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sammy01007

Keep Clean

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I was reading through some of the old forums, and one person suggested for new lure makers to buy pre-fab bodies and painting them. I have turned a spare bedroom in a two bedroom apt in Brooklyn as a carving room. I thought using pre-fab bodies would be a great way for me to make some great lures without turing my apt into a dust bowl. The problem I am running into is finding pre-made bodies. Jansnetcraft has some, does anyone here sell pre-made bodies or can recomend other websites wich may offer more of a variety?

I need to do something to control the dust, especially since we are considering moving into a one bedroom come March. (Cant' fish in the city, can't make lures in the city, how do people live in the city??? lol.

Does anyone else have any suggestions on how I could get into lure crafting without wrecking the apt? Is lure pouring a much cleaner approach?

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JMHO, it's easy to find good plastic commercial crankbaits so I'm not very interested in just painting "no-name" plastic bodies. Nothing against it, mind you, but it just doesn't seem to have a lot of "value added" to me unless you just enjoy the painting process. Only about 10% of the "unbranded" unpainted plastic bodies I've tried had enough quality or performance to fish more than one cast. It's more cost efficient for me to buy good plastic crankbaits from Lucky Craft, Bomber, Rapala, etc. If I don't see something I like, I repaint it to suit. Where I can make the most value for myself and friends is with wood crankbaits. Spending extra time and effort, you can make a wood crankbait with more durability and performance than the Big Boys or most custom shops - who can't afford the extra time and effort for business reasons.

I recommend repainting popular plastic or wood commercial crankbaits to get into the hobby. Look around for popular crankbaits being sold at reduced price (overstocks, damaged packaging, unpopular color patterns, etc). You know they will perform well when finished and that's critical. If you want to get into building from the ground up, take a look at molding crankbaits from 16 lb/cu ft density foam. It's one of the few mold materials that has a buoyancy similar to balsa wood. BTW, if you want to work in wood, there are ways around creating a dust storm if you're willing to use hand tools for shaping the bodies instead of power tools. A jig saw, craft knife, a rasp, and sandpaper have been used to create a lot of great crankbaits over the years.

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I understand your problem, having been there myself, living in an apartment in the past.

As Bob suggested, I did most of the shaping with a box cutter or carving tools. I then went outside with a battery dremel, to do the final sanding operations and drilling. This way I managed to keep the living quarters fairly dust free. Just remember to give yourself a good pat down before you come back inside, or your efforts will be wasted.

The 16Lb foam with RTV mold is a good idea too. Little bit of a learning curve, but you will have an endless supply of bodies at your disposal AND all your own work, much more rewarding. Resin bodies are easier, but I found the material a bit on the heavy side for what I want. One day you will get your workshop and wonder how you managed before. Sorry, just trying to make you jealous, I can be cruel sometimes.

Dave

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I have made lots of lures inside the house. It doesn't have to be messy at all. A box fan and a furnace filter will pick up fines if you carve witing a few feet. If you choose something like balsa or basswood hand sanding can easily be done and in my opinion stirs up little dust in comparison to power sanding. I set up a card table in a corner of a room for years. Everything goes best if you do things in series. Cut out X many bodies. Put away those materials. Carve and shape baits, clean up and put away those materials. Continue the steps and take all cranks to each step at the same time.

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Thanks for the advise. The only power tool I use is a dremel tool and a hand drill. I like the idea of the box fan and a filter. I can see how that can reduce the dust, however I am not sure if that would solve the problem if we moved into a single bedroom (which my living room would double as a lure crafting room). I have found that using sandpaper is the best tool for forming the bait and dust seems to get everywhere.

I see your point about painting plastic baits, but I see a lot of possibilities for pre made wooden baits, adding paint, fins, even joints. I would loose the art of shaping the bait, true. i have thought of making a "sanding box". Some type of shell I could shape inside, I was originaly thinking of using a vaccume to draw the dust away, but vaccumes are noisy. The box fan with a filter as a wall on the enclosure may be a quieter alternative.

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Thanks for the advise. The only power tool I use is a dremel tool and a hand drill. I like the idea of the box fan and a filter. I can see how that can reduce the dust, however I am not sure if that would solve the problem if we moved into a single bedroom (which my living room would double as a lure crafting room). I have found that using sandpaper is the best tool for forming the bait and dust seems to get everywhere.

I see your point about painting plastic baits, but I see a lot of possibilities for pre made wooden baits, adding paint, fins, even joints. I would loose the art of shaping the bait, true. i have thought of making a "sanding box". Some type of shell I could shape inside, I was originaly thinking of using a vaccume to draw the dust away, but vaccumes are noisy. The box fan with a filter as a wall on the enclosure may be a quieter alternative.

There is a guy/company on Ebay who sells wooden bodies with the lips/hangers attached. I think they might even be primed as well. I've never tried them, but it might be work a look.

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