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hoffbossn

Few Testing/ballast and lexan issues

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Hey guys, I almost have some completed lures to show off, but i am really waiting for the actions to be perfected, with that being said i need some help in relation to testing. 

when finding the top of the wood a process that I read is important, If im lathing a spook style top water lure, and want to find thetop before I drill hardware, Can i put it in water without sealent quickly to find the top?  how do guys find the top to blocks of wood they want too carve into a lure?  I would seal before drilling hardware to find the top, but then I just need to seal it again after hardware I dont wanna do the extra step. 

Also I bought lexan(polycarbonate?) from home depot, its areound .10" thick, I wanna make rats and slammers, those lips look thicker, where do i get some thicker lips? and also the lip material I had scratched from anything... is this normal? I feel like my lures that i bought lips do not scratch as easily as the material I have. where can I get some different stuff?  and how do i buff out the burred edges giving it that new look?  I cannot express how this stuff scratches on anything, cant be the same product all the manufactured lures got....

I made a large propbait with the LPO props on each side. has a spook look to it but it rolls over when it gets any speed on its retrieve! i weighed the bottom and still its rolls over alot onto one side,  the lures left side if that matters, gonna get a pic of the lure in question and post it, thanks alot im assuming just to balance to lure in the middle since i want a straight retrieve. 

thanks guys this has been quite the test. If you need me to clarify anything please dont hesitate. Im sure I will be back on to ask something else I forgot...
If it wasnt for TU I never would of even made it this far.

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Also I am using a tung oil concoction for a sealer for these basswood topwater lures, and etex as a topcoat, should i be using thinned etex for a sealer as well? i might seal with the oil, do a etex coat, paint, and another  coat of etex, is this a good process? 

and i also still need a lure turner, is there one i can just buy or make for around $20? really would rather buy but if i gotta make it then so be it. 

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Comments on some of your questions:  tung oil is good stuff but it takes weeks to become really hard.  A coat of Etex would be a lot faster and just as good or better.  I don't know of any ready built lure turners.  Just about everyone builds their own using slow speed ac motors like from a rotisserie, a microwave, etc.  it took me about an hour to build mine with a piece of wood shelving, a dowel rod, a couple of washers, a 6 rpm motor, and some alligator clips.  It's lasted for 15 years so far.  Polycarbonate is a lot more durable than plastic so you can use thinner sheets of it.  Think function over form.  I wouldn't want to weight a lure down with hugely thick Lexan just because the lure I'm copying has a thick plastic lip.  I mostly use 1/16" thick Lexan on my lures.  Keep the protective backing on the Lexan until you are ready to buff the edges clear.  I use a Dremel with a felt polishing cylinder to buff.  A cylindrical body will rotate from the torque of a prop.  Ballast will counteract it, as will using props that rotate in opposite directions.  Hope this helps.

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10 minutes ago, BobP said:

Comments on some of your questions:  tung oil is good stuff but it takes weeks to become really hard.  A coat of Etex would be a lot faster and just as good or better.  I don't know of any ready built lure turners.  Just about everyone builds their own using slow speed ac motors like from a rotisserie, a microwave, etc.  it took me about an hour to build mine with a piece of wood shelving, a dowel rod, a couple of washers, a 6 rpm motor, and some alligator clips.  It's lasted for 15 years so far.  Polycarbonate is a lot more durable than plastic so you can use thinner sheets of it.  Think function over form.  I wouldn't want to weight a lure down with hugely thick Lexan just because the lure I'm copying has a thick plastic lip.  I mostly use 1/16" thick Lexan on my lures.  Keep the protective backing on the Lexan until you are ready to buff the edges clear.  I use a Dremel with a felt polishing cylinder to buff.  A cylindrical body will rotate from the torque of a prop.  Ballast will counteract it, as will using props that rotate in opposite directions.  Hope this helps.

thank you bob... 
you never hesitate to answer. thanks again. so i will change props out and try and ballast it some more, hope that helps. 

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The polycarbonate I get was from a plastic distribution company, Johnston Plastics.  They make all kinds of stuff out of lexan (which is the brand name, I think I ended up with makralon).  So I talked to some guy behind the counter and asked if they have any small cut off pieces I could buy.   After some explaining about what I needed, he said you got cash?  haha perfect.  Went  to the back and just like I thought they had a huge rack of all different smaller pieces from paper thin to 1" thick.  Found a few 2 foot by 1 foot pieces and gave the guy ten bucks.  I think this is mostly garbage for the company.  I'm sure you could find a similar company wherever you are from!   Not sure how everyone else gets it.

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I wouldn't worry about finding the "top" of the lure.

I just worry about the grain running front to back, and don't bother trying to find the "top" of the bait.  Even if I don't add ballast, the hooks and hook hangers will overcome any differences in the bait's flotation.  I make my wooden baits with a dropped belly, so the belly hook hanger ballast is really low in them.  My spooks have enough ballast toward the tail to keep them sitting true in the water.

 

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The basswood I see usually seems to have pretty consistent density so I never float checked it to see if it had a "top".  But then again, I don't build cylindrical topwater lures with it.  Vodkaman's superglue tip will fix you up if you have concerns.  You can't really do too much testing while building a bait.  I'd want to float test a topwater to fix where and how much ballast to add after undercoating and before painting it.  How they sit on the water at rest makes a big difference in performance.

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You need to counter rotate the props to keep the bait sitting correctly in the water.   Just bend the back prop opposite of the front and that should keep the bait from rolling.   Lexan is going to scratch no matter what you do to it.   Super glue is a great for sealing the wood for a quick water test.

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All good answers and I understand grain runs front to back, but it should also run horizontally instead of vertically. The screw eyes should go in through multiple layers of grain rather than running between two layers of grain. Works easy for bottom hooks, but front and back not so much so try to angle front and back screw (up or down) so it goes through more than one layer of wood grain. A screw going in following the wood grain tends to push those two wood grains apart. Belly hook going through multi layers tends to hold wood grain layers together. A good idea on front and back screws is to drill larger hole and fill with epoxy so screws don't have a wedge effect.

 

 

Edited by Musky Glenn
incomplete.
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