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RayburnGuy

Who's Interested In Buying Translucent White Circuit Board?

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I plan on contacting some different suppliers to see about getting them to stock the translucent white circuit board material. It will undoubtedly help convince them to stock it if they can be shown there is a demand for it. If this route fails I will check into what a full sheet costs and possibly purchase it myself. If done this way I won't be out to do anything but cover my costs. If your interested please leave a reply with an estimate of how much you'd want and I will see what I can do.

thanks,

Ben

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Ben, I have enough to last awhile but it's inevitable that I'll need more and it's hard to find! I think the G-10 I used to buy from ASP Rocketry was called "Wonder Board". There are various manufacturers and I gather from earlier searches that the native size from manufacturers is a 4'x8' sheet.

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I am a mechanical designer and have worked with G-10 before. I never thought of using it for this purpose but that does make sense. It is tough stuff and can wear out milling machines, cutters, and drills pretty quick. Be careful with the dust..... Dont know if this is useful to anyone but I do know that if you coat it with varnish on any of the surfaces you have machined or sanded it will stick like the devil and look real pretty.

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Why do you folks use the fiber based materials and not the clear lexan? Just curious.....

Sonny

I especially like using it for deep diving cranks. I feel that the thinner edge of the circuit board cuts through the water more easily than thicker Lexan and gives me a little added depth. I've tried sharpening the leading edge on conventional Lexan lips and it does seem to help a little with depth, but the sharpened edge won't hold up to hitting rocks or other hard objects.

Ben

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Sonny, a thumbnail primer on circuit board:

Using G10 circuit board for lips started a few years ago. It's as tough, thinner and more rigid than clear polycarbonate (aka Lexan). Besides the depth advantage that Ben notes, it also produces a sharper, different rebound off of cover than Lexan does, which many consider an advantage for inducing reaction strikes. Circuit board is a substrate that is impregnated with an epoxy resin and then heat set. The substrate can be various things - paper, fiberglass, etc. For the translucent white-slightly-green board most popular in crankbait lips, the substrate is fiberglass. Circuit board is called by various names like G10, FR4, Micarta, Garolite, etc. G10 is a technical classification for circuit board and there are others available in the G series classification with varying physical properties. However, G10 is usually considered the best balance between cost vs performance for crankbaits.

Circuit board comes in a range of thicknesses and colors: black, brown, green, yellow, white, etc. It's also available copper coated. Electronics builders generally don't care about color. We do, so you have to check to see you're buying the color you want. For bass baits, I use 1/32" thick white-slightly-green G10. It's the same stuff and thickness that the fishing lure component stores sell as ready-to-install circuit board lips, and that's what you see on commercial baits with circuit board lips. The 1/32" G10 is plenty stiff enough to use on deep divers with big, long lips. The only issue that exists with G10 is that it is not transparent like Lexan. Some builders feel a clear lip is critical, some don't see it as a big issue. You have to make your own judgement. Having fished lures with both Lexan and G10 lips for several years, I haven't sensed any hesitation for bass to hit lures with G10 lips - even super deep divers with lips that are as long as the crankbait's body. That said, if there were such a thing as transparent G10, I'd use it. But there isn't. McMaster-Carr online catalog carries a pretty good description of the various properties and tech specs of circuit board, which they carry under the term "Garolite". It's worth a read.

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Fred Young of OakRidge,TN was one of the first, if not the first, to use it on a modern crankbait in the 1960's &70's. His Big "O" set lure making in a direction of both shape and construction we are still using today. Check out the value of one of his handcrafted baits on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Fred-C-Young-Early-Big-O-Lure-RARE-Pin-Eyes-/280722153221?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415c581f05#ht_3555wt_754

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I may give it a try. Every time I shape a lexan lip I scratch the heck out of it and it looks like crap before I even cast it the first time. The g-10 is opaque and might actually look a little better. As for the guys who think they wont catch anything if the lip isnt clear, they need to talk to the guys who fish in the salt. Plenty of saltwater lures have aluminum and stainless steel bibs on them. Infact, this is sparking an idea. What do you think of a red bib?

Thanks for McMaster tip....

I will give that a read.....

Sonny

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I've made a lot of cranks with both Lexan and circuit board, and fished them hard: I have go-to lures with both types. The leading edge of Lexan will wear much less, much slower, than circuit board lips on lures with which you make a lot of bottom contact. This is fact borne out by lots of fishing experience. I have become an expert at laminating Lexan to my worn down circuit board lips which have lost depth, and their original action. I use thin lexan and keep the leading edge polished which eliminates most of the action and depth advantages of the thin-ness of G-10, but wears much much better when bouncing off bottom and debris.

Having had to replace and repair so many circuit board lips on some favorite lures, I find myself seldom using the material anymore, especially for deep divers.

If you have not only fished, but sanded and shaped a lot of both materials you already know how easily circuit board can be shaped with abrasives compared to Lexan. I use the most durable construction methods and (chemical) materials for my balsa crankbaits that I can find. I hate it when an otherwise great lure wears out prematurely from lip failure.

I like the other properties of G-10, and it is tough and durable, save for the abrasion resistance of its leading edge. While I like being able to tune a circuit board lure with a piece of light sandpaper, that is also the material's weakness.

Have you noticed that most manufacturers are not using it much these days for their deep baits? It is because of the feedback coming from the water.

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Professor

Some really good info. Nothing beats experience in my book. Have you tried G11 as well. I have been reading and not fishing. What i read says G11 has a cloth instead of fiberglass fiber. It is suppose to be less water resistant and not as hard. One would think G10 would hold up better than G11 in all circumstances. Only experience like yours could tell. I want my baits to tear up the bottom and from what your telling me I may be better of sticking with the lexan?

Vic

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Vic,

If you're wanting to dig bottom, you'd be way better off with Lexan! I've caught a lot of fish with G-10 lips, but watching the lip on a good fish-catching lure steadily wear away as you use it, and seeing its performance degrade along with it, is discouraging, and contrary to my mission of building tough dependable balsa crankbaits.

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