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eastman03

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Everything posted by eastman03

  1. Search the form for ballast calculator. There have been many discussions on this in the past about buoyancy and density and weight etc.. Here is an example Epoxy weight and/or density? Buoyancy spreadsheet questions - Hard Baits - TackleUnderground.com If you know the density of the material you are using based on the grams per centimeters cubed measurement, you can use the woods weight in grams, or volume in cm cubed to figure out exactly how much lead would get you to achieve neutral buoyancy. Then you could add/subtract as you desire. This is all based on Archimedes principle which I "understand" barely lol. It's all about the volume - my mind was blown when only even kind of understood that. The good thing is! @Vodkaman has put together a ballast calculator spreadsheet that lets you plug your numbers in and much smarter/technical people like him have done the legwork for math and putting it in a simple to use spreadsheet. I, like a lot of builders, use much more trial and error method. But the calculator has helped me to hone in on the correct number very quickly!
  2. Here is a video from solar baits. He shows pretty much exactly how to do a version of through wire. Very talented lure maker. He manages to get a layer of epoxy down before putting the lip in. I would have thought that would have been an issue. But I’ve never tried it that way. https://youtu.be/ECW9f6sNomA
  3. I like to saw the slot in the lure while it is still in block form. My preferred tool is the Radial Arm Saw. It makes this task super easy. I'm sure a table saw wouldn't be too hard either. I made a simple jig so I can repeat the same cut with the RAS and quickly line up the center and depth (and keep my fingers outta there). It does allow me to also cut a slot, on a bait while it is formed to if necessary. A flat sided bait makes that even easier. It probably unlikely that most guys have a radial arm saw. That is my other hobby, collecting vintage equipment from the 40's.
  4. Yea, I use a small palm sander to do most of the work. But, with practice, you will be able to get it to the point where you only need minimal sanding overall. I think a 1" belt sander would be amazing. That might be my next purchase, or that tiny hand belt sander. I'll use a scalpel to wittle off anything large around the hook hangers if there is. Then a quick sand with my palm sander. Then a bit of hand sanding/light filling to finish. I'll say this too, with bondo or epoxy, sometimes it's tricky to sand just the epoxy down. The filler is often much harder than the wood, so it can be tricky to work the filler down, without changing the shape of the wood too much. Again, do it a few times and it gets pretty easy. If you are using epoxy as a base coat before paint, it fills in and hides alot of little tiny imperfections, and still leaves you with a perfectly smooth base for painting.
  5. I like the use of a logo with the water slide paper. Looks more professional than my messy initials! Nice work
  6. ahhh but I want it nowwww. That is a good idea Hillbilly. I've seen engineered angler do it as well. Make adjustable or multiple tow points, or weights. I should make myself some screw in weights so i could really test a lure out. I really wish i had somewhere to test it through the winter as i usually have to wait several months between building and actual tests. A bathtub is difficult to test a 8"+ lure. I can do float tests, so I'm a best guess kinda guy as well. Documenting all the weights and placement has helped me lower that learning curve. I will also usually build 4 or 5 test lures "quickly" and have varying components to try to hone in on the ideal action.
  7. UKandy let us know how these test blanks work based on the differences of weight/hook placement. I'm making a side to side top water (prototype) and just guessed at where the best weight placement would be. I would think you'd aim for a level fall with the weight close to the center of the lure to act as a pivot kinda? But I really have no idea.
  8. The wood shim is the way to go. I spent a few years messing with trying to fill the entire slot up with epoxy and it sucks. Sanding it out works, but it is hard not to nick the hook hangers Thru wire gets easier like anything you do multiple times. Don't settle. I like your passion for making a quality lure! To me that means through wire! Remember- you don't want to be remembered for this= (this is a 120$ Canadian headlock lure). I don't want to name names, but there ya go. Their lures work great and catch fish! And I love their epoxy finish and aluminum lip. But that's about where it ends. I fear I paid for a name, not a quality product.
  9. I've been meaning to make a bending tool like this as well. Anyone that makes lures will probably have most of their questions answered if they watch all of his videos!
  10. Sounds good! Yea, the top slot does suck for that reason. Drilling holes through to still allow the hook hangers to go through is a bit of an extra step. Let me know how the epoxying of the slot goes? I had trouble just using epoxy as it constantly ran out and ended up being a big mess, and I still had to fill the slot a bit more. What kind of epoxy are you using for that purpose? I have some lead sheets from old underground powerline (very old) that works well for ballast. I can cut it and it fits into the slot just right. That was a good find at work. The 1" belt sander would be super handy. I should look into getting one of those for sure! One other thing with installing the lip last. For a musky bait like that, it will probably take some abuse. I would recommend "pinning" it into the lure with something. Not many adhesives adhere well to polycarbonate. Having the lip pinned into the lure with some wire or small screws helps it take the abuse. On second look, what is that lip material made of? Anyway, looks good! Keep up informed of the progress.
  11. Welcome here first of all! I'm not totally familiar with the lure that you are making, but I use .062" wire in my muskie lures. I typically get my wire in the form of Stainless Steel Tig welding rod. Available almost everywhere, and comparatively cheap, and straight! This wire come is lots of sizes, so if you needed you can get .09" (3/32) as well or whatever you need. I have some of the .09 stuff for certain applications, and that stuff is hard to bend! The .062" stuff isn't too hard. Invest in some really good round nosed pliers (anything from KNIPEX is amazing). You can make jigs to help bend wire consistently if you are going to do the same lure over and over.
  12. Yea Vodkaman, my most recent lures that I just finished gluing up have the slot down the back. I leaves me more room as well for other things like rattles or weight. Sanding the slot smooth down the back helps without the hook hangers sticking down as well. I think both ways work though overall. I really like bondo too. Liquid superglue is expensive and i have to order it online. Bondo is cheap and available. Once I apply the bondo, i wait like 5 minutes or so till it is still in the curing stage, then using a sharp knife, I can easily remove most of the excess. I carves off like butter. Then once cured (only about another 5 min), you can sand it smooth. That saves me a lot of sanding.
  13. Nice looks good! What are you planning on filing the slot with? That seems to be my most time consuming part. I "piping bag" epoxy into the slot, place the wire in, then use a stick to get epoxy on the side walls, then jam a piece of thin wood into the slot. Saves on filling the entire slot up with epoxy. If there are any gaps after (which there probably will be), i use bondo (or you could try the super glue/baking powder trick).
  14. Yea, if it isn't right I for sure don't sell it. They go into my tackle box, or a close friend to use and test. If it has my name on it and I sell it, I want it to have good finish. Otherwise, you will be selling all your lures for discount, or other potential customers will see a sub par product. I like the idea of giving them to kids, but yea as a musky lure maker that might be tough lol. Honestly, I don't make/paint tons of lures, so I will usually take the messed up lures, and start over with it. Put a different paint job on it, or experiment with it. I have a bunch of lures on my "wall of shame" that will never go out to anyone lol. I agree with Big Epp, I'll test something out for anyone!
  15. Lots of great advice here already! I like hearing that you want to make thru wire, as a musky lure maker I agree! As far a lips, i like lexan. Could probably use a coping saw to get close (or jig saw), they are cheap and can cut rounded edges. Then files/sander to finish the job. A belt sander with the small disc sander attached would be extremely helpful! I use mine a lot. Ideally in the future, a bandsaw for sure. Through wire methods all have their pros and cons. Cutting the lure right in half can make the final product more seamless, as you can dremel or use a knife to hide the wire or weight or rattles internally. But it is time consuming if you are trying to make many baits (probably not an issue at this point for ya). I would recommend just starting with two pieces of wood. Lightly super glue them together, carve the lure, then pry them apart and work on the interal stuff. Not to difficult. Drilling through is awesome. But drilling straight especially if your lures are 10"+ is very difficult. You can make a jig with some bushings to line up the hole if you are making the same lure over and over. But a slightly oversize drill bit can often get you close enough with practice. Drill through the block of wood before carving, then line your lure up with where the holes are, done. That way if the hole isn't perfect, you just line up your carving around it. My most often used, because of it's ease, is cutting a slot in the lure, then using epoxy to glue in a wire harness. I can be a bit of a mess trying to get the slot flush and perfect after that, but it works. Best idea, try them all! See what you like and what works. Write down how you made the lure, and where you put weights, and what worked! You can help yourself a lot down the road this way. Check out the tutorial section of the website, some good ideas in there. I made some lures with the hole through design, take a look. Welcome here! Musky Crankbait build - Hardbait How To - TackleUnderground.com
  16. Hmmm I'm kinda curious myself, as I've only heard good things about the epoxy. I don't want to invest in some if it doesn't live up to the claims.
  17. eastman03

    Christmas crafts

    Thanks, yea totally use the idea. I'm definitely not the first one to do this! Honestly, I don't exactly make lures just to sell, but I made a few of these as gifts last year, and they were super popular. So I made more this year, and sold more than I could make before Christmas. You end up reaching a MASSIVE demographic of people who would never buy a lure, but know someone in their life who loves hunting/fishing. It makes a great gift for any "man cave".
  18. Yea i've heard good things about it as well. Developed and made specifically for lure making. Not cheap! But better than ruining baits that's for sure. I've been tempted to order some myself. Thanks
  19. I was hoping you would weigh in here a bit Vodkaman as far as a more scientific approach. From my experience building a crankbait, weight can act to dampen side to side action somewhat, but with a steady retrieve, or trolled, it seems like the lures i have experimented with did not change their depth significantly when weight was added or removed. Now when you have a neutral/ slow rising crankbait that can be paused and hung in the water column, that is a totally different thing (very useful). But it seems to me that the forces acting on the lip outweigh the force of gravity/buoyancy on the lure when it is in motion.
  20. I've made several large deep diving lures that hit 25+ feet (obviously speed/how much line makes a different). These are trolling baits, 14" (plus 3" of lip) 12-16oz. I think the tow point makes a huge difference, how far up or down the lip or the body it is. It is the pivot of how much your lip can rotate "down" and pull the bait with it. Now I'm only speaking from making large lures, so I think there is more room for error or variances in weight and slight imperfections. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but how much does the actual weight of a deep diver make a difference. From my experience, i need to add enough ballast to make sure the lure sits in the water properly so the lure catches the water and dives. After that, more weight I don't think would make it dive deeper, I think the action and size of the lip would overtake anything that a bit more weight could interfere with. Again it may seem obvious, but my biggest thing with the baits working well, is making sure that lip is in there perfectly! Joint your wood, cut the lip slot while the wood is still square. Or make jigs to align the lips in the baits perfectly. You can correct some wander off to the side by bending the tow point slightly to one side or the other, but if the lip is not straight to the body in the x or z axis, the power of the lip will overtake anything else you can do at that point. Make a lip with several tow points when testing, so you can figure out what kind of action and dive curve you are looking for.
  21. I don't know too much about the specs about wire. 308 304 etc.. I used .051" Malins lock wire for my first couple of lures, and it works just fine. It is meant to be bent and tie off (lock) pins and stuff into place, so honestly it was a tiny bit too "flexible" for me making musky lures. I also got annoyed of having to start with a coiled up piece of wire. It straightens out ok if you cut a piece and bend an eye into the one end, hook it around a nail or something solid, and just give the other end a few quick pulls. I have moved on to using Stainless steel .062" tig welding rod (i think that is 308). It is more available for myself, and I love starting with a straight piece of wire.
  22. eastman03

    Christmas crafts

    haha yea, those give me some crazy hunting action.... hmmm maybe i should try
  23. eastman03

    Home made eyes!

    With some help from the forum here, I finally got around to making my own eyes, it is a fun project. And a good use of extra epoxy. Need to be a bit better at getting rid of microbubbles next time.
  24. eastman03

    Christmas crafts

    Not exactly lures, but close. Some bottle openers that I made for Christmas (good painting practice)
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