly used in cabinet making to ease an edge to take the sharpness off it.

 

Table router with a radius bit in it would be much more suited to rounding lures.

 

Maybe the one I got was cheap, but it didn't stay sharp long, and I never could get it to hold an edge.

Glad to hear you had better luck.

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Mark I don't remember where I got the pair I have but they are quite old. Unfortunately the newer you get with stuff like this you get cheaper steel. Old tools last forever..new stuff not so much so. If I can remember I'll hunt these down and see if there's a name on them. I don't remember one but will look.

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I remember from many years ago, Xacto knife company carried a wood cornering tool. It was smaller than the ones shown. Probably the perfect size for wood bait makers and wood plugs for fiberglass molds like I make. I will now see if they still sell them..."I'll Be Bahhk"

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