out2llunge

I used some ash many years ago when I made several 6" grandmas. It can hard on tools and isn't particularly easy to work with, but boy is it solid. 'Ole esox is gonna lose a tooth when he bites into those babies. The action is very slow, at least compared to the WRC that I normally use in ost baits.

One slight mod to the way those lips are cut that I do is to carefully cut the template such that the straight edge of the lip (the edge that goes inside the bait) is accurately aligned on the edge of the poly before gluing down. That way, that edge needs no further cutting or sanding provided your band saw skills are half decent.

Those double line ties usually just pass through a slot in the lip. The slot is marginally larger than the wire hoop passing through it. Usually no epoxy, just a continuous piece of wire through the lip and body.

FF, the baits we're making are meant for very large muskies and that's why the use of the SS screws. Agreed, probably overkill, but I don't think one can over engineer a bait made for muskies of WR proportions.

It's usually best to perform the round over in a succession of increasing depths. Woods like cedar, which splinter easily do not react well to full round overs right away, especially for example with a 1/2" R bit.

For hardwood I would agree, but for some softer woods like cedar the drum may be just as fast. I do know that some thickness planers actually use sanding drums instead of planing knives to reduce stock to a desired thickness so the possibility is there. RM, I know one of the owners-ish of Busy Bee maybe he can donate one ot my work

Here's another pneumatic sander that I founf thinking that it would be much cheaper - boy was I wrong. http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=2007591117071628396&NTITEM=B095N Their stuff is usually off-shore and cheaper, but tis time not significantly so the Lee Valley product should be much better.

That's very cool. There not to far from me either. Smells like a Christmas present idea.

If you guys are looking for White Cedar you might want to check with lumber suppliers in Eastern Ontario and Quebec. Now I bet your saying "yah I'm going to import that from Canada". Well you may not have to. You could e-mail them and ask which American companies to they sell to. Don't know if it will help or not, but could be worth a shot. I know of a place (about 1/2 hour form here) that deals primarily with cedar, not 100% sure that it's white cedar, but likely wood be. Here's there addy if anyone is interested. http://www.woodviewproducts.com/lumber.htm I don't know how large an operation these guys are, but there are some large mills in Ontario and Quebec that might solve your problems.

Here's one, perhaps a bit more local http://www.paulowniawood.com/contact.htm They're in Ormond Beach, Florida

Clemmy, this is the kind of place I'm talking about. They have Yellow Cedar (doesn't specify Alaskan) and Jetulong, But I didn't see Paulownia listed. They did have Pau if that is similar. http://www.exotic-woods.com/services.html

Thanks Etch, I was just going to add that point about the paper. It goes between the blade and the side guide bushings(?) vs. the actual bearing (mentioned earlier) which is behind the blade.

Sorry just saw the "difficulty" part. Not difficult at all. On a scale of 1 to 5 maybe a 1 to 1.5 It really is a matter of getting to know your machine, but band saws are fairly generic in their designs. One other thing to check for on used units is tire wear. The tires are the rubber bands that go around the circumference of each wheel. They should be replaced if badly worn. You may also wish to clean them up a bit if they're covered in pitch from cutting a lot of softwoods.

If you're changing from blade size "A" to blade size "A" then usually it's only a matter of minutes (or less) as blade tension and blade tracking are the only adjustments (usually) that are required. It's as simple as opening the wheel guards (doors), removing the throat plate (the circular disc that the blade passes through within the table), loosening the blade tension knob and removing the blade. Installation is the reverse with added step of checking blade tracking. If going from size "A" to size "B", then the above procedure applies, but the blade guard/bearings should be adjusted accordingly (out or in depending if you're upsizing or downsizing blades respectively). That really only adds another minute or so.

Specialty woods usually are had at specialty suppliers. Lowes and HD aren't going to carry those types. Look online or in your phone book for lumber suppliers particularly for the cabinetry industry. They usually sell by the board foot, but it might be different with some of the species you're looking for.

Sorry, forgot to mention there are a number factors involved in properly setting up the blade on the saw. Review the manual (if you have one), but you should properly adjust blade tension, blade tracking, and upper and lower blade guards/bearings. All of these adjustments should be made prior to turning the saw on. Spin the upper wheel by hand and see if the blade travels straight without moving forward or backward on the drive wheel. If it wanders then adjust the tracking knob which is usually located on the operators side on the upper wheel. Tension is adjusted usually by the knob on the top of the saw. Blade guards/bearings should be adjusted so that the bearing starts to spin when pressure is applied against the blade. Here's a link I found online showing some the parts: Hope that helps! More importantly, I hope I was clear enough.

Clemmy, Several factors come into play here with band saw blades, but before i cover those if you're working with balsa and maybe cedar you don't need anything fancy. TPI = Teeth per inch The higher the TPI, the smoother the cut generally. Width = Narrow blades 1/8, 1/4 = fine cut, but susceptible to wandering whilst cutting, especially as wood density and rate of cut increases. Width = 3/8, 1/2 more moderate cut (smoothness), but less susceptible to wandering. Width = 1" or higher are generally used for resawing, a practice that creates more useable wood from a specific sized piece PROVIDED that the blade doesn't wander. Wander = the ability of the blade (and user/operator) to cut in a straight line at a given rate of cut. As rate increases wander typically does too. Relief cuts = cuts made (usually perpendicular) to the desired shape to 'ease' the turning radius of the blade wh9ilst making tight turns. These cuts allow the smaller pieces to fall out of the way and the desired shape to happen. In other words, if you had a polygon in the middle of a pie and you 'sliced' the pie the slices would fall out leaving the polygon (or there abouts) in the center of the pie. Smaller width blades work great for cutting tighter curves vs. a medium width blade. Blade length = The circumference around the blade or its total length. Your best bet is to buy a couple of blades say a 1/8 or 1/4 and a 3/8 1/2 so that you have the choice depending on the type of material you're working with. Bi-metal, carbide ... I don't think you'll need them. I've never used them and have never seen a need to.

Jed, for the larger baits that we make you might want to have a face parallel (on the jig) to the surface that the lure blank is resting on in the above pic. That way you could put a large spring clamp across the blank and the second parallel face to avoid having the blank move on you while cutting. Could prove especially useful if you're using hardwood blanks. A spring clamp would go on and off really quickly while changing blanks.

I do something very similar Pete with some deep diving models that I make. It appears that a wise man once said something like: Make a JIG for every aspect of lure making you can (that goes for wire harness, furniture, wood turning, toys etc), it initially takes a lot of time to make some jig

Yup, George is right table saws are perfect for it, unless your lips are 1/16 and your blade is 1/8 I haven't investigated thin kerf blades yet. Anyone know what they cost?

2 questions then... 1. What ind of wood are you cutting - hard or soft? 2. What size or how fine a blade or how many TPI (teeth per inch) is the blade? Perhaps your blade is too thin. Maybe moving up a size or two would help. The larger the width of a band saw blade the more rigid it is. It also shows less tendency to wander.

How are you creating the slot Jed?

I mark a center line on the bait and on the lip. The lip is then inserted into the bait and center verified before drilling. I drill one small pilot hole through the body and the lip. The lip is then removed and a hole large enough for the screw to fit through is then drilled into the lip. I then drill a countersunk hole in the bait so that the screw head can be epoxied over later and the screw will not be visible. I don't like to install the screw into lexan (or aluminum) through a pilot hole only. I've had lexan crack when done in this manner as it is not very forgiving. In aluminum, the screw tends to strip if it's just a pilot hole. Once all holes are drilled (pilot, countersink), I insert the lip, verify center and install the screw. Center is verified again. If all is good, I remove the lip, place some epoxy in the slot and in the holes and then repeat the last step, but this time installing the lip permanently. Hope that all made sense as its been a VERY long day.

Yes, a table saw would work as would a band saw or coping saw. I assume you're talking about a cylindrical bait since you mention putting it on a lathe afterwards. Even with shad body baits it's best to cut the lip slot while the blank is still square (rectangular prism). It matters less on a cylinder, but it's easier to cut beforehand.

John, I've seen your stuff - the only help you need is an extra hand to load to the beer fridge!