[Kribman]

Happy New Years everyone!

I have finally shaped a body out of maple that I am happy with using my band saw and dremel tool and created a lip (not epoxied in yet) out of some plexi-glass I had and I need to know where to go next. The pictures shown are where I am at, and I am wondering whether I should seal, drill holes for weights and screw eyes, put the lip in or what... From these pictures, can anyone give me a walkthrough up until the painting process?
Thanks a bunch

-Kribman

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/CIMG0055.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/CIMG0054.jpg http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/CIMG0002.jpg

[Hoodaddy]

Kribman........I'll try and help you out with all the vast knowlege I can call up from my bowels ( probably White Castles or Crystal Burgers wherever your from ) . I.... at this point would drill and epoxy my ballast ( if you have your desired weight figured out ) and hook hangers in. Then I would then fill any voids around ballast with filler. Then I would seal... then prime......Then paint or foil leaving lip installation for last step. BTW it looks like by the size of the lip you may want to drill and install line tie a little less than half way out the bill. Prior to clearing install the lip.

Hopefully this helps some...I'm sure there are others that will chime in if I overlloked anything.

[Spike-A-Pike]

Kribman.

It looks like you're just moving right along with your first project. You are further into getting your bait into the tackle box than I am... If it was me, I would be making templates and backing up the design aspects as much as I could. You still need to figure out the balance of the bait... Add the hooks and hardware, then, see if you need to add any lead. I would make the lead a temporary addition until figure out how much and where. You’ve got the time invested to this point, go a bit slow to get it a right as possible.

[Vodkaman]

Bruce is right. If it is your first, I would not paint this one, but use it for testing. If you have invested a huge amount of time, you might want to put this one in the draw for now and make another one for testing. Only needs to be roughly finished.

You will need to experiment with eye location, in addition to Bruces suggestion of ballast location. Test it out, write information down about what you try, any measurement changes etc. Any problems or queries, come back and post them.

You have chosen a difficult lure to start with as its best swimming setup is very close to instability. But ask the right questions, the members can help you get it working.

[BobP]

Looks very nice so far. Maple is a very dense hardwood and won't require much ballast, so I'd sand it smooth, waterproof it, add the hook hangers and lip, then do a float test with trebles mounted to see how much ballast is needed. Hanging lead wire or solder off the belly hook works well.

[Kribman]

does anyone know any tutorials or have any information on how I can do a line tie ring on this lure? I just am baffled ho to get the line to effectively attach to the lure...

[mark poulson]

Seal it before you do any testing! Bob P's right. Install the bill, eye tie, and hook hangers, and then seal the he!! out of it. After that, you can play with balast. Nothing will ruin all your hard work faster than water on an unsealed lure.

[Hoodaddy]

Kribman

The guys are right. I was basically answering the ??? that you had asked not taking in consideration the fact that this was a "one and only".
You should definitley save this one after figuring out the specs and 'SAVING" them in case any changes have to be made.

As far as your line tie is concerned.....IMHO the plexiglass bill is more prone to breakage than a polycarbonate aka Lexan bill. Also if I'm not mistaken (since I do not work with a lot of deep divers ) that the line tie should be positioned (for testing at first) slghtly less than halfway between the nose of the bait and the tip or end of the bill. Drill a small hole slightly larger than a doubled wire and twist up your hanger...insert it into your lip pulling it tightly into the hole and bend it across the bottom of the lip towards the bait. Make it long enough to be inserted into the body and be securely epoxied. You may want to make a small hole at the bottom of the lip slot to allow it to go in easier.

I hope I explained this well enough for you.

[BobP]

Yep, a good place to start in positioning the line tie is about 40-45% of the distance from the nose of the bait to the end of the lip (measured with the lip inserted in the slot). I drill a single hole in the lip where you want the line tie and cut a small slot at the center rear of the lip. Using a pair of wire bending pliers (round ends, buy it at Michaels or another craft shop in the jewelry making section), make a long twisted hook hanger from brass or soft stainless wire (.040" wire is usually good). I twist the line tie over a nail held in a vice and then hold it with some vise grips and twist it into a screw shape. Next, bend it 90 deg at the eye, insert it into the lip and loop the end of the twisted wire up over the back of the lip, fitting it into the little slot you cut earlier and crimping it down. Snip excess off with a Dremel cutter or wire cutters. You'll need to drill small vertical slots at the top and bottom of the lip slot so the lip and wire can be inserted. The hole drilled in the lip should just let the twisted wire fit through it tightly, and the 90 bend needs to be done so the wire on the bottom of the lip lies flat against the Lexan. You want everything straight and tight. If it's your first time, it may take a few attempts but it's worth the trouble to get it perfect. Some guys prefer to drill two holes in the Lexan lip and run the two separate wires (not twisted) back to the base of the lip. That's fine too, but be sure the wire fits tightly into the holes. A lose line tie is impossible to tune. If all else fails, a neat bead of Devcon Two Ton epoxy along the underside of the lip where the wire runs will keep it buttoned down.