CoreyH

I'm just getting started in making some crankbaits and I'm wondering the best method for shaping my crankbaits. I don't currently have a carving knife, so the first bait I made I wound up using a small chisel and then used sandpaper to smooth the edges. My second bait, I bypassed the chisel and went directly to the disc/belt sander. I was able to shape it much faster with the sander (I did use the chisel some on the underside of the bait), but also realized that it would be very easy to completely overdo it and ruin a bait since the sander takes off so much material so quickly. I've thought about getting a good carving knife, but don't want to spend the money if I'm just going to turn around and use the chisel or sander instead. Just wondering what others use. Thanks

I also got mine at Lowes. I went to another store first, but they didn't have anything thicker than 3/4" and I knew the rounded squarebills I wanted to make would be closer to an inch in thickness. I found a trim board that was 1" or 1 1/4" thick at Lowes. It wasn't the Azek that some recommend, but so far it's worked fine for me. Only downside was that it only came in 10 foot length boards. I had them cut it in half for me and figured that would be plenty to last me for a while. I think it's around 4" tall as well. I believe it was right around $26-$28 for the board.

Any particular reason why you hate using it?

Gotcha! I’ll have to try it and see. Thanks!

Will do!

Thanks for that info. I’ll try the white primer and see how that works for me. I appreciate the help.

So that's why I got bubbles when I added a little heat with a hair dryer! I wondered what I was doing wrong. Thanks!

Why dip in acetone?

Thanks, will try 120 grit and see how it works. I've been using the 80 grit instead of the scroll saw to take the edges off and roughly shape the bait. Thanks for the pointer about wearing a mask. I have them but haven't been using one.

Thanks for the info. It must be the particular PVC trimboard I am using but I have found that it cuts, carves, and sands much easier than the basswood I tried. There's no grain to deal with and the basswood seemed like the sander would take so much so quickly (80 grit sanding disc) that I wound up ruining my bait profile. I only tried one with basswood, so I'm sure if I tried again I could do better, but I've enjoyed working with the PVC so far. I'll try dipping with the shellac to see if that helps with the texturing and smoothness. Thanks for the help!

What I have noticed is that the bait feels really smooth after I have finished sanding (with 150 grit paper), but when I go to paint it there's still some texture there, so the bait isn't completely smooth when painted. Do I need to go to an even finer grit paper, or simply use the sanding sealer to create the smooth finish? Also, with the sanding sealer, does it need to be brushed on or can the bait be dipped? I'm just always worried about seeing brush strokes or the bait not being coated evenly and it seems like by dipping it ensures both of those problems are fixed.

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you purchase directly from KBS, somewhere online, or do they carry it at the big box stores?

I've been reading a lot of the posts on here the past few months as I tried to decide whether to start trying to make some baits of my own. I finally took the dive and decided to start by making some squarebills from PVC trimboard. So far I've only made two and I feel the baits themselves have come out pretty well for my first attempts. However, one area I decided to wait on was airbrushing, so the first two baits I have used finger nail polish on since my wife and daughter have plenty around. I just had a couple questions...first, I know I don't need to seal a PVC bait before painting, but is there an advantage to putting epoxy or sealer on it prior to painting? Also, one item I have not invested in yet, because I'm really only building one bait at a time right now, is a lure turner. So with regards to a topcoat, I'm looking for something that I can dip & hang. What is going to be a good clear topcoat for doing this? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!