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A quick video highlighting a few modifications to my 10" WEN 3962 bandsaw http://rvbprecision.com/machine-tools-welding/wen-3962-bandsaw-modifications-walk-around.html

Followup: 5233K51 from McMaster-Carr was perfect.

I just bought this book and it's awesome, this type of lure really caught my eye but I can't find anything like it on YouTube or the internet. it's different than a flat fish, or are all lipless cranks flatfish?

You could also drop down to a finer sand paper, like say 220 grit.

I have that mold and some 5/0 32724's so I can check. Allen

Sorry, I had the wrong hook. I have some 32724 somewhere( according to my inventory list), but can't find them at this moment. I am going to bet that they will work.

What Do-It mold number/model is that. If I have it I can check it out for you.

Your welcome. Google the Aquasonic Chatterbox and Rogers Vib-R-Fin for a couple of other similar lures. You may want to make one with multiple line ties to offer different actions, one down low and one up high, like the Drifter Believer. I haven't made many lipless baits of the typical tight swimming vibrating kind. I have made some Bass Oreno and AC Plug type baits and changing where the line tie is on the sloped face changes the running depth and tightness of the wobble.

@JD_mudbugThank you for all this information! Now I have some other lures to reference on my build.

There are a bunch of different types of lipless crankbaits. A flatfish is just one type of many different types of lipless cranks. The one in your pic was a common style years ago similar to the Heddon Bayou Boogie, Pico Chico, Storm Whiz Bang, Buckeye Shad Lipless Crank. Poe's also made a lipless back in the day similar to your pic. Although some of the older style baits are still being sold, that older style seems to have fallen out of favor since the Rattle Trap type baits gained in popularity. Your pic does have the line tie lower than most of the older baits. The pictured lure's shape is somewhat like Strike King's Red Eye Shad with a steeper vertical face and lower line tie.

I use barrel twisted eyes in my small cranks. I catch Bawal 7Lb - 12Lb regularly. These deep bodied fish can really pull. Never had a failure. Actually, even these twisted eyes are linked to the hook hanger, so I suppose you could call it a through wire. BUT, I cannot imagine trying to wrestle with an angry 40Lb Musky with all its leverage. Why would anyone take the risk of losing such a stunning fish, not to mention the damage to the fish as mentioned above. The dowel idea is good, it is a surface area thing. Dave

Both of the baits I have had this happen to were wooden baits. I have had plastic baits like a Jake also break. That one seemed like it was never even built right. Some of the popular mass produced baits seem to have some manufactured defects so that would be a bit different.

@eastman03 Apparently you set the hook like a man-beast! That's one difference between heavy-duty fishing and some of the light-duty stuff. A muskie has a much stiffer face than a bluegill. I had a buddy who was a strict bass angler, and he set the hook in a way that would literally rip the lips off a crappie. I hope you connect with a big one, and I'm envious of your far-north waters! In terms of the topic at hand, I make primarily smaller baits (around 3" ) geared towards bass and panfish, though I've done some bigger stuff, but still geared towards bass. For most of my bass-sized baits I use twist wires in .032" or .051". I also sometimes use .062" for larger joints (especially if there's only one wire connection in the joint). The .062" stuff is pretty hard to bend, and requires a little more muscle. I've only been doing this for a couple years, so I don't have any long-term data, but one of my poppers in particular has caught over 30 bass and is still going strong. For smaller baits (around 1") I prefer to use a through-wire, as the bait itself is more delicate and more likely to break if surprised by a fish larger than a bluegill or crappie. This summer I caught 3 largemouth bass over 20" on baits I made, with twist wires, and they held up just fine. That being said, if I ever shelled out $100 for a bait of any sort (which will never happen, as I make my own baits largely to avoid such expenses) and it broke like that, I would probably cry.

I hate to always be the wet blanket when it comes to screw wire vs thru wire, but in my opinion, if you are making a premium lure for muskies or pike, it should always be thru wire. Screw eyes are plenty strong when new, but after fishing with a lure for a year or two, almost no amount of finish will be able to withstand rocks and fish. If there is any moisture ingress or if the threads 'crack' loose from the glue that's holding the screw, it can pull out. Sorry, it just bugs me seeing musky lures that go for 100+$ dollars, and they have screw in hardware. This is the result. A lost lure and possibly a dead fish. This was from a big pike that crushed the lure boat side. Set the hook and out came the large screw eye. Hopefully the fish chucked the lure. This is from a 'well made' well known lure manufacturer (I won't name names or anything). This is the second time that it has happened to me, so I can only imagine with all the people fishing, how many times this may happen. This would not happen with thru wire. I'm tough on equipment, I fish a lot, and if there is a weakness, musky fishermen tend to find it. I'm headed out this weekend, freezing temps, and lakes icing up to go bash some other lures around on the Canadian shield hoping for another hog.