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jamie

different weighting options,down the spine

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while anawering a post on crankbait weighting it made me think of a way that I used to add weight to some cranks. I added a little weight to the spine of the bait to add to the wobble of the bait, too much weight though would cause the bait to blow out. What happens is the baits center of gravity has changed and the bait will tip from being top heavy. Its a differnt weighting option that you really dont hear alot about.I know from taking some manufactored baits apart ther is no standard weighting ,weight is distributed in several places to reach the action they want.My question is who hear does this and what do you all think of this weighting option.

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@ jamie

Once got a 6" balsa blank from some guys in Finland in terms of a lure swap .

It was a knock-off of a "Nils Master Invincible" , but yet still a little wider(more oval) in body cross section than the original lure .

When first testing the assembled and unpainted lure in my bath tub , I had to tape on tons of lead to its belly to get it to dive without popping back up rapidly , since it was just too buoyant .

All of this "keel weight" spoilt the wiggling action , so I have thought about taking some leadshot away from the belly and put it on the top side of the blank and it worked out perfectly , so I could drill holes and glue in the weights .

I have fished that lure a few times since , it has a perfect wiggling action .

But this was the only occasion so far , that I did this topside weighting thing , but without a doubt it is one of the few options , that one has to get an "unwilling" lure working at last !

greetz :yay:, diemai

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Diemai I added these weight options to the grandma style cranks, not that bait itself but that profile. They made a nice pitch from side to side and I love the action that it gave. Sadly I dont make many cranks anymore I mostly make gliders and pullbaits now but I still make one every now and then when needed. This topic of weighting is an old way to make new baits run. so if someone doesnt get the action they want try this idea.

Edited by jamie
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@ jamie

Never considered this topside weights as a method to tune lures to a more pronounced flanking action , but just as a method to finally get them goin' , when nothing else helps .

Not much heard of over here , as it seems........:huh: I came across it first time some years ago in a Swedish origined luremaking book .

But probably one should try this way of weighting more often with newly made lures , some lure shapes would accept it , some won't , but certainly resulting into little different swimming patterns , that could make the difference in pressured waters ;).

greetz , diemai

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@ jamie

Never considered this topside weights as a method to tune lures to a more pronounced flanking action , but just as a method to finally get them goin' , when nothing else helps .

Not much heard of over here , as it seems........:huh: I came across it first time some years ago in a Swedish origined luremaking book .

But probably one should try this way of weighting more often with newly made lures , some lure shapes would accept it , some won't , but certainly resulting into little different swimming patterns , that could make the difference in pressured waters ;).

greetz , diemai

Diemai you hit the nail right on the head, this is a way to tune lures to give different swim options.Ive been doing it for years and it is an old school way showed to me by a man thats done it for 50 years.
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just had a thought has any one her ever tried making a cylinder shaped like a brass casing from a 22 cal. ,doesnt have to be that just a cylinder shape like that and use it for a housing for the weight. What I mean is a round shot inside of cylinder and the weight is free to roll left and right inside of the bait. In my mind what this would do is change the center of balance of the bait from left to right ontop of making the bait top heavy.This may make the bait track off from left to right and start hunting. This is just a theory in my mind and may not work I have never tried this out for myself. Any comments on this theory....:popcorn:

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I have made several baits using catridge casings with loose weight to act as a rattle. On one particular bait I epoxied a bolt to the weight and epoxied a nut on the bottom of the catridge casing. This was done to allow me to move the weight vertically and take note of the difference in action.

Edited by KcDano
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@ jamie

I have made similar lure rattles out of 8 X 0,5 mm brass tubing , filled with two 4 mm steel balls .

Have placed these crosswise in about the fattest part of the lurebody(more or less in the center of gravity) , into rather flat sided but also round bodied lures alike , about 3 1/2" to 5" in length .

I could not observe any significant sideward break outs .

It was not my intention , anyway , I only wanted a rattle in my lures .

To achieve your described features , I guess that such casings have to be filled with sufficient weight , also placed above the center of gravity to be able to achieve a certain amount of leverage to cause the lure to swing more to the sides and thus to probably achieve this hunting action .

The higher the weight would sit in the lure body , the lest weight would be needed , due to more leverage further upward from the center axis of the lure .

The wider the weight could move towards the sides of the lurebody , the more leverage it would also provide .

In result the lurebody must not be too narrow at its back portion to accommodate such a little longer crosswise casing :?.

But on the other hand a "V" shaped cross section of a lure body(back pointed , belly wider) is the most unstable body design with the highest tendency to capsize , if not properly counterbalanced .

So maybe this would be the design to go for:? ?

But also I believe , that the whole thing stands or falls with the size , volume and buoancy of the lure .

I guess , if it was too large , a little swinging weight won't take it out of balance too much .

Just a few thoughts:?.....greetz :yay:, diemai

Edited by diemai
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Hi Jamie, this might seem like a dumb question but, what is a grandma style crank? by the way, i like this idea. I have made a couple of balsa cranks that took so much weight to get them down that they had little or no action. Thanks

John

Edited by JBlaze
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Deimai the placement of such weight would be high in the spine of the bait causeing it to be top heavy and tip, The weight shifting in the cylinder would move the weight to one side of the bait and cause it to lean a little more to one side, center of gravity has shifted, and track that direction not enough to make it lay flat on its side.You would have to play where along the back of the bait the high weight placement would be, torwards the head or the tail

i dont know you would have to play with it. A short lip on the bait would probably help this out a litte bit more, this is just a therory. JBlaze a grandma style bait is a brand name of a bait Like rapala is sorry for the confusion a musky fisherman knows what Im talking about. This is all just a guess nothing has been practiced I think I will investigate this a little further.

Edited by jamie
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@ JBlaze

Check this out :

Grandma Crankbaits

Your "no action" problem is exactly the same , what I have experienced with that balsa lure I mentioned in my first reply to this thread:yes: .

@ jamie

You are right about playing with that weight , not an easy task in my opinion .

I understand , that the bait would not be supposed to lay flat on its side , maybe I have used the wrong words in English , sorry !

I guess , that the weight must be somewhere in the front portion of the lure , on a "Grandma" style this would be the highest body portion , so the effect of the weight would be more pronounced there .

I also think , that a smaller , downward lip would enhance your desired effect(at least not be counterproductive) , whereas a pointing forward , deep diving bill would act as a stabilizing rudder AGAINST sideward tipping .

In my early days of crankbait making I have also found , that a line tie , placed close , or even right onto a downward pointing , shallow diving lip , causes the lure to lay on its side or even blow out .

If weighted properly , it might still work reasonably at slow speeds , but faster reeling would cause it to lay flat and break out from it's straight course .

I guess , this is , what you call "hunting" :huh::??

The "V" cross section is not my own theory , got it from a Swedish origined crankbait making book(German translation) , which has become kinda "bible" of German lurecarvers through the past years .

greetz:yay: , diemai

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Diemai I had the same theory with the short lip at that angle to me this would be a plus to the desired effect. When adding weight to the back you know there is a fine line between too much weight and not enough. In my mind you would have to have stationary or fixed weight in the back and the weight that shifts would be the weight that would be enough to cause it to tip. You know when you add one drop of lead too much to the ballest weight you go from having a neutral bouyant bait then becomes a sinking bait. same theory one rolling weight of of lead, making it the one drop of lead that I talked about, would be enough to cause it to tip. There would be alot of trial and error to figure this out.

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