jrhopkins

mahogany will work. here's a pick of a mahogany floater/diver i did a few years ago, worked fine. you can try a small amount of ballast in the body but the hook hanger and hooks may be enough . i assume you're thinking of a cigar shape bait. after you have it carved, put it in some water to see how it floats. the denser part of the lure will roll to the underside and the more bouyant part of the lure will be on top. make a mark on the top for reference so you can place eye screws/hooks on the bottom. http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/jrhopkins_photos/fishlures205.jpg

how can i edit ( delete ) my older attachments to make more room? my file is almost full with little room for anymore.

ok Pete, enough whining. here's a scetch of how i did it. some notes: cut the clamshell to conform to the shape of the hinge. form the hinge around something a little larger than what the pin diameter will be. get everything made , bend the pin legs and then assemble everything. apply epoxy to the fin material, just a light coating so it won't seep into the pin. if it sticks a little, put a drop of alcohol on the pin area and work it back and forth to free it up. the pin needs to be as free moving as possible. use a small spring clamp or your fingers to hold it together until it has started setting up. make the pin holes larger than the pin so there is room to get in a little epoxy without it oozing out onto the hinge. http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/jrhopkins_photos/IMG_0980.jpg

Tim, go ahead and give it a try.

i would like to thank everyone for all the compliments. also for all the information that i have gotten from the site that has helped me to make my lures. i hope that i have contributed information that will help others. someday, when i am in the ground, i hope someone will still be catching fish with one of my lures;). thanks again, john

i actually tore the hole in the lining with a different lure on the first test of the line retrieve tube. i took the hooks off the Blackfish to do the video. it swims the same with or without the hooks. the flounder always lands flat because all of the ballast is in the bottom of the lure making it bottom heavy. spent a lot of time expiermenting with that! the weight to mass ratio was critical to get it to sink top side up and still swim. the two hooks on top are fixed in position snd anchored through that segment.

got to replace the liner. i hooked the liner and tore a hole in it so the video was shot with me standing in a mudhole.. thinking to make another tank, longer but not as wide or deep and maybe put sand in the bottom to avoid the same incident..

here are some short videos of the flounder and the Tautog i recently finished. nice action on the flounder. notice the pecs on the tautog baby flounder video video by jrhopkins_photos - Photobucket tautog w/articulated pecs- 8" video by jrhopkins_photos - Photobucket

i bought a Ryobi a year ago and would not recommend it. snapped 2 blades, blade wanders when cutting thick stock and Lowes can't think to stock replacement blades for the stuff they sell! it's going in a yard sale! i got a Craftsman 10" benchtop saw that i really like. i've cut out approx. 100 lure blanks and am still on the original blade. plus it has roller guides to keep the blade from wandering. right now you can get one from the online store for $159 on sale $40 off. don't know what that Skil sells for but i'm sure it is over $100 so for a little more the Craftsman is a good saw.

i tried the Solo cups too with the same results. i use the cheapest clear plastic cup Walmart sells in acetone, works fine. start out with a thin solution and then add cups as needed.

i've had this idea for articulated pectoral fins for a while and tried it out on this bait. the fibers are sandwiched into the hinge and the hinge pins are epoxied into the body. they lie flat against the body on retrieve and flair out at rest. approx. 120 degrees of movement. probably not very practical but they look pretty cool and i've got a lot of time on my hands:yawn: http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/jrhopkins_photos/IMG_0878.jpg http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/jrhopkins_photos/IMG_0879.jpg http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r17/jrhopkins_photos/IMG_0880.jpg

look in the fishing dept. your area store may not have it

$30 plus per 5lb. coil seems pretty expensive. i get 5lb. roll at Sprtsmans warehouse for $18. most places here sell a 1 lb. roll for around $3.50. check Walmart. they sell it.

save your money on a spindle sander. unless you have a light touch you will take off too much material quite easily. put the money toward a good tabletop band saw. i got a sears for $159 on sale and it does all i need to do to make the initial shaping. the pvc carves easily so all you need is a utility knife and some sharp blades and sandpaper. another note on the segment spacing. go with wider gaps between the segments until you get comfortable with making your baits. remember the 90 degree bend i talked about. another thing, the drawing top view looks like the nose is too blunt. taper the angle more so as not to be pushing water in front of it. it will go through the water better.

i cut the slots for the fins before assembling the bait. cut matching slots in both halves approx. 1/8" deep and wide enough to insert the brush fibers, usually about 1/16" overall. don't overdo the fins, if they are too dense it will affect the swimming action. the 2:1:1:1 ratio is good. look at the video where i show the top view of the bait and notice the shape and placement of the joints. i would do no less that 4 segments. have tried 3 and had to add a lip to get some action. it was also a 4" lure but had really nice action after adding the lip.

pencil lead can be found at most tackle store. even walmart sells it. i use 1/4" but it is available in 3/16" too. keep the ballast as low in the bait as possible to minimize side roll. make the eye screw hole larger than the diameter of the screw so you will have a pocket of epoxy to bed the screw in, use 2t epoxy, much stronger than the 5min. the wider the gap between segments the more exagerated the action will be, usually. the zinc probably won't rust. i use s.s. whenever possible.

here's an easy lure stand you can make using romex ( solid core ) electrical wire. pull the insulated wire out of the sheathing. about 12" long. make a jig to bend the wire. bend the legs 90 degrees and connect the two sides with excess insulating cover. pictures are pretty self explaning.you can adjust the size by the position of the jig nails and the stand is bendable to suit adjustments you may need to stand a particular lure. i can make approx. 100 of these for about $15 for the romex. you can also do a better job of straightening the wire first than i did;). in a hurry:o.

good luck!! tried that:angry:, talked with the store " asst. mgr." about ordering some. took my order and assured me they would call when it arrived:whistle:. asked at the customer service counter about ordering some, " we don't do special orders":nono:. you wonder how much more succesful they could be if the right hand knew what the left hand was doing!