Jump to content
davewood

Info On Bulding Crankbaits

Recommended Posts

I want to build flat wooden crankbaits similar to the dee bait. Should I buy the bodies or cut them myself? Should I use a wire thru design, or screw in hook hangers and line ties? Also what paint is best for these lures? I only want to build them so I can have them when I want them and not have to order them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the underground dave I don't know what a dee bait looks like but if you just want to make a few just buy the blanks and bills and paint them up i would use hand made hook hangers and weight them with weighted hook hangers that you can buy also that you just have to drill a hole and glue in place(where the front hook is on the bait) but remember the fewer baits you make the more it cost to do per bait,most guys here airbrush there baits so at a min. you have the cost of an airbrush(about 40.00 min up to 300.00)then a compresser to run that and paints??? what are you willing to spend to make a few baits is it worth it or should you just buy the baits?? thats up to you? i hope this helps and not sway you away from a great hobbie and yes you can also make some money at it but its not much to start with till you make a name for yourself anyway

Edited by crankpaint
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to tu. Like crankpaint said " it can get expensive of u are only going to make a few". Dee bait...which one? The one that is shaped like the Laser lure made in Ohio? I would cut my own bodies. Thru wire construction. The area around the line tie / lip can be fragile, not much wood there. I got into building baits for the same reason. It is expensive, but it is a lot of fun and if u can cash a few extera tmt checks....;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe its similar to the laser from Ohio. I know the dee bait is made around Cincinatti. It is an excellent lure. I just hate waiting for them, or losing them and forgetting about it until next time. I also want to make something that's exactly what I want. I have the airbrush. All I need is the paint. I just dont know where to start. What kind of paint? Is there a particular grade of balsa? Are they even balsa? Sorry for all the questions. But I appreciate any help. This is something I really want to do. Im a working man, but if I worried about wasting money I wouldn't be fishin. Thanks again for all the help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out the unfinished balsa crankbait bodies sold by Janns Netcraft and lurepartsonline.com. I know they carry a body that is very close to a D-bait in size/shape. D-baits are thru-wired. Whether you do the same is player's choice. As far as finish, check out some of the tutorials here on TU to get ideas on how to finish them.

If you are solely doing the baits just to avoid buying D-baits, you'll find the trouble of building one more than the cost of a D-bait and you'll find it takes some experience and some equipment investment to get the results provided by 'the real thing'. Cost is a perfectly valid reason for building your own baits, but it usually can't be the only reason. Most of us really enjoy the process and the craft involved in turning out a good crankbait. Try building some and if you feel the same, you'll be on your way to becomming a TU junkie.

D-baits are made from balsa, thru-wired with copper electrical wire, sport polycarbonate lips, and weigh .29 oz with #6 trebles. Pretty simple design but they use fairly sophisticated methods to build them.

Edited by BobP
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the help. I well aware this is a work in progress. But it's something Ive wanted to do for a long time. I tried the handmade spinnerbait route, but I've never found a real advantage to it. Not when Bass Pro has what I want in that dept. 10miles down the road, and finding quality built custom wire lures just isn't that hard. But with hard baits I feel like you are only limited by creativity. As for the dee bait; I don't necessarily want to copy it, but use it for inspiration. There will always be one in my boat somewhere. I know this is something I'll have a passion for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That type of bait (3-5' or so flat sided diver...foiled)is what i mostly build. Ive used Basswood blanks (that i got from kelly at mimic) as well as made bodies from scratch. If you use balsa you will probably need more wt than you think you need (i did). I really like using basswood for that type of lure. Cedar and mohagony also work well. Use blanks or make your own. I start out using blanks but now prefer to make my own.

Also if you like thruwire, but there really is no need to. I super glue in twisted wire hangers any havent had any problems, even in balsa.

Edited by pizza
Link to comment
Share on other sites

as for paint you can use Folk art from the local art dept in wal-mart for paint (theres alot of colors for 1.50 a bottle you just have to thin it down to spray good theres reducers recipes on here too so you don't have to spend alot of money to start out with paints or you can buy reg. airbrush paint and most of that sprays good right out of the bottle. just look up airbrush paint you will get alot of diff. ones

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...
Top