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First Crankbait

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Hi guys, I have been looking through the site and there is some great info on it! I am starting my first lure today, its going to be modeled after the rapala dtfs7. Any tips you guys have for me on shaping, sealing, or painting would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

My advice is to check the tutorials. That would be a good way to started.. I also advise checking out the hardbait cookbook. You'll soon realize that there are sooo many ways to make lures. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere and these are excellent sources.

Edited by A-Mac
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My tip is this - do everything you can to make the bait symmetrical. When you install the hardware, make sure it is centered. Making a symmetrical bait by hand shaping is hard because you're dealing with complex curves and seeing them 'through the filter' of wood grain. It's worthwhile to mark out what you want to do to the bait when rounding it over and tapering it. Look at some of the tutorials and note when and how guys lay out their cuts and contours, and what sequence they use in building them. For instance, draw your lip slot and cut it immediately after cutting out the basic body shape, while the sides of the body are still flat. If you cut the slot after rounding over the bait, you no longer have a flat surface from which to index the cut. It's all logical step by step stuff but it requires a little thought and planning to get the right sequence going on your first baits.

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My tip is this - do everything you can to make the bait symmetrical. When you install the hardware, make sure it is centered. Making a symmetrical bait by hand shaping is hard because you're dealing with complex curves and seeing them 'through the filter' of wood grain. It's worthwhile to mark out what you want to do to the bait when rounding it over and tapering it. Look at some of the tutorials and note when and how guys lay out their cuts and contours, and what sequence they use in building them. For instance, draw your lip slot and cut it immediately after cutting out the basic body shape, while the sides of the body are still flat. If you cut the slot after rounding over the bait, you no longer have a flat surface from which to index the cut. It's all logical step by step stuff but it requires a little thought and planning to get the right sequence going on your first baits.

Bob is right.. makes cutting your lip slot a whole lot easier. But if you forget to do this and still want to cut a level lip slot.. Another quick opinion is styrofoam. Normally you find some in a packaging box of a purchase you made for your house or something... It is level and you can push your bait into the foam and make yourself a handy dandy quick and easy jig! If you have a band saw which I do.. you can push your bait towards the saw after you level it in your foam jig....... YOU DIG!!!!!

The Rookie

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